Who would you target as the next ND coach if you were Jack Swarbrick?

[ElkhartTider]

Hearing an awful lot of chatter about Weis being gone now after the Stanford game. Word is up here that Swarbrick wanted to let him finish the season and he is making him come back to South Bend with the team instead of recruiting in Cali.. and will meet with him tomorrow. Expect a press conference Monday.

Anyway since this isn't a rumor board.. If you're Swarbrick (realistically) who are your top 3 coaches? Obviously Stoops/Meyer will be called but IMO they aren't going anywhere. My top 3 is...

1. Jim Harbaugh - What he's done at Stanford is incredible.. obviously a great recruiter and can coach too! Probably will be in the NFL before too long though.. and honestly I don't think he'd take the ND job anyway.

2. Paul Johnson - Again doubt he makes a move.. but has a track record (like Harbaugh) at a very good academic school of being able to win and turn a program around.

3. Brian Kelly - Every school he's been at he's produced a winner. I think this is the guy and even though I was a fan of his.. I hope he fails miserably at ND.

ROLL TIDE!
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[dave12]

Hearing an awful lot of chatter about Weis being gone now after the Stanford game. Word is up here that Swarbrick wanted to let him finish the season and he is making him come back to South Bend with the team instead of recruiting in Cali.. and will meet with him tomorrow. Expect a press conference Monday.

Anyway since this isn't a rumor board.. If you're Swarbrick (realistically) who are your top 3 coaches? Obviously Stoops/Meyer will be called but IMO they aren't going anywhere. My top 3 is...

1. Jim Harbaugh - What he's done at Stanford is incredible.. obviously a great recruiter and can coach too! Probably will be in the NFL before too long though.. and honestly I don't think he'd take the ND job anyway.

2. Paul Johnson - Again doubt he makes a move.. but has a track record (like Harbaugh) at a very good academic school of being able to win and turn a program around.

3. Brian Kelly - Every school he's been at he's produced a winner. I think this is the guy and even though I was a fan of his.. I hope he fails miserably at ND.

ROLL TIDE!
Posted via Mobile Device

Wel, if it were me, i go after Brian Kelly, or Gary Patterson. right now they'd be my only two considerations at this point.
But i hope they doon't get either.





RTR

 

[JAXFLBAMAFAN]

I think it is just wishful thinking on our part to believe that ND would not make a run at the top coaches in the country. They have tried to go a different route only to come up short with the last 3 coaches they have had.

The first two coaches in my list would be:
1.Urban Meyer
2.Nick Saban

I haven't heard anyone say ND was making a run at CNS but you have to believe his name is mentioned in the conversation about the best coaches in the land.

If you are ND you have to be able to say we made our best effort at the very best coaches before you go after anyone else.

Nobody believed CNS would leave to come to UA but he did.

Most people in the know say that CUM will have to tell ND no, no, no, no, and no way because they are going to be after him in a big way.





Before you say no way that

 

[jdatide]

Wel, if it were me, i go after Brian Kelly, or Gary Patterson. right now they'd be my only two considerations at this point.
But i hope they doon't get either.

Thinking the same thing. I'm not sure why GP doesn't get mentioned more often. He produces some tough defenses, and that's what ND needs most.

 

[jps1983]

If I were the AD, CUM would be my #1 target. I doubt he leaves UF, but I'd put the full court press on. My more realistic candidates in order of who I'd want are (1) Gary Patterson (TCU is relevant evrey year with him there); (2) Jon Gruden (still young and was successful in the nfl) and (3) Brian Kelly.

I think ND could gte one of the 3 realistic targets I mentioned, but I really hope they go for a guy like Harbaugh who would use the ND job as a spring board to the NFL.

 

[jcabama]

If I were the ND president, I'd fire both--Weiss for the obvious reasons and Swarbrick for being naive enough to extend his contract and costing the university millions for his buyout. Then I'd go get Kelly and see if he could fix the mess.

 

[ecra-joe]

ive always wondered why charlie strong (im pretty sure thats his name, the uf dc) doesnt get his name mentioned more for head coaching jobs. his defenses are always stout. the stanford coach has blown my mind with his success at standford of all places.

 

[NYBamaFan]

Jon Gruden...

 

[ecra-joe]

If I were the AD, CUM would be my #1 target. I doubt he leaves UF, but I'd put the full court press on. My more realistic candidates in order of who I'd want are (1) Gary Patterson (TCU is relevant evrey year with him there); (2) Jon Gruden (still young and was successful in the nfl) and (3) Brian Kelly.

I think ND could gte one of the 3 realistic targets I mentioned, but I really hope they go for a guy like Harbaugh who would use the ND job as a spring board to the NFL.

unless im mistaken gruden just signed a contract with mnf

 

[bayoutider]

I would hound Urban Meyer till I was positive I had no chance of swaying him then go after Jim Harbaugh at Stanford. Stanford has similar academics to ND and ND needs to find someone who fits ND not just a hot football coach. My third choice would be Jim Kelly.

 

[bamanut_aj]

unless im mistaken gruden just signed a contract with mnf

yeah, but what are contracts worth anymore? Still, I've never heard anything that makes me think that Gruden is interested in the college game. But for some reason his name always comes up.

