Okay, so who IS the candidate that meets the criteria?

There are two, and Notre Dame has NO shot to get either one. Bob Stoops or Urban Meyer. Both have won national titles, defeated top tier teams and sustained their programs. Neither are available.

Which means, a coach will be hired that does not meet the criteria set forth by the AD. Which I'm not opposed to.

Urban Meyer wasn't a championship coach when he arrived at Florida. He turned Bowling Green and Utah around (against weak schedules). And look how Florida has prospered.

Bob Stoops had never been a head coach when he arrived at OU. Within two years he won a championship.

The truth is, finding someone with the criteria mentioned is nearly impossible. Why? Because those coaches are already with other programs. It'd be like wanting Woody Hayes or Bear Bryant . . . that's not reality.

What is reality? Finding the next Woody Hayes and Bear Bryant in the haystack.

Good synopsis but I wonder if it is reasonable to expect a Bob Stoops level coach to leave his current, very comfortable, position to take on the huge job at ND.
If a Kelly is hired will this board cut him any slack or is he doomed from day one?
Jim

I agree with anonymous Stoops and Meyer are not available. There is a world of difference between a Kelly and a S. Holtz or an Edsall.

The most likely candidates that would meet that criteria that I can think of who might be available are Mike Riley and Tedford; neither of whom will make the fanbase happy.

Has anyone prayed a "Hail Mary" for our Lady to give us our new coach?

Vannie, could you and or you co-writers elaborate on who DOES fit the criteria?

Does Gruden?

Can you name an acceptable candidate whose name is not Urban or Stoops?

Great piece Mr. Vannie on the task at hand. You nailed every point including the major one; Will the majority of alum and fans support a non tier 1 coach?

Personally as an alum and fan of Notre Dame Football for 25 years I'm at my wits end with the neglect of this program by our supposed leaders.

I will always root for Notre Dame but if Swarbrick and Jenkins fail to hire a tier 1 coach (it's obvious who they are) I will not donate to this failed leadership again.

Thanks for all the work you, SEE,ElK,and Cash do for NDN.

I agree with the assessment of the names mentioned.

BK has a couple of factors.

Opt outs for ND and BC in contract.

Very comfortable already in cincy with a new stadium and practive facilities coming.

Wife is sick with cancer and may not want to up and move again. She is an east coaster too.

His defense sucks. Illinois put up big number. Watch this weekend.

Dont rule out urban either yet. Tebow will be gone, nothin left to prove if he wins another or runner-up, and his wife hates gainesville!

houston nutt a possibility. barry alvarez or even lloyd carr?

As I read it, Florida and Meyer are supposed to renew his contract after Saturday!

I agree with virtually all of the respondents above. John Vannie has hit another long, powerful, well thought out and articulate…foul ball.
The point about Urban Meyer's experience prior to arriving in Florida are spot on.
I think it was Gene Corrigan who said that one of the crucial criteria for hiring a ND coach is that he must want Notre Dame. In other words, we should not have to be negotiating over how many JUCO transfers, etc. I suspect that this will sort out as Mr Swarbrick works through the process.

Tuberville would be my pick. Great recruiter, undefeated team in the SEC, rebuilt a program, defense minded.

In my humble opinion, Kelly is the next Ara. He does more with less. When given the proper resources I would expect Meyer like success. BTW Tuberville has been on my radar for awhile, don't know if an Arkansas boy will come this far North.

Completely agree that this hire mustbe a homerun or this program is doomed.

And so "we end" up with Kelly and, surprise of surprises, in his second season ND is in the top ten at the end of the season…
Mark your words!
I believe you are just hopeless AND wrong.

Mike '79

Nothing like setting up an impossible task for Swarbrick. I would be happy with the next Ara, Holtz or Devine, and none of those would fit your criteria at the time they were hired.

Meyer, Saban and Stoops are all very unlikely. They are in ideal situations and we are to expect that they see ND as a better opportunity. That's just highly doubtful.

And if ND has to allow JUCO's and DUI's in order to succeed, it won't be the same ND succeeding.

