Hasta la Vista, Davie... (1 Viewer)

[Steven K]

So, Bob Davie is now out of a job...
Of course you cant pin all of Notre Dame's football problems on him, but I've never thought much of his coaching. It'll be interesting to see who replaces him, and whether or not he gets another college job.
So, chime in with your thoughts

 

[Carlo_M]

I'm just hoping it's not because they have an inside track on landing Jon Gruden. I can't imagine where my Raiders would be without him (and Gannon).

Please Jon, stay with the silver & black! Al Davis will die soon...of course we've been thinking that for years...

 

[Tom-G]

Carlo, I doubt that Jon Gruden is going to leave the employ of the Raiders. He has a contract and I highly doubt that Al Davis will let him out of it.

Who else is on the list for the Notre Dame coaching job? The only other name I heard is Tom Coughlin.

 

[Carlo_M]

Well, Gruden grew up under Touchdown Jesus (his dad was an assistant coach there I believe) so you never know the power of "The Mystique."
And I also know of Al Davis' maniacal ways.
I am hoping he stays put at Oakland. Also, though, signing him to ND would certainly help turn that program around. Since he would run a West Coast style of offense, kids would play for him because his system would get them prepared to play in the NFL. Plus he's not a "throwaway" NFL coach that was fired and then hired by a university (ala Pete Carroll). He would have gone out on his own terms.
Granted it wouldn't turn around ND immediately, you'd have to give him 3-4 years to get his own kids in there, but then I think they'd be scary. Not being an Irish fan, this is something I would not want to see--unless they could schedule Florida and kick Spurrier's ass in a few years...

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I doubt that Al Davis will let Gruden out of his contract to take the Irish job. My money is on Tom Coughlin leaving Jacksonville for South Bend.

I still think that Notre Dame needs to join a conference if they want to be competitive in this era. I know they love keeping all that television revenue to themselves, but joining the Big Ten would give them an easier road to a BCS bowl game.

 

[Tom-G]

unless they could schedule Florida and kick Spurrier's ass in a few years

I would enjoy that! I loathe Spurrier.
I found the list of candiates on espn.com
Steve Mariucci?! It would be ashame if the 49'ers lose him after their sudden turnaround. I didn't know that he was at odds with the General Manager.

 

[Brian Perry]

joining the Big Ten would give them an easier road to a BCS bowl game.

Scott,

You're kidding, right? Notre Dame, like most schools, would be hard pressed to go through a Big Ten schedule with 0 or 1 loss.

 

[Carlo_M]

I'd love to see BYU get into a major conference! Then we'll see if the can go 12-0...
Oh please let it be Bellotti. I'm tired of seeing Oregon kick my beloved UCLA's ass.
It would be weird for Mariucci to go. From Cal to SF to ND?

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Brian,

By BCS bowl, I did not necessarily mean the championship game. Winning the Big Ten would guarantee them a BCS game. Right now, as an independent they have no guarantees.

Notre Dame is the only major independent left in Division I-A. The other schools gave up trying to compete this way several years ago. The Irish already have rivalries with several Big Ten schools -- Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue. They fit geographically, and the possibility of a Rose Bowl trip would help recruiting. They could keep USC as a rival by scheduling the Trojans as one of their 3 non-conference games. Penn State did this with Pitt after joining.

Being a Michigan fan, I am no fan of Notre Dame and usually root for their opponents. However, joining the Big Ten makes a lot of sense.

 

[John Spencer]

Yeah, then they could rename the conference, since it's already a bad name for a group of 11 schools. They could call it the Great Lakes States Conference. Or the WFBS Conference.

*WFBS - Wait For Baskteball Season

 

[Patrick_S]

Guys the NFL and NCAA don't have a provision that bars an NFL coach from quitting his team and then going and coaching in college. Sure Davis could possibly sue to keep Gruden from coaching at ND but that's unlikely because then Davis would have to pay him and who wants a coach who doesn’t want to be coaching your team. Do you think that if you force someone to stay they would be motivated to do a good job?
By the way, in the Bay Area it has been reported many times that Gruden while having a passion for ND prefers coaching in the Pros over college. I seriously doubt that at this point in his career he really wants to kiss ass to high school kids and then have to convince the real good ones year after year to stay in the program and not go pro.
When he eventually leaves the Raiders my money is on him going to another NFL team.

