Ara Parseghian Dies at Age 94

I was born in 1964 during the first season of Ara Parseghian's magnificent run at the helm of Notre Dame. The day after I was born the Irish dispatched Navy 40-0 to improve to 6-0. It was a glorious season as Parseghian had returned the Irish to its former glory. That season would end in a disappointing 20-17 loss to Southern Cal but the Era of Ara had begun with aplomb. Two years later they finished the job with a national championship. I was two and therefore have no memories of that season other than what I have read and researched. But after three seasons at Notre Dame, during which he won a national championship and nearly won another, Parseghian was king. He remained respected for his coaching acumen and his gentlemanly manner but that start established expectations that no coach could meet. My earliest memories are vaguely of stars like quarterback Joe Thiesmann and wide receiver Tom Gatewood and clearly of the pressure of a job where the faithful demanded more and more titles. Right about the time some foolish fans began to think that the game had passed him by, Ara won a second championship in 1973. To do so he had to travel to New Orleans to beat Bear Bryant's undefeated Crimson Tide. That epic New Year's Eve clash remains a favorite for me and any Notre Dame fan who watched it. Quarterback Tom Clements was one of my first sports heroes but it was Ara who was the one coach that I had hoped I would play for. He was at his pinnacle when he stepped down two years later citing medical reasons. The job in South Bend is a difficult one. He remained in town and stayed in the game by becoming a broadcaster. His real mission though was to raise awareness and money to help combat Niemann-Pick Type C disease, a rare disorder that claimed the lives of three of his grandchildren. Ara Parseghian died today at age 94. I regret not dropping off one of my books at his South Bend home. He was a college football figure who in his intelligence and grace established in me a life-long love not just for the game but for finding in it a higher purpose.

Steve Elmer Leaves Football for Better Opportunity

Notre Dame starting guard Steve Elmer is moving on with one year of eligibility remaining to pursue a job he could not pass up in Washington DC. This will occur after graduation this May. Elmer is typical of the special kind of student athlete produced today, who, well, has other options beyond the gridiron. He has experienced a great deal on the football field and will now move on with his life. Too much has been focused on the negative side of the sport but there are plenty of Elmers around who do not "need" football to get ahead but enjoy playing and enjoy the benefits that come along while putting in the extra work. He will bring discipline, hard work and a team approach to Washington--attributes greatly needed in these times.

Redemption Day for Notre Dame Football

There is plenty of talk about how college football builds character and the evidence was on display at yesterday's Music City Bowl. Notre Dame won as embattled QB Everett Golson made key pass completions to set up the winning FG by equally struggling kicker Kyle Brindza. The ability of these two young men to make use of this second chance shows just how powerful college sports can be. And players were not the only ones taking advantage of second chances. Coach Brian Kelly admitted after the game that he did his job better yesterday than he did in November. And he was right. And the entire program needed this win badly to show that it can compete with the powers of the SEC West. The last time they played LSU was disastrous as was the last time they played the SEC. This win, even in a secondary bowl, will help eliminate some doubts should the Irish be in competition for a final four spot. They certainly proved that the talent level is high (that they were as talented as they are seemed to surprise the Tigers who must watch ESPN for scouting reports). As for LSU this game, as with any game the SEC plays out of conference, does not really matter. Sure some fans are beating up Les Miles but LSU is LSU. They can pull an insane amount of talent and have a set path to the national playoffs by being a conference power. They need to get the offense more balance and improve the entire run defense. As for me, I had fun at the game even though I bruised my hand with an excited thrust into the air that clipped a low-hanging ceiling. Nashville is a great town and I enjoyed showing it and big-time football to my nine-year-old, who is used to--and has fun at--games played in the Bronx or West Point. Next up for her is a game at LSU or ND.

Music City Bowl

Here in Nashville for an intriguing match-up--well, it would be if the game was played next September. While both teams are talented, especially with young up-and-coming players, they have had mixed results this year. Notre Dame is especially reeling after its late-season collapse and will have to prove from the opening kickoff that they can hang with an SEC power. They will get some of their key performers back from injury, which helps. LSU sometimes plays down to the level of their opponent, especially when unmotivated, as we saw last season when they struggled to put away an expected-to-be-outclassed Iowa squad in the Outback Bowl. Playing Notre Dame is usually motivation enough. This game could get out of hand early, especially with new Irish QB Malik Zaire's inexperience, but should the Irish play like they did versus Florida State then we have a chance to see two potential top ten teams and playoff contenders for next year in an evenly matched struggle. One can hope.