The ND football at this time is on the precipice of irreversible ignobility.

You are correct-the next hire is the last chance to redeem a once noble enterprise.

Mr. Weiss did not desire the head coaching job at ND. He was coerced into the head coaching positon after a disasterous effort by the search committee to hire Urban Meyer. He bailed ND out of an untenable situation of the administration's own making. His persona never in the past(prior to his hirig) fulfilled the perceived aura asssociated with ND coaches. To his credit, as an alum, he bailed the administrtion out of their quandry
After a mediocre two years, the administratiuon again compounded its folly with "the contract". Hence the postion on the abyss ND finds itself staring into.

The best scenario now if, as you say, the prime-time coach is not found is for Mr. Swarbrick to name Coach Ianello the "interim" head coach. Over the next year, a proper search can be made and ND might even find another Ara or Lou. Right now, the coaching "stars" are not aligned to give ND what it needs- the perfect fit.

AD Swarbrick and coach Rob must work together along with the staff to get the full potential from CW's recruiting efforts. They have to work the connection between high school teamates Michael Floyd and Seantrel Henderson (offered a full scholarship by ND in ninth grade and the #1 prospect on the line this year in the nation) at Cretin Derham Hall-Catholic.

Getting Seantral here is a key factor in moving things to the next level. If that happens we need to hope for a domino effect.

Floyd plays with a former teamate, Tate envisions a year with great returning talent on offense and another chance to showcase his baseball skills – yes baseball.

And Clausen, well with the right coach selection and the arsenal of established weapons already in place…could Jimmy be swayed to a fourth year and a chance to become a complete top round NFL QB with the right coaching… sans Powlus!

The answers are in the recruiting efforts right now and the type of head coach we are looking for.

Rob has been taking the lead from CW in recruiting for a long time now. He is fully capable of securing the lions share of recruits cultivated by Charlie. Hopefully he has some clout at this point with the administration on what kind of coach ND needs.

Bottom line…I stood beside Seantrel Henderson and a host of blue chip recruits on gameday USC on the path between the Basilica and the stadium while the Irish walked the fabled path. That day saw alot of top recruits caught up in the best pre-game tradition in college football…the time is now to secure them with Rob and the best possible COLLEGE coach and staff we can get.

PS. MAKE THAT COLLEGE COACH

It's Skip and Lou! Write it down.

I love NDNation, but I really disagree with this article. I'd happily take Kelly (and a number of other coaches who aren't "Tier One"). Kelly's resume is outstanding. I don't think DickRod's sruggles are attributable to a lack of coaching acumen.

I am also irate over the mishandling of the ND football program, but I find it strange that so many posters on Rock's House insist that "Tier One" coaches and programs must have some sort of extensive winning history. The fact is Cincy would probably stomp ND right now, with a fraction of the talent. I know Kelly is not a sure thing, but anyone outside of Urban Meyer carries that risk.

"There are two, and Notre Dame has NO shot to get either one. Bob Stoops or Urban Meyer. Both have won national titles, defeated top tier teams and sustained their programs. Neither are available"

A coach of this stature has NEVER left their respective programs for another while highly successful. Lou was dismissed from Arkansas three years prior and Ara was told his contract wasnt going to be renewed at NW (AD was an idiot). To expect a Meyer or Stoops is about as reasonable as expecting us to drop football all together.

The author of this article needs a little dose of reality. If Brian Kelly lacks the "big-time" experience because he plays weaker opponents, I would just review ND's record against Big East teams of late. ND hasn't managed to beat even the bottom tier teams in that conference in the last two years. Meanwhile, Cincinnati is on the verge of going undefeated against that same level of talent. Maybe Kelly hasn't been proven, but he's better than anything ND has gotten in the past 15 yrs. I am not endorsing Kelly, I don't know what the next coach, regardless of who he is, will do. What they need more than anything else is a good manager. Weis, for all his "brains" obviously didn't know how to manage a team. Being the smartest person in the room doesn't necessarily translate into being a good leader.

I think, as has been reported by some, we go after Stoops with everything we can bring. If Stoops falls through, the best player on the board is likely Kelly.

