It's done

[Killian]

Time to pull the plug on the Weis era at ND unless drastic changes are made. I feel right now the same way I did after Purdue '99 and BYU '04. The only way Weis deserves another year is if he is summoned before the AD, president and some of the BOT and informs them that he has already decided to make the following changes:

Fire OL coach John Latina, WR coach Rob Ianallo, QB coach Ron Powlus, and DL coach Jappy Oliver. Help OC/RB coach Michael Haywood find a head coaching job in the offseason. If that cannont happen, he will be added to the list of the above mentioned coaches.

Those coaches are either dead weight on the recruiting trail (Haywood), piss poor coaches (Ianello, Latina), both (Oliver) or young (Powlus). I would allow him a pass on Powlus.

In their place, there is a commitment to hire the top assistants in the country with college experience, and then allow them to coach.

If the above does not happen, Weis will fail. Next year's bar should be set at 11 wins and a BCS bid. Before anyone guffaw's at that statement, take a look at ND's '09 schedule and the talent they have returning and tell me what top coach wouldn't go 11-2 at a minimum with that combination.

The sad thing is that progress is being made. Despite the scores of the MSU and BC games, ND has not been blown out in any games. But the problems are numerous, and too much to overcome with Weis's personality and the way he currently operates. This team comes out listless and flat, far too often. Weis doesn't have the first clue about how to motivate college kids and is prone to run his offense like he is playing Xbox. He doesn't have the balls to sit players that aren't producing (Terrail Lamber, Maurice Crum and for at least a series, Jimmy Clausen) and his team takes on his personality. A lot of big talk but nothing to back it up. The offensive line is still a problem, and it's a combination of technique and playing like they have axe wounds instead of balls.

I will give Weis credit for one thing. He will be leaving the program stacked with more talent than any coach since Faust. Holtz, Davie, and Willingham all left the team with some huge holes. While there may be some positional holes at ND, there aren't entire class holes like the previous three coaches left.

If Jack Swarbrick is the type of AD many ND fans and alums hope he is, he should be on the phone today with 20-30 candidates vetting their interest, if he hasn't already. If he hasn't and this isn't in his immediate short term plans, he is no better than Kevin White, and Fr. Jenkins may be only a slight step up from Fr. Malloy.

[TheJON]

You're 6-3 with a young team and you're wanting coaches fired?? My goodness, be patient. Better days are ahead and Weis is as good of a coach as ND is going to get. Coaches don't line up for that job like you think they do. Not with impatient fans like this. Tennessee would have a better shot of hiring a top-notch coach than ND. I guarantee you very few coaches would rather have the ND job. Sorry, but it's the truth.

[Left Seater]

Said it at the time and I will say it again. That was a bad hire. Getting a guy whose main selling point is that he knows what it takes to make it on the next level doesn't make a good coach. ATM will soon find this to be true themselves.

Jon,

Which game did ND win via forefit? MSU, UNC, Pitt, or BC?

[Mr T]

They are 5-4 noj.

Killian,

Tell your AD to schedule all Big 10 and the Pac-10 schools. Y'all would be back in the Fiesta Bowl in no time.

[Snake]

Notre Dame to the ACC...They'd own the bitch for years............

[Adelpiero]

Notre Dame to the ACC...They'd own the bitch for years............

baylor would compete for the acc title

[Mr T]

Thats cute....

ND is 0-2 this year versus that "weak" conference that it would "own"...

Keep watching ESPN....they will tell you the truth...The SEC is the awesome...

ACC-Big 10 challenge in football would be epic...How did the Big 10 imagine the basketball challenge going? Somehow i see a similar result.

[Mr T]

Notre Dame to the ACC...They'd own the bitch for years............

baylor would compete for the acc title

Baylor 0-1 versus the ACC

[Killian]

You're right, JON. Just like you were right about Alabama being dead and Saban not going there to coach. That team is loaded with young talent and they have a pussy schedule. It's obvious you don't watch ND and your dislike of them taints any take you have about them.


ND can and will land a good coach.

[Mr T]

ND can and will land a good coach.