Yet Another Brutal Off-season for Irish

In the past few off-seasons Notre Dame has lost its share of top recruits and key freshmen.  Now the Irish will be tested by the academic suspension handed down to QB Everett Golson, which will cost him the 2013 season.  Notre Dame has depth in former starting QB Tommy Rees and mobile back-up Andrew Hendrix.  Incoming freshman QB Malik Zaire was expected to redshirt this year but if he continues to impress--and he is the most Golson-like--then he may begin his run as a starter.  That will make for an interesting situation next spring, if Golson is reinstated, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.  This is a big loss for the Irish as Golson's improvement on the field was supposed to help the offense deal with losses of the top two RBs and star TE.  Instead a potential co-share at QB will have to lead the Irish against a tough schedule.
More importantly Notre Dame is showing why it is a different football power than most anyone else.  I am unsure which programs would boot their starting QB over an academic issue but ND did and fans should be proud.  While it seems that the football program is too big there, as everywhere, it does have to follow academic rules the way any program or student at Notre Dame has to.

New Number One

The last time I saw an undefeated Notre Dame this late in the season was 1989 and that game (Miami) was a disaster.  Saturday, however, was a special day and I enjoyed it enough that some of those demons were exorcised. Some.
But let's not focus on the negative.  The day was a celebration of a senior class that fought through some bad times to reach as a high a level as possible.  One of the reasons that some very successful coaches do well early in their tenure--Bob Stoops and Urban Meyer winning national titles in year two of their reigns at OU and Florida--is that the inherited players are very hungry and will do what is needed to win.  Players like center Braxston Cave, tight end Tyler Eifert, defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore, safety Zeke Motta and, of course, linebacker Manti Te'o, among others, epitomize this for the Irish.  Win two more game and these players and the rest of the senior class go out as champions.
As for the game itself the Irish were motivated to make a statement.  After three possessions they had a 21-0 lead and the ballgame was just about over.  And so all of the Notre Dame fans in attendance enjoyed a three-hour salute to the program, punctuated by Te'o triumphant 4th Q departure.
We all left with a smile.  Little did we know that more good news was to come.  My friend Tim and I ended up--after many bookstore purchases--in the Legends sports bar located near the stadium.  By the end of the evening we were leading the "Beat SC" cheers as both Kansas State and Oregon fell prey to the upset bug.  The Irish would return to their rightful place atop the polls for the first time since I was thin and had a decent amount of hair.
There is plenty more football to play and fortunes change dramatically by the week.  Saturday was a good day to be a Notre Dame fan.  Will we say the same about next Saturday?

Today's Bowl Picks

There is way too much crying on Notre Dame blogs today. The program needed to be rebuilt and the signs are there that the future looks bright. And the comparisons to the era of Lou Holtz continue as the 1987 squad, in Holtz's second year, also looked lost in their 35-10 bowl loss to Texas A&M, said goodbye to star wide receiver Tim Brown and did not properly groom young QB Tony Rice. Like this squad they were facing a tough schedule the following year with loaded Michigan, Miami and USC squads. Not promising an undefeated title-winning team for 2012 but there is hope--especially if one of the young QBs fully steps up and grabs the starting job.
As for today's picks, I like Tulsa, Iowa State, Miss State and Iowa. I am still reeling from losing both ND and Washington yesterday in my friend's pool. College sports can be frustrating. Then again, the Fordham basketball team (a huge source of frustration for me over the years) stunned Georgia Tech yesterday to make everything seem okay in the end. Go Rams.