If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with.

THE REAL PROBLEM IS MONEY!!!!

If you look at ND's tax return (Federal Form 990) and you will see that Charlie Weis only made $670K per year, including expense account. Lou Holtz took a pay cut to come to ND. After Lou they only hired coaches who would not require large sums of money, such as 2 first time hires and a average coach. Even Kelly would have to take a pay cut.

By the way, you are way off on Brian Kelly. Do you really think ND's schedule is any harder than Cincinnati's? They beat UCONN and will probably beat Pitt with much lower rated recruits. This guy one 2 national championships Division II. They are still college athletes and that is who he understands. This guy is a big time winner. Don't make comparisons to him and Rodriguez, who never went undefeated. Very few coaches can win the number of games Kelly wins regardless of where they are. Kelly is a winner proven time and time again. NDNATION IS DEAD WRONG.

Jeff

"Availability" is not a factor in hiring a new coach. Swarbrick's plan is to identify the coach/coaches that meet his criteria regardless of availablity, contracts they have signed, or announcements they have made. Once he identifies his guy he goes out and hires them. You do that by keep making them offer after offer until they accept. I guarantee, an offer exists where they will say "yes".

The way NDs schedule is getting watered down in the future, you can't play that card agains Kelly.

I come to ND Nation because sometimes its outrageousness points out real issues that hide in more civilized debate. But Vannie is all wet on this. As one lucky enough to have seen Ara as coach for 4 years starting in '65 ("Ara — stop the snow!"), maybe I have unrealistic aspirations too.

But Vannie all but says only Meyer or Stoops will do — and that has to be wrong. Kelly would be great if we have him keep some connections for at least a year (Ianello and Alford) and give him the leeway to hire great people, not just bring his Cincy staff along (assistant salaries there are very low).

What has impressed me since Weis was finally canned (after Navy I predicted 6-6) is the number of recruits who have said "I'm still coming" and other top prospects who are keeping ND on their list, like Henderson mentioned by another poster. These young men are what ND needs and show that there are many out there who want an education that will serve them after football — just what we need to return to glory. What Charlie couldn't do, in the words of the Ol' Ball Coach, was "coach 'em up." Kelly can, Tuberville can and there are some more names besides those at other elite programs who can (have you ever been in Oklahoma and seen how important OU football is to the entire state? — I have). Let's get real and not start with a chip (not Chip Kelly) on our shoulders.

I don't think that Swarbrick should shoot so high that he misses a rising star. Ara and Holtz were both rising stars when they were fired and look at what they accomplished at Notre Dame.

Brian Kelly is unquestionably a rising star and I wouldn't be afraid to pick him.

Great article.

Not enough people are focusing on your final paragraph. The program and alumni support of the program are at a critical point. If ND hires someone without a track record of proven success against the highest level of competition, the fanbase will immediately be fractured and it might be tough for the unproven coach to rally that fanbase around him. It will be doomed for failure before it even begins irrespective of the quality of the new coach.