No doubt about that.

I still dont understand why ND gave Weis an extension after LOSING to USC.

[Danimal]

Don't quite get why recruits buy into Weis so heavily, but get it or not that's the the thing saving his job right now, blue chips coming in left and right. As long as Weis can finish 7-5 he'll be back, 6-6 will be pushing it, depends on who ND thinks they'll get. After the Urban fiasco they gotta be careful.

[Screw_Michigan]

Don't quite get why recruits buy into Weis so heavily

Decided schematic advantage. And they like traveling to the exotic locales the school schedules for their subway alumni, like Stanford and Seattle.

ND and Weis are made for each other: all bark, no bite, 6-6 records.

[Terry in Crapchester]

Don't quite get why recruits buy into Weis so heavily,

Coaching and recruiting are two completely separate things. See Gerry Faust.

[Killian]

I deserve all of the "I told you so" posts you guys can muster. Weis has one off season to totally prove me wrong.

I'm not holding my breath.

[Danimal]

I deserve all of the "I told you so" posts you guys can muster. Weis has one off season to totally prove me wrong.

I'm not holding my breath.

TOLD YA SO



Actually I didn't tell you so but I still wanted to get a free shot in.

[Terry in Crapchester]

Going back to this point . . .

Those coaches are either dead weight on the recruiting trail (Haywood), . . .

I'll fess up to not knowing nearly as much about recruiting as you do. But, and correct me if I'm wrong, I thought recruiting was one of the reasons Haywood was brought onboard. Matter of fact, IIRC, he was in charge of in-state recruiting at Texas before he came to ND. Perhaps Harv or Vito can help out on that point.

I also seem to recall that many of the ND homer boards were advocating to bring him onboard ND's staff even before Weis got hired. Obviously, his past connections to ND as a player figured into those discussions, but I seem to recall that many posited that recruiting would be a strength for him as well, given his coaching history.

[PSUFAN]

taints

~sniff sniff...eh? What's that?

--m2ool

[.m2]

taints

~sniff sniff...eh? What's that?

--m2ool

Something that PSUFAN "flashes" to male members on the message board, while looking for approval from ding dong eating slobs.

Hence, the lack of need for a wipe.





the truth

[SoCalTrjn]

Don't quite get why recruits buy into Weis so heavily,

Lemming, it pays to have the guy who picks the kids for Army All American game steering players towards Notre Dame or telling them he will give them higher ratings if they list Notre Dame as a school theyre intersted in.

[Left Seater]

Texas hands out titles as a way to pay their coaches more money. Recruiting Coordinator is one of those titles. I doubt anyone coordinates recruiting outside of Brown's office.

[Killian]

Don't quite get why recruits buy into Weis so heavily,

Lemming, it pays to have the guy who picks the kids for Army All American game steering players towards Notre Dame or telling them he will give them higher ratings if they list Notre Dame as a school theyre intersted in.

Lemming hasn't been a factor in years, and his envolvement in selecting the Army All American Game is over blown. He had a huge say when it first started, but he has little say now.

Regardless, ND is getting talent according to all services.

Terry,

I think Haywood had a reputation of being a poor recruiter while at Texas and LSU. I, and many others, didn't know that and thought he had a big hand in both of those schools recruiting success. Either way, he has been a clossal failure as a RB coach.

[PSUFAN]

nicely placed, 2ool.

[War Wagon]

I don't care much about Notre Dame one way or the other, but I respect their tradition and can remember when my dad lived and died with them when I was a kid.

Good article for Weis haters:

Jason Whitlock goes yard on Pear Bryant

[Danimal]

LOL at Pear Bryant


It is kinda convenient that he gets to "save" the O right before playing Navy and 'cuse.

[Moby Dick]

Keep watching ESPN....they will tell you the truth...The SEC is the awesome...

[Terry in Crapchester]

Fire OL coach John Latina, WR coach Rob Ianallo, QB coach Ron Powlus, and DL coach Jappy Oliver. Help OC/RB coach Michael Haywood find a head coaching job in the offseason. If that cannont happen, he will be added to the list of the above mentioned coaches.

