Who Will be the Next Coach at Notre Dame

Easy to say in hindsight, but Willingham seemed like a great hire at the time, don't you think?

 

South Bend Tribune reporting it's a done deal:

http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20091210/SPORTS13/912109927/1129/News

 

So is Yahoo, which had a link from Rivals.

http://notredame.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1027235

 

He'll be sorry, except for the money, of course.

 

He'll either be a rich god, or just rich.

 

I hope Kelly works out, but the odds are against him unless significant changes are made in the Domer's football operations, i.e. joining the Big East.

 

Which would make Notre Dame better at football in ... which way?

 

Why would joining the Big East -- the leasÞ of the BCS conferences -- make ND better? Right now they don't have to share any TV money, giving ND a boost not only for football but also for the whole athletic department. Kelly can tell recruits they'll be on national TV every week. Unless that NBC deal disappears, I see zero reason for ND football to join a conference.

 

And Kelly has had success at every level he's coached: Grand Valley, Central Michigan and Cincinnati.

 

They also get BCS bowl money even when they don't go to one. I think the "Notre Dame must join a conference!" argument is just something people have picked up along the way and say without even thinking any more about why they are saying it or what it would mean.

Of all the reasons to dislike Notre Dame, I've never understood why independence is one of them. I think it's kind of cool. Last man standing.

 

NO team in ND's situation would join a conference. They have way too much going for them by not being in one. The "ND should join a conference" argument typically comes from people who just plain hate ND and they have no basis for their argument.

I'm dying for someone to name one team that would join a conference if it were in ND's position and had been in that position as long as ND has. No school would ever be dumb enough to do that.

 

What are the odds Zach Collaros transfers to Notre Dame, sits out a year, and plays his last two for the Irish?