Maybe I’m biased because I got my Masters from Grand Valley, but I think Kelly would be a huge coup for Notre Dame at this point.
Notre Dame isn’t the dream job it was 20 years ago, for exactly the reasons you spell out at the beginning of your article.
You think Stoops, Meyer or Carroll would leave their cushy pads in the South and the West to come to snowy South Bend and take over a program that hasn’t managed to win even 60% of its games in this decade? Sorry. Don’t think so. The problem is perspective. Even though Kelly is about to win his second consecutive Big East Title, he’ll still look at Notre Dame as a step up. Stoops and Meyer would not see ND as a step up from Oklahoma or Florida, who have both paid a visit to the National Championship game within the last year.
So what is Swarbrick left with? Proven winning coaches – and that is what Kelly is. Just look at his career. It doesn’t matter where he’s been. They wind up a winner, and he’s done it at three very different levels. D-II is vastly different from MAC level competition in D-I, which is vastly different from BCS conference level competition in the Big East. The logical next step for Kelly is to a national program.
Kelly will also come cheaper than Stoops or Meyer, which is good, no matter what the actual buy-out figure is for Weis. The Irish just got finished paying off Willingham after all.
But don’t let price take away from the coach. He builds and sustains winning programs. Look at how Grand Valley and Central Michigan are doing. Grand Valley is still a D-II powerhouse competing for National Championships on a yearly basis. Central Michigan is a yearly fixture in the MAC championship race. The point is Kelly knows how to build a winning program. And he knows how to do it in modern Division I College Football.
If Cincy beats Pitt this weekend, they will wind up beating the two Big East teams Notre Dame played this year – both losses. Notre Dame and Cincy have huge talent gaps, yet Kelly has Cincinnati winning games Notre Dame loses. This with 10 new starters on defense and two different quarterbacks at the helm. That’s actually something that should be pointed out as well. When Stoops lost his Heisman candidate QB in Sam Bradford to injury, the previously 2nd ranked Sooners season crumbled to a disappointing 7-5. When Cincinnati’s Heisman hopeful, Tony Pike, was out for essentially 4 games due to injury, the Bearcats just kept rolling out victories. Could the Irish have done that in any of Charlie’s 5 seasons? Obviously not. We couldn’t even do it with Jimmy Clausen starting every game for the past two seasons.
Anyway, Kelly is the highest possible mark for the next Notre Dame Coach in my opinion. And if Swarbrick can get him, we’ll be lucky to have him.

If we do not get Brian Kelly, we are going to MISS OUT. Plain and simple!

As a Cincinnati alum (and fan), I agree wholeheartedly with every word in this post: under no circumstances should Notre Dame even consider hiring Brian Kelly.

Butch Davis would be perfect for ND. He's 58, but he could keep going for 7 more seasons. He should not be lumped in with coaches like Kirk "puntosaurus" Ferentz or Jeff Tedford.

I completely agree with PJC and Vannie that the fan base must rally around the new coach.

However, I think it's clear from the comments here that Stoops and Meyer and Gruden aren't the only options we will rally around. I will absolutely be thrilled if we sign Kelly – would rally around any ND coach, but I believe Kelly would generate the desired effect with most of the fan base.

I have to agree that–as an alum–this article is simply embarrassing. The expressed ultimatum-issuing, foot-stamping tantrum-throwing is the sort of sentiment that enabled Wadsworth to push Holtz out the the door in the first place–and look what that accomplished for the program.

Let's review the article's listed criteria for selecting a successful head coach on national championships over the past nine years:

Mack Brown (Texas). Hired from North Carolina. Oops, not a successful, top-tier, Div. I program. Doesn't qualify.

Pete Carroll (USC). Failed NFL head coach (twice). Drove the super-bowl-reaching Patriots to mediocrity in only one season. Oops, not a successful head coach. Doesn't qualify.

Urban Meyer (Florida). Coached at Utah. Oops, not a top-tier Div. I program. Doesn't qualify.

Bob Stoops (Oklahoma). First head coaching job, former DC at Florida. Oops, no prior head coaching experience. Doesn't qualify.

Nick Saban (LSU). Failed to raise Michigan State beyond intermittent high-level play. Later (after LSU) a failed NFL head coach. Oops, not a success at a top-tier Div-I program. Doesn't qualify.

Jim Tressel (Ohio State). Hired out of Youngstown State. Oops, not a Div-I-A football program (let alone Tier One). Doesn't qualify.

So let me get this straight–the article lists criteria that not one of the most recent nine national championship team coaches qualified for at the time of their hiring? Its pretty clear that the article is a failure in reflecting rational thought on the part of the writer. Its also clear that the listed coaching criteria enable the writer to dismiss any chosen candidate at his whim.

Look, there are three kinds of head coaches: winners, hangers-on, and losers. A coach who consistently wins at three levels of college football is, by definition, a winner. Disqualifying him from Notre Dame because he doesn't already have a national championship at USC is beyond ridiculous.