Let me take these one at a time:

Latina: ND's offensive line play is improved. However, "improved," with respect to our offensive line, is most definitely a relative term. And the main reason we're improved over last year is that the offensive line couldn't possibly play any worse than it did last year. This year, while Clausen is no longer running for his life on every play, we still have a long way to go. After last season, there is no possible excuse for why ND still ranks in the bottom quartile of FBS schools in rushing. Player development is even worse. Young has started every game since the first game of his freshman year, and by this point I would've expected him to grow into a beast, or at least into a Ryan Harris-type player. The fact that he's fallen woefully short of even that latter standard speaks volumes as to the level of player development under Latina. From all accounts, Latina is a class individual and a credit to ND. However, that was true of Faust, and it wasn't enough to save his job. Get rid of Latina.

Ianello: I have to disagree on this one, I think the receiving corps is one of the strengths of this team.

Powlus: I'd go along with what you said earlier. I'd give him a pass because he's a young coach.

Oliver: Agree, get rid of him.

Haywood: This is a tough one for me. Full disclosure: I'm admittedly not in an unbiased situation when it comes to Haywood. As I've said before, [Zysdale]Haywood was a classmate of mine at ND[/Zysdale], and for that reason I'd like to see him succeed. If he can get a head coaching job, that might be a graceful way out. At this point, his best-case scenario for a HC job would be at a non-BCS school, and he might even have to settle for a lower level than that. I am aware that he's had difficulty growing into the coordinator role, even with the "baby steps" approach Weis has taken. I'd give him one more season, although that's probably my bias talking.

I'd add Brian Polian to your list as well. There simply is no excuse for our special teams play to be as piss-poor as it has been. Then again, he's a young coach also, so perhaps he gets a pass on that basis.

I'd give Weis another year, only because, as you said, a BCS bid should be the bare minimum goal for next season. But bring in a new coach with a different scheme, and growing pains could ensue (sup, Rich Rodriguez). That might not be fair to the fans or to the current players.

But let's say, hypothetically, that ND does decide to buy Weis out. Who would you like to see get hired at ND? And who would you consider a "safe" choice?

At this point, I'm not sure who my dream hire would be. Coughlin would be great, and we definitely could've had him in the past. After last year, though, I'm not so certain.

The biggest name "safe" choice I could see for ND would be Skip Holtz, although I'm not sure if he'd be ready for this job.

[Killian]

It's hard to say who the safe choice would be at this point. I think any NFL coach (save Coughlin because of his college ties) would be a huge risk. I'm a big fan of Jon Gruden, and I think he would come in a minute (he was a short hair away and a Malloy fuck up from being the coach in 2002), but it would have to be properly vetted that he would hire college coaches and a proven college OC.

The next guy that I think they could get would be Butch Davis. He had an excellent reputation of cleaning up the Miami program, and he already has NC in the top 25.

If they were going for an up and coming coach, my choice would be Brian Kelly. He runs a similar offense and has won at every stop he has coached.

Those are three coaches of different backgrounds and experiences that I believe would come to ND if approached properly.

As far as Ianello, I disagree. I agree with you that the WR corps are the strength of the team, but I think that has more to do with the physical talent of Golden Tate and Michael Floyd. Duval Kamara has regressed, Robbie Parris hasn't made significant strides, and David Grimes has't really improved or regressed. That having been said, Golden Tate still lines up in a shitty stance and has a hard time hand fighting with DB's. The WR's don't break off their routes and come back to Clausen when the pocket breaks down. They tip plays by the way they stand. Michael Floyd has so much natural talent that Ianello can't fuck him up.

Either way, significant changes need to be made to the ND coaching staff. I think they will be, but not the head coach.

[Terry in Crapchester]

As long as Weis can finish 7-5 he'll be back, 6-6 will be pushing it, depends on who ND thinks they'll get.