View From Bennett Avenue

I finally got around to reading Jim Dent"s Resurrection about the 1964 football season at Notre Dame, and I was pleasantly surprised to see The USA Today College Football Encyclopedia in his bibliography. That is the first time I have seen my book referred to by another author and it certainly makes sense for Dent to have taken a gander at our work. While I did compile the Notre Dame statistics and lineup for that season, Bob Boyles was the one who wrote up the 1964 season. Great work Bob.
And what a fine year 1964 was for the Irish and for my family (my birth). Dent's book profiles the reclamation project brilliantly done by then first-year coach Ara Parseghian as he lifted Notre Dame from a dismal two-win season the year before to a near national championship. Dent does a fine job recreating the season as he follows it through the eyes of some of the players who were best utilized by the new coach. While the book is a natural for anyone interested in the history of Notre Dame football, it is a worthwhile read for fans nostalgic for a simpler time. What Parseghian accomplished was possible through sheer hard work and intelligent game planning. Now he would have to install his system and try to wait for the team to grasp the changes in concepts. While I certainly do not remember the 1964 season, I do remember the end of Ara's fine run as ND coach and I miss everything that he represented as a head coach.
One item near the end of the book that made me smile was Ara's talk to his team after their disappointing loss to USC at season's end that knocked them out of first place in the polls. While telling his team that he was proud of them, he also made it clear that he wanted them to act like Notre Dame men and to hold their heads high and not point fingers at the officiating crew, who made two huge calls that were questionable to say the least. I smiled because I thought of current Trojans coach Lane Kiffin who has been crying about the officiating from his loss to Stanford for a few days now and who still blames his team's loss to ND last season on a player. But the difference between Laney and Ara as head coaches and men are unbelievable huge.

View From Bennett Avenue

Speaking of second chances, Notre Dame has reinstated star wide receiver Michael Floyd after his spring arrest for drunk driving. Floyd had to meet a number of requirements before being allowed back and he is a good kid who has represented his school well before the incident.
Having grown up a Notre Dame fan, I did not expect Floyd back after his arrest. The school, or mainly the residence board, had been notoriously tough on anyone, football star or regular student, who screwed up in this manner. But they passed the responsibility of Floyd's punishment to football coach Brian Kelly, which is a departure from precedent.
But I am fine with his return, as the stringent rule of law in the past was too tough. Repeat offenders, like Stephen Garcia of south Carolina (see yesterday's post), would still be tossed but those like Floyd that have done plenty of good and proved over a four month period post-crime that they made the correct changes, would be allowed to return.
Notre Dame haters are all up in arms about a perceived hypocrisy. But Notre Dame does have tough standards, standards that make it more difficult to compete against schools who recruit non students, allow kids to make multiple transgressions with little or no penalty and do whatever it takes to win. For Notre Dame to still compete for national championships they have had to improve their facilities, create a training table, allow the coaching staff to recruit smart kids who are not perfect academically and give kids second chances. They still have some of the tougher standards in college football and routinely win awards for academic results. They are trying to win a national title with a group of students who will all graduate--that is their annual goal and they should be commended for it.
If the Irish tossed Floyd and lost a game because of it, these same haters would be the ones pointing the finger at Notre Dame for being irrelevant. With them the school was in a no win situation, so it is good that they did the right thing.

Rather be Luck, Who is Good

As a unabashed fan of college football I am very happy that Andrew Luck is returning to the Cardinal for another year of outstanding play. College football needs to promote more guys like Luck who play well and hit the books. Unfortunately the media seems more enamored with guys like Cam Newton, who was a hired gun whether or not he was sold to Auburn. Shall we celebrate one year of a player, regardless of how good he was, or three to four years of another top player's career? And as for Luck's decision, he may or may not be leaving money on the table but there is something to be said for graduating from Stanford and getting to enjoy another year with the Cardinal instead of a crap season with Carolina? He does not need the money and enjoys the college experience. What is wrong with that? To be honest I was surprised the draft experts had him leaving.

As a fan of Notre Dame football I could be disappointed that we now have to face Luck at the end of the regular season. But I am excited to get to beat him one time, especially since such a win will clearly stamp the Irish as back (assuming they enter the game ranked high). And it will be refreshing to see a battle of two academic powerhouses shape up as a candidate for game of the year, but I am getting ahead of myself. Both programs will have a lot to prove between now and late November.

Book Review

The Gipper

by Jack Cavanaugh

Skyhorse Publishing

Fall 2010

Quick now, what does the name Stan Keck mean to you? Ralph Scott? Tom Woods? Iolas Huffman, Herb Stein, Don Lourie? The wonderfully named Gaylord Stinchcomb? Charles Way? These gentleman were consensus football All Americans in 1920 and the last two were good enough halfbacks to bump a third star player to the fullback spot for the All American team despite his never playing that position. That player was George Gipp of Notre Dame and to say he outshone his teammates on this squad or his own undefeated Notre Dame team is an understatement.