As for those who say the selection needs to immediately impress the Notre Dame fanbase (i.e. those posting to fan boards), this is also beyond ridiculous. The only criteria that matters is winning, and specifically winning the Notre Dame way (i.e. graduating your athletes and playing by the rules). Everything else will follow. An 11-1 or 10-2 season next year means Notre Dame will dominate all media coverage. ESPN, Sports Illustrated, sports radio, Rivals, CBS & NBC sports, etc. Period.

There is no way that either Stoops or Meyer leaves their current recruiting-rich, JUCO-accepting, no-academics-required current situations. They'll string out any negotiations for a contract extension, and leave it at that. Also, it should be absolutely clear to everyone that Urban Meyer is a d-bag based on the Tebow concussion situation. Notre Dame dodged a bullet when he turned them down the first time.

I agree that Brian Kelly's defensive prowess is a question mark, but his teams have found a way to win anyway. And Chris Peterson runs a very tight ship with Boise State, and has for four straight years. Assuming that either coach would bring their full staff complement, they could start winning right away with the talent Weis left behind, and the caveat that Crist recovers from ACL surgery shortly.

We'll see what next week brings, but any rational alum should be more than happy with a Kelly or Peterson hire.

ISD has a post that's the antithesis to this one.

http://www.irishsportsdaily.com/football/1456-home-run-hires-a-myth

I for one am with ISD on this topic.

A proven tier one coach, you say, boy you set a high bar to obtain. How about an upgrade over Wies and go for Coach Belichick. He is a hard nose coach who takes lesser talent and modes them into champions. If we are aiming high why not go to the top of the mountain. This article is a pie in the sky dream. Come down to reality according to your article Knute Rockne wouldn't qualify either.

Give me a coach with passion for the game, and developing lesser talent.

Give me Brian Kelly and not the pipe dreams above.

This post eliminates Tressel pre-OSU doesn't it?

In our house, we are still dancing the Irish jig celebrating Chucky's departure!

What about Tressell?

For everyone one Tressell there are 25 like him who fail.

Those are not good odds.

When Bama got Saban, they got a home run.

Let some other team be the guinea pig for could be coaches… Notre Dame can then pick them off after they prove themselves.

Absolutist, pie-in-the-sky posts like this one make me laugh in a piteous way. I have no desire to see ND step into the role of the 'second wife', and spend the next 3-5 years hearing about how Stoops or Meyer or Saban seem to have lost the fire they once had, or are having trouble rekindling that ol' Sooner/Gator/Bammer spirit. Those coaches aren't coming to ND, nor should we want them to. They're already sleeping with their trophy wife and rightfully have no desire to come to ND. Brian Kelly, on the other hand, still has unrequited hunger and fire. He wants to build an era at ND. He played LB and started as a D coordinator. He's clearly one of the best offensive minds in college football. As to his past performance, he has won at every level. His teams have beaten up on teams that have beaten up on ND over the last 3 years. How in the heck can you argue that his hire would be a failure, before he's even had a chance to coach a game, recruit a kid, or graduate a player? Get real. ND would be lucky to get Brian Kelly and I very much hope that posts of this variety don't represent the conventional ND wisdom.

Heard Phil Fulmer wants to talk to ND. Wouldn't mind seeing that. Still have Tuberville at the top of my list. The guy had an undefeated team in 2004 in the SEC. Yeah, it was when Zook was at Florida and when Shula was at Bama, but he beat Saban's LSU Tigers in a defensive struggle and he did it at a school that plays second fiddle in Alabama and had I don't even know how many players drafted off that team. Jason Campbell, Carlos Rogers, Cadillac Williams, Ronnie Brown… The team was nasty. I really think he would be a great fit. This guy can coach and he can win. Someone call him please.

Let's face it. Nobody really knows who a great hire is. USC fans were outraged with the hiring of Carroll. Now they're outraged that he didn't make the Rose Bowl or another BCS game for the first time in 7 years. This posting sums it up best: http://www.irishsportsdaily.com/football/1456-home-run-hires-a-myth
Let's also face it, we know what hasn't worked for us, but all of our hires looked at the time to be solid.
-Bob Davie had head coached us to victories in Lou's absence in 1995. He was hot at the time.
-Willingham had a better resume than Harbaugh, and he seemed to coach the kind of disciplined teams that were missing in the BD era.
-Weis came in with the bravado, the winning record, and the ND diploma that we all wanted. It looked good in light of the Carroll (ex-NFL) success at USC.