I'm not generally a big fan of putting milestone numbers on a coach on the hot seat, for the simple reason that the schedule provides a number of variables. Let's say a team finishes 7-5. That, alone, usually doesn't tell you what kind of season they had. A 7-5 season could be very disappointing, or it could be a quite productive season, depending on strength of schedule, where the team was a year ago, the history associated with the program, etc.

Having said all of that, if you are going to count the season up to this point as a wash (debatable, but I suppose you could justify that position), then given the remaining schedule, I think Weis has to finish 7-5 to return next season. ND's fanbase will see both Navy and Syracuse as gimme wins, but nobody expects him to beat 'SC this year.

And yes, I realize that ND lost to Navy last year. Even so, it took Navy 3 overtimes to beat the worst ND team in my lifetime, and the difference was a 2-point conversion. Since then, Navy has lost its highly-regarded head coach. And although this year's game is not at home, Navy doesn't have the typical home-field advantage since the game isn't played in their regular stadium.

Syracuse is just plain awful. Yes, they did beat Louisville, but Louisville is down this year, and that game represented pretty close to a best-case scenario for Syracuse in any event. And injuries haven't been a terribly significant issue for ND this season.

The only way ND doesn't finish 7-5 is if either: (a) Weis or someone on his staff makes a monumental blunder either with respect to preparation or gameday coaching; or (b) the team quits on Weis. In either event, he probably should be fired if one of those things comes to pass.

It's hard to say who the safe choice would be at this point. I think any NFL coach (save Coughlin because of his college ties) would be a huge risk. I'm a big fan of Jon Gruden, and I think he would come in a minute (he was a short hair away and a Malloy fuck up from being the coach in 2002), but it would have to be properly vetted that he would hire college coaches and a proven college OC.

The next guy that I think they could get would be Butch Davis. He had an excellent reputation of cleaning up the Miami program, and he already has NC in the top 25.

If they were going for an up and coming coach, my choice would be Brian Kelly. He runs a similar offense and has won at every stop he has coached.

With Gruden, I think the bloom is off the rose somewhat. Certainly, he's not the hot prospect he was in '01, even though he's won a Super Bowl since then. Of greater concern is the length of time he's been away from the college game -- IIRC, he last coached at the college level in '91. OTOH, where contract buyout negotiations are concerned, the Glazer family is probably easier to work with than the Godmother would have been.

Davis has a winning background, but I personally wouldn't make that hire. Davis was an assistant on the '85 Miami team where Jimmy Johnson went out of his way to embarrass ND. That was the last game of my senior year at ND, and I wouldn't want anyone associated with that Miami team anywhere near ND's program (sidenote: one of the reasons why I disagree with the majority, or at least the vocal minority, of ND Nation posters who want us to dump NBC for Fox -- if that were to happen, no doubt Jimmy Johnson would somehow be involved in the broadcast). And given his background as a Johnson assistant, I think the "new sheriff in town" persona that went along with him was a bit overdone for the NCAA's benefit. Remember, not all of the violations that got Miami put on probation occurred under Dennis Erickson. Yeah, I probably should have let go of 58-7 by now, but I haven't.

Kelly is a possible choice that I like. Imho, he has at least as much competitive experience as Meyer had had in '04, and more than Hawkins (who got a few mentions) had had. As you pointed out, he's won at every level he's coached. Also, his career trajectory is somewhat similar to Lou Holtz' career trajectory before he was hired at ND (minus the one year in the NFL), and he's about the same age Lou Holtz was when he was hired at ND.

[Terry in Crapchester]

Update: Apparently, Haywood has interviewed for the Washington HC job.

I want Haywood to do well, but in all honesty, I don't think he's ready for a BCS head coaching job, even one that's fallen on tough times.

[Terry in Crapchester]

Killian,

I wanted to get your thoughts on the list that was posted here

My thoughts, fwiw:

Stoops and Richt are not realistic possibilities. Neither will leave their current position for ND.

I know I'm in the minority on this one, but Davis is on my "no f'n way" list, based on his previous association with Jimmy Johnson. Meyer is on that list as well, albeit for different reasons.