But why do we know the name George Gipp but not Don Lourie, who quarterbacked Princeton to a 6-0-1 record before becoming a success businessman (president of Quaker Oats) and public servant (Under Secretary of State for Administration under Eisenhower, himself a near contemporary from the collegiate gridiron)? As Jack Cavanaugh makes clear in his insightful biography, Gipp became one of the most famous athletes in 20 century sports for a perfect storm of factors that swirled together over the decades to produce an almost mythical embodiment of the ultimate athlete.

But as Cavanaugh makes clear, Gipp was an all-too-real person. Filling out some of the humanity behind the myth, Cavanaugh makes clear that Gipp had his share of foibles but then, as now, the celebrity status he enjoyed first locally and then nationwide helped swipe a lot of the negative away. Draft dodger? Gipp somehow was given a military salute at his funeral. Indifferent student who rarely attended classes? Gipp was commended for his studies at his funeral. Of course the true irony was that a pool hustling, class avoiding jock was a key figure in bringing national glory to Notre Dame, a school that truly represents the values of Catholic higher education.

But as Cavanaugh points out there really was not anything anyone could do to stop Gipp's development as a football player nor his local celebrity. He was an immensely gifted athlete who proved himself to be a team player. Sure he was coached by the great Knute Rockne, becoming his first star player. But Rock really just had to point Gipp toward the playing field. That is no knock on "Rock" as some players are just that good and he was smart enough to get out of his star back's way. Plus the great coaches need to coach up the lesser talents to help their stars succeed. The role Rockne played in giving Gipp legendary status came later. And Rockne did help establish Notre Dame as the type of football power that could produce a star like Gipp with his pass catching skills while a player for Notre Dame, specifically in the upset of Army in 1913 that elevated a solid but little known nationally program from Indiana into a team to be reckoned with on the national stage. Then Rockne the head coach built the Irish--or Westerners or Hibernians or one of a few nicknames that were thrust on the team then--into a national power.

So Gipp had the skills, Rockne the genius and the two together the results to elevate a regional power into a national power. Another factor in the elevation of Gipp into a legendary figure was the year, 1920, that he became consensus All American. The nation was emerging from a horrific war and was looking to relax and have some fun. The Gipp who could stay up late playing cards and shooting pool and then dominate games ten hours later was just the kind of guy we were looking to emulate. He was handsome, intelligent, charming and possessed a confidence that proved irresistible. The possibilities were endless for Gipp, as the country.

Which, of course, made his death--just a couple of weeks after his final playing appearance against Indiana--all the more tragic. Gipp died from a severe, unchecked-until-it-was-too-late case of strep throat in the era before antibiotics. That he went from starring on the field that fall to dying before the year ended was stunning to the public, even one grown used to death after the war and recent flu epidemic. Gipp had transformed from star athlete to tragic hero.

The Gipp story through the end of his life explains why he became a national figure. But despite his good looks, immense athletic talent (baseball was probably his best sport and he would have pursued major league baseball opportunities in the spring of 1921) and then tragic death, George Gipp probably would not have remained a household name today, 90 years since his death, without other factors. For one thing, Notre Dame had to remain a national power. Thanks to Rockne's successful coaching the small college from Indiana did remain a great team through his coaching run and then stuck with the demands of the sport, even through some difficult times. The Notre Dame football story, with Gipp as one of the key figures, gets repeated like no other program's. The Irish past, thanks to a host of top writers who helped promote the team, became the college football history for a huge segment of the nation. And so millions more people have heard of Gipp, Rockne and the Four Horsemen but could not place end Brick Muller, who led Cal to the 1920 national championship. And a key element of that history is a speech, pep talk if you will, that Rockne gave to his team nearly eight years after Gipp died. The "win one for the Gipper" speech and subsequent upset over Army in 1928 not only did wonders for the status of Rockne, but reinforced Gipp as a mystical figure to be called upon when times were difficult. As much as this is a biography of Gipp the man, and Cavanaugh has plenty of stories about his home life in Laurium, Michigan and his days as a pool hustler in South Bend plus a bit of a doomed love life for our hero, this book is also a telling of how Gipp's story became larger than his own life. And that speech is a crucial element of Gipp the legend.