Nobody, including Stoops or Urban, is a "sure hire."

How does Tony Dungy sound? It sounds awful. He was a very overrated NFL coach and he is more interested in helping scumbags like Micheal Vick than anything else anyway. I agree with Vannie, and I have been telling you guys all along that Kelly isnt the end all you guys think. The home run hire is Gruden. Swarbrick should give him a blank check, and I guarantee with Gruden, we win minimum 2 NCs in the next 10 years.

I see Vannie's point but the coaches that meet his criteria are most likely not interested in the ND job. I just don't think the ND job has the allure it once did, but that doesn't mean ND cannot attract a promising coach with a good record in the college ranks.

ISD posted a great article titled "They Myth of the Home Run Hire". Even before reading the article I thought of Jim Tressel who came from the division 1-AA ranks and was an assistant to the good but unspectacular Earle Bruce at Ohio State. Then there's Pete Carroll who was the 3rd or 4th choice of USC.

I think since ND has blown the last three hires the margin for error is very slim this time around. If possible ND needs someone was who is hitting their stride on the big stage instead of someone like Brian Kelley who seems to have promise and potential of succeeding on the big stage. Personally I just don't see Saban, Meyer, or Stoops ever coming to South Bend.

Cincy's schedule isn't that grueling but they did travel to Oregon St. this year and win 28-18. According to press reports Cincy was in command the whole game. This is the same OSU team the rolled up 36 points and 450 yards on the USC defense. USC has fallen the last two trips to Oregon St.

Cincy's defense just has a problem of running out of gas late in the third quarter. They were whipping Illinois 42-20 then got soft in the third before winning 49-36. This was an Illinois team that beat Michigan 38-13 and Michigan beat ND.

To put things in perspective I think ND would finish 9-3 at best with Cincy's schedule. With inferior talent Kelley may go 12-0 which to me proves he would be more competent a coach than Weis.

I understand your points but I think ND fans/alumni need to come to terms with the fact that our program is not every coach's dream job. If it was why wouldn't top tier coaches be lined up to take the job? We will be lucky to get Kelly or Patterson. Both are excellent coaches with great track records.

The better Wisconsin candidate is Alvarez. ESPN was pushing Fulmer a little more on the MAC game tonight. I'll bet either is a better "tested" entity than "hot" kelly.

Of the 90 comments to this, most covered exactly what I was thinking…if not Kelly, etc, then who meets the ND Nation standard; that is who meets the standard and will actually take the job? All this article really does is allow this site to lay the foundation to continue to be a source of vitriol toward whoever coaches this team. Weis has his shortfalls, no doubt, but his dismissal, due in part to the hateful noise of the "fans" that blog for and populate these sites (maybe accounted for 10% of the reasoning for the dismissal) has already resulted in the loss of ND's only 5 star recruit and potentially countless others. And, if you do not think our friend in sunny southern California has not already sent Te'o a text, you really are delusional. The people who run this site are like politicians. They can spend countless hours telling you what is wrong with something, but they provide no solutions. Tell us, oh masters of ND football, after Stoops and Meyer, what coach, who is actually in a position to leave his current postion, should ND be talking to?

Steve Spurrier? I doubt he would want to leave the South though.

I'm not sure what direction is the right choice, but Pitt is currently running all over the Cincy defense. This makes me skeptical of Kelly's fit. I think the Irish need a balanced team, offense and defense, and I fear that Kelly brings the same offense-only mindset that Weiss offered.

In spit of fierce and consistent rumors, Stoops made a very strong statement today that he will not be at Notre Dame. Meanwhile, Cincy came back beautifully vs. Pitt and won the Big East on a day the players had every reason to be distracted re: what is beign discussed here. I don't know which way Swarbrick (or Kelly) would go, but I think Kelly brings more than Ara had at the time ND brought him on.

What about the Stoops from Arizona? They just kicked USC! Maybe we have been "stooping" up the wrong Stoop???