The continuing fascination with Gruden puzzles me a bit. He's slipped a little since he won the Super Bowl. More importantly, he's been out of the college game for awhile. If we learn any lessons from Weis, it's that success at the pro level doesn't necessarily translate automatically to success at the college level.

Saban? He's just whimsical enough to come to ND (sorry, SS, that's not a knock on your program, just a comment on Saban). And of the coaches on this list, I'd give him the best chance of winning a national championship at ND. Long-term, however, his nomadic tendencies might mean he's gone from ND fairly early, and might leave the program in chaos behind him.

Shanahan? Didn't he turn down ND before? I'm not sure anything has happened that would make him change his mind. Also hasn't coached in college in ages, if at all.

Coughlin is one of the best coaches in the NFL, and has the most extensive college background of any of the NFL head coaches. However, his people skills leave a lot to be desired.

Cowher has never coached at the college level, IIRC.

I'm not sure what Riley has done that would warrant consideration on this list.

Tuberville? Auburn is about to fire him, why would we want him under those circumstances?

Bellotti and Tedford both manage to turn in the occasional very good season, but thus far, both coaches have failed to place their programs within the #2 niche that's available in the Pac-10.

Ferentz? A decent enough coach, but I don't think he's the right guy to take ND to the level of its expectation.

Pinkel? I remember how Mizzou fan felt about him before last season. And that was Mizzou fan.

Dantonio seems to be the best possibility from that list. He's done a great job turning around the mess at Michigan State in a relatively short while.

Not quite sure what the hating on Brian Kelly is about. Many question his resume, but his resume (Grand Valley State, Central Michigan, Cincinnati) isn't all that far afield from Lou Holtz' resume before Lou took the ND job (William & Mary; N.C. State back when the ACC was an awful football conference; one disastrous year in the NFL with the Jets; Arkansas; Minnesota).

[King Crimson]

Killian,

I wanted to get your thoughts on the list that was posted here

My thoughts, fwiw:

Stoops and Richt are not realistic possibilities. Neither will leave their current position for ND.

I know I'm in the minority on this one, but Davis is on my "no f'n way" list, based on his previous association with Jimmy Johnson. Meyer is on that list as well, albeit for different reasons.

The continuing fascination with Gruden puzzles me a bit. He's slipped a little since he won the Super Bowl. More importantly, he's been out of the college game for awhile. If we learn any lessons from Weis, it's that success at the pro level doesn't necessarily translate automatically to success at the college level.

Saban? He's just whimsical enough to come to ND (sorry, SS, that's not a knock on your program, just a comment on Saban). And of the coaches on this list, I'd give him the best chance of winning a national championship at ND. Long-term, however, his nomadic tendencies might mean he's gone from ND fairly early, and might leave the program in chaos behind him.

Shanahan? Didn't he turn down ND before? I'm not sure anything has happened that would make him change his mind. Also hasn't coached in college in ages, if at all.

Coughlin is one of the best coaches in the NFL, and has the most extensive college background of any of the NFL head coaches. However, his people skills leave a lot to be desired.

Cowher has never coached at the college level, IIRC.

I'm not sure what Riley has done that would warrant consideration on this list.

Tuberville? Auburn is about to fire him, why would we want him under those circumstances?

Bellotti and Tedford both manage to turn in the occasional very good season, but thus far, both coaches have failed to place their programs within the #2 niche that's available in the Pac-10.

Ferentz? A decent enough coach, but I don't think he's the right guy to take ND to the level of its expectation.

Pinkel? I remember how Mizzou fan felt about him before last season. And that was Mizzou fan.

Dantonio seems to be the best possibility from that list. He's done a great job turning around the mess at Michigan State in a relatively short while.

Not quite sure what the hating on Brian Kelly is about. Many question his resume, but his resume (Grand Valley State, Central Michigan, Cincinnati) isn't all that far afield from Lou Holtz' resume before Lou took the ND job (William & Mary; N.C. State back when the ACC was an awful football conference; one disastrous year in the NFL with the Jets; Arkansas; Minnesota).

you have a lot better chance of getting Kelly than any of the others on this list. I'd go after Patterson at TCU if these were my choices. though i think Richt is not ungettable.