But of course there was one more card to be played. Ronald Reagan had to beat out a host of promising young actors to play Gipp in the movie Knute Rockne All American, a movie that stamped Gipp as a doomed hero for a new generation, and then had to eventually become president of the United States, where he continued to use the "win one for the Gipper" line he said in the film 40 years earlier.

And so the real Gipper (rarely, if ever, called that when alive) lives on. He has joined the pantheon of greats of American sport. Not bad for a 25-year-old with a skill at toting the leather. And this book, despite some repetitions, gives justice to that celebrated hero. Being able to use old interviews he conducted years ago, when former teammates and friends of Gipp still lived, Cavanaugh gives us a glimpse into not only Gipp's life but the power of fame. It is well worth reading for anyone interested in not only the history of college football but the role of celebrity in American life.

View From Bennett Avenue

Overall I believe the games played at Wrigley Field and Yankee Stadium were successful, although Northwestern and Army may beg to differ. The only obvious complication was the end zone near the ivy at Wrigley, although the game played in the Bronx in November at night could easily have been a lot colder and more miserable for those in attendance. Unfortunately neither game proved to be competitive, which was really a shame for the battle of Illinois as that game is always under the radar even if the teams are decent. It will never be mistaken for Ohio State versus Michigan, or even Wisconsin versus Minnesota, but the instate rivalry should become a better one. And after witnessing the incredible lack of interest in the Army-Notre Dame rivalry from the mid 1970s until recent times, it was good to see that some of that excitement was back. It will never be 1946 again (and didn't Lujack look great yesterday? And yes I am gushing), but at least people should care about a slice of college football history.

And so these games are good for the sport. I don't know if we will see Wrigley again thanks to the end zone problem (how did the Bears once play there?), but Yankee Stadium will remain a venue and others will follow suit.

If You Root For Enough Teams...

There is nothing quite like sports to capture the highs and lows of life. Yesterday my wife and I went to the new Giants Stadium (hard to judge as we had good seats) to witness Navy run through and over Notre Dame. Being a fan of the Fighting Irish since birth, the game was a complete disaster. The Midshipmen dominated the action. But being that it was college football, we had plenty of fun tailgating with friends including long-time supporters of this blog Jim Johnson and Steve Feeley.

And in true sports fashion, the low of the afternoon was erased by the evening as the San Francisco Giants nipped the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 to win the National League pennant. Like Notre Dame, the Giants are a team I root for because of my father. And so it was great to see a team given little chance of winning, emerge victorious against the two-time defending NL champs. And so even though another Notre Dame season appears lost, the Giants are four wins away from an improbable championship--their first since 1954. They were given little chance that year too.

Go Giants!

View From Bennett Avenue

With their season opener against Purdue nine days away, Notre Dame has come to an agreement with NBC concerning the length of commercial breaks for the games shown on NBC this fall. NBC will follow a model of five shorter commercial breaks per quarter instead of four longer ones. The agreement is significant for new Irish coach Brian Kelly, whose hurry-up offense would have been slightly less effective with its opponents' defense taking longer breaks.
For Notre Dame to return to prominence they need Kelly to succeed. For NBC to see its ratings improve they need Kelly to succeed. So the compromise, which is similar to an NFL model, was struck. While some may find the slightly shorter breaks insignificant, the Irish offense knows it needs every bit of tiredness on the part of the defense to approach the high levels enjoyed by Kelly's Cincinnati attack.

