The media is loving the situation, because it gives all of those talentless dipshits something to write about. Make no mistake about it, journalism has fallen further than Notre Dame has in the last decade or so. I would argue that it’s not Notre Dame that has become irreverent, it’s the media and all of these jackoff beat writers that want to ask every coach in the country if they want to be the next coach at Notre Dame. It’s getting ridiculous.
Anywho, I don’t think Brian Kelly is a lock; so here are some candidates I’d like to see Jack Swarbrick seriously look at (Kelly included):
Brian Kelly, Cincinnati
Simply put, he wins everywhere he goes. He’s a whopping 171-57-2 throughout his career as a head coach. He was 108-35-2 at Grand Valley State, where he won two national championships. From there he went 19-16 at Central Michigan; that doesn’t sound too hot until you see he completely turned the program around, posting records of 4-7, 6-5, and 9-4—winning the MAC in his third year. Since he has arrived at Cincinnati he’s had a fantastic record of 34-6, with records of 10-3, 11-3, and 12-0 this season. The latter two seasons he won the Big East. Dantonio handed him a program with solid footing when he bolted for Michigan State, but Kelly has just elevated the program to new heights.
Lots of people are worried about the defense. But he had to replace ten starters this year, and still went undefeated. Former Irish quarterback Demetrius Jones started at outside linebacker this season, that’s not a defense with boatloads of talent. Kelly also played linebacker himself in college and started out on the defensive side of the ball initially in his coaching career.
Still though, I’ve maintained, and I believe correctly, that the Big East was overrated and that Cincinnati, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia were all about even this season. The Big East truly is the most competitive conference this season—lots of fun, close games.
He’s also Irish, and Catholic. The only thing I really don’t like about him is that he used his political science degree for the bad guys (the Democrats) before he entered coaching. I can forgive that if he wins Notre Dame some national championships though.
Skip Holtz, East Carolina
Would we get Lou too? I would hope not, that would be a terrible distraction in my opinion. He would be great for recruiting though.
On a serious note, Skip has done very well on his own without his father. While at Connecticut from 1994 to 1998, his teams went 38-23. It wasn’t a rebuilding job, it was a building job. In his initial season, the Huskies were a mere 4-7; however after that they went 8-3, 5-6, 7-4 and 10-3, winning the conference championship the last season. Some say the success Holtz brought to Connecticut helped launch them towards becoming an FBS season.
He left Connecticut to join his father at South Carolina; after that experiment he went back to the head coaching ranks at East Carolina, and has had success. He prove once again that he can build programs, his teams posted season marks of 5-7, 7-6, 8-5, 9-5, and 9-4 so far this season. The last two seasons they have played for the C-USA championship, winning them both.He is 38-26 in his tenure at East Carolina. It’s important to note that his losses have come against the perennial powers of the area, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, North Carolina State, et cetera.
He is an Notre Dame alumnus, and he played football and coached there too. This hire would be a bit of a risk, as he’s not fully proven, but the more I read about Skip the more I think I like the sound of another Holtz walking the sidelines in South Bend.
One should have cognizance of the fact that he turned down Syracuse last year, which either means he loves coached at a mid-major, or he was waiting for a particular job. Hmmmmmm…..
Butch Davis, North Carolina
Butch Davis should get all of the credit for Larry Coker’s early success at Miami. Butch Davis recruited that team and set up one hell of a defense before he bolted for the Browns. If you need proof that Butch Davis is a good coach, just realize he coached the Browns to a playoff berth. Holy Shit.
He rebuilt the Miami program and had it back on track to flirt with becoming a dynasty like they were in the 1980’s, but he left. Now, he’s at North Carolina and rebuilding that program. They are on the cusp of being in the Top 25 annually (which is terrific by North Carolina standards) and he’s recruiting some absolute studs to go there. If Notre Dame could steal Butch Davis away, he would be an excellent program builder for the Irish.
Butch Davis is a tremendous coach, but his age, 58, scares me. In 2007 a cancerous growth was removed from his gums. He is cancer-free, but still. Nonetheless I wouldn’t not hire a coach because of that, he had a non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Those are my three top picks. Who (and why) would you like to see in South Bend next season, realistically?