Shanahan was about 2 weeks ahead of "the League" 10 years ago. he hasn't won a playoff game in how many years? and ND has no shot there, regardless.

[Killian]

Killian,

I wanted to get your thoughts on the list that was posted here

My thoughts, fwiw:

Stoops and Richt are not realistic possibilities. Neither will leave their current position for ND.

I know I'm in the minority on this one, but Davis is on my "no f'n way" list, based on his previous association with Jimmy Johnson. Meyer is on that list as well, albeit for different reasons.

The continuing fascination with Gruden puzzles me a bit. He's slipped a little since he won the Super Bowl. More importantly, he's been out of the college game for awhile. If we learn any lessons from Weis, it's that success at the pro level doesn't necessarily translate automatically to success at the college level.

Saban? He's just whimsical enough to come to ND (sorry, SS, that's not a knock on your program, just a comment on Saban). And of the coaches on this list, I'd give him the best chance of winning a national championship at ND. Long-term, however, his nomadic tendencies might mean he's gone from ND fairly early, and might leave the program in chaos behind him.

Shanahan? Didn't he turn down ND before? I'm not sure anything has happened that would make him change his mind. Also hasn't coached in college in ages, if at all.

Coughlin is one of the best coaches in the NFL, and has the most extensive college background of any of the NFL head coaches. However, his people skills leave a lot to be desired.

Cowher has never coached at the college level, IIRC.

I'm not sure what Riley has done that would warrant consideration on this list.

Tuberville? Auburn is about to fire him, why would we want him under those circumstances?

Bellotti and Tedford both manage to turn in the occasional very good season, but thus far, both coaches have failed to place their programs within the #2 niche that's available in the Pac-10.

Ferentz? A decent enough coach, but I don't think he's the right guy to take ND to the level of its expectation.

Pinkel? I remember how Mizzou fan felt about him before last season. And that was Mizzou fan.

Dantonio seems to be the best possibility from that list. He's done a great job turning around the mess at Michigan State in a relatively short while.

Not quite sure what the hating on Brian Kelly is about. Many question his resume, but his resume (Grand Valley State, Central Michigan, Cincinnati) isn't all that far afield from Lou Holtz' resume before Lou took the ND job (William & Mary; N.C. State back when the ACC was an awful football conference; one disastrous year in the NFL with the Jets; Arkansas; Minnesota).

First off all, as I'm sure you know, ACross is a bit of a nut. He has very black and white views on all things ND. As for the list, here are my thoughts:

Stoops: In a vaccum, I think Stoops would consider the offer. But he is set up great at OU and everytime his phone rings, his wallet gets fatter. No way.

Richt: I may be wrong on this, but I think Richt could be had. He's an excellent recruiter who is going up against all of the SEC for recruits and to win games. He runs a pro style offense so he would be walking into oodles of talent were he to come to ND after this season. The price would be steep, but I think he could be had. Small chance.

Gruden: I think the fascination with Gruden has to do with ND's flirtation with him in 2001 and his reciprocated interest. He has an unbelievable love for Notre Dame, and he has been successful at the highest level of football. He also showed a willingness to do whatever it took to be successful at ND, based on his comments to White when he was offered the job and initially accepted back in 2001. He knew that he would be totally new to the college game, and his quote was "I may need some training wheels, but I'll do whatever you think I need to do to be successful." He is still very interested in the job. Large Chance.

Saban: He approached ND in 2001 and 2004, so I think he would be very interested in the job. Would he leave Alabama now? As you stated, possibly. He would be a huge flight risk and that scares the hell out of me. Below average chance.

Shannahan: No thanks.

Coughlin: He was begging for the job in 2004. He's a bit long in the tooth, but I think he would do well. I think he would be interested. Above average chance.

Cower: No thanks.
Tubberville: No thanks.
Pinkel: Don't know enough about him.

I think both Belloti and Tedford would be good hires. I think ND would have a better shot at Tedford than Belloti, but you are taking a risk with Tedford.