Rich Get Richer

Texas proved that you really do not have to play too difficult a schedule to gain access to the BCS title game. In an effort to make as much money as possible, Notre Dame seems to be running with that idea as they apply their 7-4-1 schedule model to a weak crop of teams in 2010.
For anyone unfamiliar with this model, Notre Dame wants to play as many home games as possible in an attempt to not only improve their gate but also add to their coffers with the money made from their NBC deal. So they booked seven home games just like all the major powers have done since the NCAA expanded the schedules to 12 (in an attempt to increase the money made by these powers). But they go one better than most programs by booking a neutral field game against a weak opponent and selling it to NBC as well. Last year they played Washington State in Texas and this year they play Army in Yankee Stadium. These are considered home games--yes that is eight homes games to four road ones--so NBC gets to televise the seven legitimate home games and the Army game, which they are moving to night because of the novelty of playing at the new stadium.
Wait it gets worse. One of the four road games is against Navy and the Irish refuse to play in Navy's small stadium. So that game is being played at the Meadowlands. So the Irish play seven games at home, one at Yankee Stadium, one at the new Giants Stadium and three at their opponents' home fields. And of those three, one is a difficult place for the Irish, at Southern Cal. One is at Michigan State, where the Irish won in 2002, 2004 and 2006, and the third is at Boston College, where Notre Dame has not been successful although that has nothing to do with the Eagles having some feared home advantage. The home games? Purdue, Michigan, Stanford, Pittsburgh, Western Michigan, Tulsa and Utah. Although not as easy a schedule as some folks would lead you to believe, it still does not vaguely resemble the rough schedule that Lou Holtz inherited when he began his tenure at Notre Dame, when the 1986 edition of the Irish went to battle against four teams that finished in the nation's Top 10 (Penn State, Michigan, Alabama, LSU). And you wonder why Brian Kelly ran up to South Bend as fast as he could? At Cincinnati last year he had to deal with six home games and six road games (the poor fellow).
Notre Dame used to pride itself on playing the nation's best. Now, the priorities have changed.

Remember When

With Alabama playing for a national championship tonight and my having already mentioned that former Notre Dame QB Tom Clements (pictured making the pass to Robin Weber) was one of my first heroes, I thought it best to post the recap I wrote about his shining moment: earning MVP honors in leading Notre Dame to a narrow win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl on the last day of 1973--a win that would earn the Irish the national championship. Here it is from The USA Today College Football Encyclopedia:

Sugar Bowl (Dec. 31): Notre Dame 24 Alabama 23

Needing 1st down to seal win and national title, Notre Dame (11-0) turned to unlikely hero: backup TE Robin Weber. On 3rd down-and-8, deep in his own territory, Irish QB Tom Clements found wide-open Weber for 35y completion, which matched TEs number of receptions in entire regular season. Primary target on play was other TE Dave Casper, but Weber, who needed cortisone shot prior to game for his ailing knee, was too free to ignore against Crimson Tide's D which totally expected Irish to call conservative running play. With Alabama (11-1) O nailed in place with no positive y in 1st Q, Irish sprung misdirection elements of Delaware's Wing-T formation and opened scoring with FB Wayne Bullock's 1y TD run on drive that featured 3 straight completions/59y to WR Pete Demmerle. After exchange of TOs, Alabama QB Gary Rutledge led 52y drive that netted 7-6 lead. It was short-lived as ND frosh HB Al Hunter raced 93y with ensuing KO, and 2-pt conv pass to Demmerle gave Notre Dame 14-7 edge. Tide added FG before H and then took their opening possession of 2nd H to 5y TD run by HB Wilbur Jackson that climaxed 93y drive in 11 plays. Trailing 17-14, ND regained lead after LB Drew Mahalic returned FUM 9y to Alabama 12YL. Misdirection TD run by HB Eric Penick following huge block by Casper gave Irish 21-17 lead. Later, with Tide on ND 25YL, alternate QB Richard Todd handed off to HB Mike Stock, who threw back to Todd, all alone in left flat. Todd scored easily for 23-21 lead, but K Bill Davis missed crucial x-pt. Notre Dame next drove behind Clements--game's MVP with 74y rushing and 169y passing--who lugged it 3/25y and completed 30y pass to Casper (3/75y). K Bob Thomas then booted winning 19y FG, although Tide still had time to rally. Irish D held and forced punt, which was boomed 69y by P Greg Gantt to ND 1YL. At that juncture, Clements and Weber prepared to run out clock and enter ND lore. Alabama's mysterious bowl winless streak had reached 7 games.

