Notre Dame job demanding, still appealing

When it comes to college football, there are coaching positions, and then there is the position.

Or so it used to be.

At Alabama or Florida, you are king of the SEC.

At Texas or Oklahoma, you are king of the Big 12.

At Notre Dame, you were king of the college football world – with an emphasis on were.

And until Notre Dame Athletics Director Jack Swarbrick and his search committee can finally, after three tries thus far, find the guy for Notre Dame, nothing will change the latter.

Fired Monday morning, former Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis echoed the words of his coaching mentor, Bill Parcells, while simultaneously putting the state of Notre Dame football into one sentence: “You are what your record says you are.”

And right now, the Golden Domers are a .500 football program.

Nothing against previous Irish coaches like Bob Davie, Tyrone Willingham or Weis, but it goes without saying that they weren’t right for the job.

Davie helped deliver Notre Dame to its first Bowl Championship Series appearance. Willingham prioritized character and integrity. Weis recruited well enough, on paper, to compete for a BCS National Championship.

But at Notre Dame, it’s all or nothing.

If one were to look at the factors determining if Notre Dame can win (but not monopolize) again, there’s no question the Irish can still hold equal expectations with the likes of Ohio State, Florida and Texas.

Take their $25 million practice facility equipped with a state of the art weight room, player lounges and hallmark rooms dedicated to showing the program’s prestige.
A home NBC television contract allows the coastal and southern parents of top prospects to watch their son play every week.

A plethora of national championship banners do some talking, also.

But, without someone to instill all of that and more into a recruit’s decision, Notre Dame doesn’t stand a chance of landing a deep enough recruiting class when warm climates and current success come knocking at the door.

Who can blame them? Blue-chippers don’t care what happened back in the leather helmet ages of Notre Dame’s heyday. Playing under the shadows of a basilica is no longer a competitive pitch.

And warm weather and the beach as opposed to a frigid November?

I’ll take Miami or Los Angeles.

But what makes me think the Irish can get back to their past level is the hire this time around. Notre Dame’s athletic administration has been haunted over the last 15 years by pushy boosters and alumni who want an unrealistic change in one year.

Now, after three coaching hires that showed them what they cannot have, the Irish know what they must have.

First and foremost, they need a salesman – an Urban Meyer, for instance.
They need a proven coach at a perennial powerhouse – a Bob Stoops, for example.

And finally, they need the guy. Brian Kelly might be the guy at Cincinnati, but is he the guy that can make players interested in a small Catholic school in Indiana again?

Whoever it is that Notre Dame chooses, winning in the classroom and not on the field won’t do. After all, at Notre Dame you’re king of the football world.