I may be in the small minority, but I think Ferentz would be a great hire. His teams play well on both lines, he has recruited the midwest and always has a solid running game. The only way ND will ever contend with the elite teams is to have strong lines. Plus, he would be bringing an ND connection in former center Rick Kazinski who is their DL coach.

I also think the same thing about Dantonio, but he has huge ties to MSU and OSU. When Tressel leaves, he may be the heir apparant.

I'm a big fan of Brian Kelly, but I think he should be a plan B candidate. He's similar to Meyer in 2004. The hot mid level coach with huge upside, but there is a big risk making the jump from Cincinnati to Notre Dame. He may flourish, he may be Faust.

Whomever it is and whenever it is done, this search has to be handled by adults. I'm not sure it will be.

[Killian]

Also:

I understand where you are coming from w/r/t Davis, but I think he would be an absolute slam dunk of a hire and have ND in the NC game next year.

[TheJON]

Why bother discussing that has no chance of happening for AT LEAST a year? Charlie's not going anywhere this year, Killian......you know that. Why spend time talking about a future coach this early? If the team is 6-4 at this point next year than you can start this discussion up. But it's pointless considering who knows how many of those coaches you mentioned will even be available next year.

Mike Dantonio......why would he leave MSU for ND considering what he's got going right now? Sure, if a school like USC or Ohio State came calling I could see him go but right now he's got a very good thing going at MSU and ND is not an upgrade at this point.

Jon Gruden......Forget it. Would be a great hire but Chucky will finish his career in a real league- the NFL. Bank on that. Dude's a great coach. Perhaps the most underrated coach of all-time. How he continues to win 9-10 games almost every year with absolute garbage talent down in Tampa is beyond me. And when he actually did have some talent down there he won a Super Bowl. NFL ASSISTANTS come to the college ranks. NFL head coaches do not. Next ND fan that mentions Chucky gets a cock slap....

Coughlin....... Are you fucking high??? NO CHANCE. He's a good NFL coach. Again.....let me tell you a little fact here. Coaches don't like to go from the NFL to college. It's a downgrade. The real jobs are in the NFL. College is entertainment. NFL is football. Coaches have egos. And people with egos don't like demotions. Besides, it is not a good hire for ND anyways. He's getting old. ND needs a young coach with head coaching experience in college. His act wouldn't work with 18-22 year olds anyways. It worked 15 years ago at BC but things have changed. Kids are punks now. They cry like little sissies when their coach yells at them like Coughlin does. Not only that but you can't expect him to coach there too long. He'll be all retired in 5 years regardless of where he's at.

Saban and Richt. Maybe Saban cuz he has ADD and can't stay in one place more than a couple of years. But this is still maybe a 2% chance. Why on earth would Mark Richt leave an already big salary at a much better program to go to a mid-level program?? 15 years ago......sure, he'd bolt in a heartbeat. But dude's winning 10-11 games every year at Georgia and getting paid very well. He's off the board. Forget it.

So who should ND go for if they were to fire Chuck after this year (which they won't anyways)?

Guys I'd at least want to speak to if I were ND's AD.....

Jeff Jagodzinski, Bret Bielema, Jim Leavitt, Chris Peterson, Butch Davis, and MAYBE Mike Gundy.

I think that would be a decent list of coaches to start with. How on earth can you expect Notre Dame to do any better than that list? Remember.......your last 2 coaching searches didn't exactly turn up the hottest names in the country. Urban Meyer shot you down for Florida. He knew he would have a much better shot of winning at Florida.

Your last 2 hires were a coach at Stanford and an NFL offensive coordinator. And now you're mentioning guys like Nick Saban, Jon Gruden, Tom Coughlin, and Bob Stoops??? Honest question here Killian, take off your ND Goggles and give me one reason why there will be better options this time around than the last few????

[Killian]

JON, remember one thing before you punch submit the next time you log on. You opperate from a knowledge base formed by opinions you gather from various message boards and TV. You then use these opinions to form your opinion.

When I'm posting about Notre Dame, its from first hand, or at worst second hand knowledge about the situation.