View From Bennett Avenue

Let me quickly weigh in on the Brian Kelly hire at Notre Dame since more than one of my readers mentioned a distaste for his not sticking around for the biggest bowl game in Cincinnati history.
Is it unfortunate? Yes. The Bearcats gave him their commitments and have practised and played hard all year. They have kept out of trouble, too. But a lesser coach would not have brought them to a potential no. 2 final ranking. And the pro contracts signed by some of these players may not have materialised.
Is it realistic to expect him to have stayed and either remained quiet about Notre Dame or been a coach of two different schools? Absolutely not. One of the best things Charlie Weis and his staff did was to attract talent, although the majority of the higher rated players played offense. His current class, which was still 7-8 guys short, could have collapsed without a coach in place ASAP. That is just the current situation, especially with the shark-like staffs currently working at USC, Florida and Tennessee, etc. Notre Dame waited for Weis five years ago and paid for it with the seniors who departed last year. Quick, name three.
There is too much money at stake for Kelly not to go immediately. Notre Dame football is a big business and when the school fails to see it that way--like hiring a high school coach--they pay for it. Since he is under increased pressure with the Irish, it is best that he begins working today. Plus, if he stuck it out for a month the rumors and questions would have been a distraction for his team. It is a sad day for Cincinnati football but all will be forgotten with a win over Florida.

Weighing in on Weis

It looks like the final nails have been ordered for the Charlie Weis coffin at Notre Dame. Unfortunately for him the toughest game on the regular season schedule--yes sports fans trying to win at Stanford this year is tougher than hosting USC--remains and so unless he does to Stanford what an inspired Syracuse team did to him last season (i.e., win one for a doomed coach) the team's losing streak will continue.

In many ways Weis deserves what is coming to him. He is arrogant when winning, to the point of not making friends among administrators, alumni and press who could help him now. He is a poor game manager, as evidenced by stretches of every game where his team tanks and he is unable to make adjustments. He is a poor judge of assistant coaching talent. He is unable to develop anyone on the defensive side of the ball. His team's almost always lose the intensity battle to the opposition, which is why they have performed so poorly against seemingly over matched teams like Navy. He plays favorites. He...

That's enough. I am kicking a man while he's down. Weis did do some things right, namely recruit well, graduate players and produce a good, if inconsistent offense. And he kept the tradition of the place front and center. But, he did not win enough games. It usually boils down to that factor.

The bigger concern for Notre Dame fans is the question of his replacement. Notre Dame has done a pretty poor job of hiring football coaches since tabbing Ara Parseghian 46 years ago. Sure Dan Devine and Lou Holtz are both Hall of Famers who won titles at Notre Dame, but even their tenures ended with both sides unhappy. But hiring Gerry Faust, Bob Davie and Charlie Weis without head coaching experience? The fiasco regarding George O'Leary's resume? Hiring Ty Willingham despite his reluctance to recruit and then canning him for Urban Meyer--who took the Florida job instead? That hiring record does not inspire confidence.

The main obstacle in any search is that the candidate needs to be near perfect to succeed.
+He must have successful head coaching experience. Frank Leahy, Parseghian, Devine and Holtz all did well elsewhere before coming to South Bend and winning with the Irish.
+He must be able to handle intense pressure. Both Leahy and Parseghian left coaching as relatively young men due to the pressure to win every game.
+He must be able to recruit players from across the nation who are both talented and able to handle the classes at Notre Dame. Weis seemed to do well in this regard except his recruiting classes were lopsided in favor of the offense. Most of the other top recruiters do so at large state schools without rigid requirements.
+His players must graduate. People keep throwing out the name Chris Peterson of Boise State as a candidate, but Boise is at less than 60% graduation of the players signed in 2002 and that is despite not having kids leave early for the pros.
+He cannot embarrass the school nor allow any players to do the same. Meyer's public squabbling with USC, Tennessee and yes even Notre Dame would not be appreciated, nor his recruiting kids who have committed transgressions both on and off the field. Weis lost his backup TE before the season started because the kid went streaking and then was banished from campus by the Office of Residence Life.
+He must have the attributes of a good public speaker. Holtz was a home run in this regard while the faithful could not stand the dour Devine.
+His teams must be known for toughness. Weis failed in this regard despite coming from a Patriots organization known for its toughness.

The job is even more complicated when factoring in the Catholic angle (don't have to be one--see Rockne and Parseghian--but it helps) and the cold weather (good ol' boy Southerners could have a problem).

So who could handle the position? More importantly, who would want to? Stay tuned, but Irish fans should not be too optimistic.