GO GET BRIAN KELLY… AND GO IRISH

Here is what bothers me about Kelly. We've read the last day or so how he told the Bearcats team he wasn't leaving. Those players took his word for it and repeated it to the media. I understand the nuances of instilling confidence in a team (especially as you're heading into a conference championship game). But if it's true, and Kelly said that, then jumps ship, it speaks volumes.

Do we really want someone with the character of Nick Saban (who repeatedly denied going to Alabama, till the moment he did)?

One thing lost – and in my opinion translated wrong – is this idea of getting a coach who has maintained a program. The author of this article put Notre Dame on the level of USC, Florida and Oklahoma. It is not. Traditionally, sure, it is. But not over the last 15 years. So you cannot expect a coach from a Tier 1 BCS school to make a move to ND. If we use the author's criteria, there are only a few coaches that meet his standards: Pete Carrol, Mack Brown, Urban Meyer and Bob Stoops.

That is short-sighted. I don't want Carrol, Brown, Meyer or Stoops. The truth is, my dog has more character than all those men combined (well, maybe not Brown, but the definitely the others). And what Kelly has proven to me is the same thing, unless he TRULY plans on staying at Cincinnati. If he does, great, I commend him for turning down ND and telling his players the truth.

Tubberville? Come on. He didn't maintain anything. Does anyone remember WHY he was fired?

Fulmer? He had a good run at Tenn. And then drove the program to mediocrity. Hardly a recipe for inspiration.

Gruden? He can stay at ESPN. There is no "learning" curve at ND.

Stoops (either one) – can stay where they are at. Bob, we don't need you.

Meyer. I'm not even going to address that one.

Skip Holtz has come up recently. He's intriguing. But I don't see him at Notre Dame.

In my opinion, what Notre Dame needs is a coach who wins with "less." And by less I mean, less 5 star recruits, less attractive atmosphere, against opponents who "should" beat them. Who comes to mind?

My first choice – Paul Johnson of Georgia Tech. He's won championships (at Georgia Southern), tuned Navy COMPLETELY around, and has Georgia Tech as a top 10 and BCS team. His offense plays a style that is unattractive to warm weather QB's who want to be the next Peyton Manning. But guess what? I don't care. I want wins. Not QB's drafted on the first day.

To me, Paul Johnson is the complete package. He won with less talent, coached at a school more strict and held to higher standards than Notre Dame (and most importantly, won with men dedicated to not playing in the NFL, but serving this country).

I'm not sure if Johnson is open to leaving Georgia Tech. But that's who I would focus on.

I think most of you are missing the point of this post. Vannie is only reiterating the ctiteria laid out by Swarbrick. You guys may say that I am crazy, but I also don't see why Stoops or Meyer wouldn't leave their respective positions to coach at ND. Five years ago when this was all discussed, the ND program was in a far worse state. Now we have the talent, but we need someone to guide them.

There are a few comments here that stated that Holtz was a rising star when he was hired at ND. That is not the case. He had already won over 100 games at the D1 level. I would call that being an established coach who can win at the highest level.

I for one would like to see Phillip Fulmer. He is available, and he has been successful at the D1 level. He won 152 games at Tennessee. Let me say that again. He won 152 games at Tennessee.

This is all so depressing. I was listening to a Chicago Sports Talk Station and the commentator was railing about ND's "sanctimonious" approach to college football. Paraphrasing this talking head, he basically said: "We all know what college football is about. You recruit the strongest and fastest kids, with just enough intelligence so that they will not flunk out, and you hope they will not rape anyone on campus in their four years." He might be right. You take Bama, Texas, Florida, etc and you look at their graduation rates. Pretty bad. Yeah, so we can be Stanford, or Northwestern, or Georgia Tech, blah, blah, blah. Folks, none of these schools will ever win a national title, though they may well post 9-3 or 8-4 W-L records. This is not the college football of Ara or Knute, or Leahy. I doubt that ND wants to Stoop or become "Myered" (sorry for the puns) in the current zeitgeist of what is needed for a National Title.