Why would ND fans discuss potential replacements for Weis even though he won't be gone this year? Because its important for any organization to have a succession plan in place. Weis's fat ass could die from a heart attack tomorrow. What would ND do then?

The coaches that ND ended up with the past two searches were the result of sackless, shitty leadership. They had Gruden in 2001, Alice stepped in and Monk Malloy shit his pants, hence O'Leary and then Willingham. During this search, Saban approached ND. White pushed for him after O'Leary only to get shot down.

In 2004, White assured Fr. Jenkins that he could get Meyer if a move was made to fire Ty. He did this without ever contacting Meyer, who already had a deal in place with UF. Saban again contacted ND, who again declined despite White's endorsement. During this time, Tom Coughlin was publicly campaigning for the job.

So when ND decides to make a change, they can do much better than that shit-tastic list you window licked together. It all depends on their leadership, which is suspect. We've never seen the new AD in action.

Dantonio in a better situation at MSU than ND? Are you high? MSU has the better team because they have the better coach.

Maybe Weis is getting it. OC Mike Haywood looks to be on the way out.

[TheJON]

JON, remember one thing before you punch submit the next time you log on. You opperate from a knowledge base formed by opinions you gather from various message boards and TV. You then use these opinions to form your opinion.

Naww man, I've got some close friends that are big Irish fans and I get my Irish garbage from them. Annoys the fuck outta me to see Notre Dame fans in fucking Iowa, but shit......they're everywhere. Neighbors put their fucking Irish flag up on their godamn front porch. One of these days I'm gonna burn that fucking thing. Can't stand looking at it.

During this time, Tom Coughlin was publicly campaigning for the job.

Right......but that was BEFORE he won a Super Bowl and was no longer the most hated coach in the NFL. Forget him. This has nothing to do with you having more inside info on ND.......it's just plain common sense. You mean to tell me a Super Bowl winning coach is going to willingly leave the NFL for a college gig?? Come on now....

Dantonio in a better situation at MSU than ND? Are you high? MSU has the better team because they have the better coach.

He's in a great spot right now. No, Michigan State isn't going to continue doing what they're doing for too long. Just like Iowa did. They'll fade into some 6-6 years like Iowa did after 2004. Such is life for everyone in the Big-10 not named Michigan or Ohio State. But right now he's really got something going and would be insane to leave in the middle of it. That's why Ferentz didn't leave for the NFL. He rode his hot streak. Why leave a school where he's got a real damn good shot at winning 10 games the next couple of years and go to a school that's struggled the past 15 years? If Dantonio were to leave, a job like Tennessee would be a better gig. Don't get me wrong, ND's still a good program with rich tradition, but a coach would be absolutely nuts to leave a good thing to come to ND right now. It just doesn't make any sense.

Sure, Notre Dame can compete with anyone financially. But there's a lot of schools out there with enough money to keep a coach. And if you're a coach at a school that can at least somewhat compete with ND financially and you're having success at that school why would you want to go to Notre Dame and deal with those unrealistic fans?? No thank you!

[Killian]

Your argument is starting to fall apart. Bill Walsh could have had any NFL job he wanted, yet he went to Stanford. Different coaches want different things.

And the way ND's schedule is set up, a coach has a better chance to win 10 games a year at ND rather than MSU or Tenn.

[SoCalTrjn]

USC has very young assistant coaches but many Trojan fans feel the inexperience at the coaching positions is what has made them fall short of their ability the last 4seasons

[King Crimson]

Dan Hawkins has a ND buyout clause in his deal. He's pistol hot these days.

if you want the worst offense in the Big XII, bad execution, weird special teams mistakes, baffling situational play-calling, continuous nose snubbing of conventional coaching wisdom, your team playing egg-toss the day after a big loss, increasingly empty talk about some "formula" he and his crappy assistants have, a mythical "Boise playbook", and a lot of awesome new age-y quotes and bizarre self-love....Hawk is your teddy bear.

[SoCalTrjn]

keep Weiss, he's doing a great job, I'm sure he just needs another "near-win" to get 10 more years added to his contract.