Didn't CBS say that nd was contacting Brian Billick? That would be interesting.

Otherwise, I throw a Brinks truck Meyer's way. Then I talk to Stoops. Kelly is a hot name, but I'd be a little concerned about the jump from cincy to nd.

 

[AlexanderFan]

I hope they push for Meyer all this week, at every UF press conference, public meeting, and any time UM has a camera in his face. I want them to ask him, ask him, ask him, and ask him some more.

Realistically it comes down to who WANTS to come to ND, because money is not an obstacle. Tradition-check. Facilities-check. TV contract-check. All they need is someone (like CNS) to come in, make the alumni sit down, shut up, and donate and restore that program. That's what CNS did here. ND needs someone that will restore the order to the program because right now I believe the inmates run the asylum.

 

[GrayTide]

If ND wants to get the best college football coach in South Bend then I would make 2 calls , Plan A: Urban Meyer and Nick Saban. If those 2 turn you down go to Plan B: Stoops, Kelly, Patterson, Harbaugh.

 

[tidefanbeezer]

Urban Meyer would be my top pick. I'd offer him everything he wanted.

If he turned me down, Jim Harbaugh and Brian Kelly are getting the next phone calls.

 

[BAMAHD]

Its Notre Dame with unlimited funds, If they don't try someone is not doing their job.
Nick Saban
Urban Meyer
Bob Stoops
Brian Kelly
Gary Patterson
Jim Harbaugh

 

[twofbyc]

Wel, if it were me, i go after Brian Kelly, or Gary Patterson. right now they'd be my only two considerations at this point.
But i hope they doon't get either.





RTR

I do hope they get either one...that's one quality coach out of the mix at whoville, and with Porter taking the Memphis job, Lester is in the weeds now. Beating the hogs saved his job, for now...I don't see him making it more than one more year, though.

 

[tideronthehooch]

They will go after CUM hard, but I still think he turns them down. Stoops IMHO is playing with them for another raise. Saban is staying at UA for at least one national championship. He has everything he needs to do it and I think he knows that is not possible at ND anymore.

As for the "second tier", out of those, I think the best fit for them would be Brian Kelly. He is used to doing alot with a little and he knows the midwest for recruiting. His offense will also make him attractive on the national scene that ND needs for skill position talent. But, there are alot of rumors of some skeletons in Kelly's closet that have kept him in the minor leagues up until now and I think they stay away because of the lingering effects of George O'Leary years back.

Patterson is a good coach, but I do not see him as a good fit at ND. He could get alot of talent from Texas and would shore up the defense but I just don't see him handling the pressure of the ND job, nor being able to recruit nationally. I think however, that Patterson is their fallback guy if all else fails just because they know he will take the job.

I don't think Jim Harbaugh is a viable candidate. He is Michigan's unofficial coach in waiting and I don't see that being an acceptable risk for ND.

Personally, I think that Pat Fitzgerald would be a good fit too. He was recruited by ND, is a great spokeperson and is used to recruiting to a school with high academic standards. His offense can be potent and he can coach a good defense when he has the talent. Also, if you ever heard him in an interview, he is about as good of a speaker as you can get. However, he is a Northwestern guy and may not leave as hard as it is to believe. I think he gets interviewed but I don't think he gets offered.

All that being said, I think who ends up at ND is Kirk Ferentz from Iowa. He has always been a hot name in the past when any big position has opened up, but seems to be a bit under the radar for this job. I think he is tired of operating in near obscurity in Iowa and being handcuffed in trying to recruit elite talent to Iowa. He has put some good teams on the field and has been a good "face" for their university. Just my opinion, but I think he goes to ND if offered.

 

[fireater]

ive always wondered why charlie strong (im pretty sure thats his name, the uf dc) doesnt get his name mentioned more for head coaching jobs. his defenses are always stout. the stanford coach has blown my mind with his success at standford of all places.

Most unfortunately, Strong and Turner Gill are not seriously considered at SOME schools because the schools may be overly sensitive--wrongly so--to the family makeup of these two outstanding coaches.

As to the ND situation, Swarbuck better have a plan in place NOW or this will turn into another Keystone Kops episode. My guess for the moment is Gruden (because he is readily available, has the name, rep, etc) so the Domers bleeding will stop immediately. Any malingering will further hurt the chances of Clausen and Tate coming back--not that they will be back anyway.

 

[TexasBammer]

Its Notre Dame with unlimited funds, If they don't try someone is not doing their job.
Nick Saban
Urban Meyer
Bob Stoops
Brian Kelly
Gary Patterson
Jim Harbaugh

What is with all this Patterson love? What has he done???

He took a team where Frannie was winning 10 games a year and has kept it going.

I'd hire Rich Brooks before Patterson.

ND needs a sure thing and that's Meyer, Saban, Stoops, Johnson.

There's been alot of smoke around this Stoops thing, so I'm wondering.....

 

[crains]

:BigA:I would not say Nick because it would be the ultimate nightmare if it happened! I think Patterson would be a top choice! I wish he had followed Franchonie to Bama and when Fran bolted he would have taken his place, but if that had happened we might not have had Nick!