Plus he's not a "throwaway" NFL coach that was fired and then hired by a university (ala Pete Carroll). He would have gone out on his own terms.

Do you know what Lou Holtz and Dan Devine (spelling?) have in common?
1. They both won national championships at ND.
2. They both were "throwaway" NFL coaches who were fired.
Sometimes those darn retreads work out just fine.

 

[Joseph S]

They won't join the Big Ten, there was a push for it in 98-99 and it failed miserably. Almost everyone at the university was against it and the financial implications of sharing bowl funds would be huge.

Their early schedule is always a tough one recently featuring teams like Tenn, Nebraska, Michigan, Texas, Tex A&M, Purdue, Michigan State, Ohio State, etc. They have no need to join a conference as they can get any school willing to do home and away two year stints on the schedule. If they join a conference this competetive variety is over and so is a great deal of the tradition.

Here are the future schedules and more proof that they don't have a problem getting a good slate of teams to play.

2002

Sept. 7PURDUE

Sept. 14MICHIGAN

Sept. 21at Michigan State

Oct. 5STANFORD

Oct. 12PITTSBURGH

Oct. 19at Air Force

Oct. 26at Florida State

Nov. 2BOSTON COLLEGE

Nov. 9at Navy (site TBA)

Nov. 23RUTGERS

Nov. 30at USC

2003

Sept. 6WASHINGTON STATE

Sept. 13at Michigan

Sept. 20MICHIGAN STATE

Sept. 27at Purdue

Oct. 11at Pittsburgh

Oct. 18USC

Oct. 25at Boston College

Nov. 1FLORIDA STATE

Nov. 8NAVY

Nov. 15BYU

Nov. 22at Syracuse

Nov. 29at Stanford

2004

Sept. 11MICHIGAN

Sept. 18at Michigan State

Sept. 25WASHINGTON

Oct. 2PURDUE

Oct. 9STANFORD

Oct. 16vs. Navy (site TBA)

Oct. 23BOSTON COLLEGE

Oct. 30at BYU

Nov. 6at Tennessee

Nov. 13PITTSBURGH

Nov. 27at USC

2005

Sept. 10at Michigan

Sept. 17MICHIGAN STATE

Sept. 24at Washington

Oct. 1at Purdue

Oct. 8at Pittsburgh

Oct. 15USC

Oct. 22BYU

Oct. 29NAVY

Nov. 5TENNESSEE

Nov. 19SYRACUSE

Nov. 26at Stanford

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Joseph,
Notre Dame's tough schedule actually works against them when trying to qualify for a BCS bowl. A much easier path is the one every other team takes -- one tough non-conference opponent, two easy non-conference opponents, a few tough conference games and a few conference patsies. A few schools will schedule two good non-conference opponents.
Of course, if you're Wisconsin, you can skip the "one tough non-conference opponent".

 

[Joseph S]

Notre Dame's tough schedule actually works against them when trying to qualify for a BCS bowl.

Yeah, but as an alumni I don't want my school to turn into Kansas State playing one tough game and a bunch of stiffs. With a tough schedule and fans willing to travel, they'll get a nod w/ 8-3 or 9-2 for a BCS bowl berth. (just like last year)

Playing only one or two tough games just doesn't cut it for me. I want them to win against top talent and deserve the invitation.

 

[Carlo_M]

If they would schedule one or two good non-conference opponents, and played a Big 10 schedule, no one would lump them in with Kansas State.

And although ND has one of the toughest schedules every year, is it better to go 6-5 or 7-4 against that schedule, or to join a conference like the Big 10 and maybe go 8-3 or better (not saying they would, but they'd have a chance at it if they scheduled it right).

ND is still scheduling like they have the storied teams of the past when, currently, they do not.