Notre Dame Football Head Coach
Barry Alvarez, Wisconsin Head Coach
Alvarez rose from Outside Linebackers coach to Assitant Head Coach/DC under Lou Holtz from 1987-1989.The Upside: He has head coaching experience, and ND experience. He's been contacted by ND, and a source has told WNDU South Bend that Alvarez would take the job in a heartbeat.
The Downside: Of course, a source has told a Wisconsin media outlet that there's no chance Alvarez would leave Wisconsin. He has a program on the rise, so I don't blame him for staying put. Plus, according to KankaManiac Nick Schumacher, Alvarez may have some skeletons in his closet.
Tom Clements, Buffalo Bills Offensive Coordinator
Quarterback of ND's 1973 National Champions, Clements finished 4th in the Heisman voting in 1974. Clements wenr from ND QB coach to assitant coach to NFL QB coach to NFL OC.The Upside: He's an ND man, and he's familiar with winning. Plus, he's Joe Montana's recommendation.
The Downside: No previous head coaching experience that I'm aware of.
Butch Davis, former Browns Head Coach
The Upside: Um, he won at Miami.The Downside: He won at Miami, but he appears to be the token Florida college coach - he can win when he has gobs more talent than the other teams, but he's not much of a coach. I have a feeling ND's student requirements are a little stricter than what Butch is used to, also. Oh, and did I mention how he ran the Browns into the ground?
Gerry DiNardo, former Indiana Head Coach
DiNardo was a guard on the '73 championship team.The Upside: Well, he had a successful season in the XFL, but he was recently fired from Indiana. If anything, I can see him getting a job as an assistant under Clements.
The Downside: As mentioned above, this is a guy who got fired from Indiana - whether he deserved it or not.
Randy Edsall, UConn Head Coach
The Upside: UConn's website boasts that the Huskies have won 13 games since November 1, 2002, 11th best in the nation.The Downside: Notre Dame isn't UConn when it comes to football.
Jim Fassel, Ravens Quarterbacks Coach
The Upside: Previous head coaching experience, plus it would get him away from the Ravens. He's already publicly expressed interest in the position. For those concerned with that type of thing, I believe he attends mass daily as well - don't quote me on that, though.The Downside: He was fired from the Giants, so Ellen would be your best source on this.
Kirk Ferentz, Iowa Head Coach
The Upside: As Dave put it, he's done quite a bit with very little. Ferentz has also worked with Kevin White before.The Downside: Just signed a huge contract extension. He said he's basically not going anywhere. Plus, the record isn't so good. That's probably due to talent, but the same was thought of Ty.
Jon Gruden, Buccaneers Head Coach
The Upside: Loves Notre Dame, has a Super Bowl Ring. The fact that he ran the likes of Keyshawn and Warren Sapp shows he's a team-first, discipline-minded college type of coach.The Downside: Gruden has already said he's staying put, thanks to loyalty to his current team and a fat paycheck.
Dan Hawkins, Boise State Head Coach
The Upside: "Urban Meyer without the media hype."The Downside: A big contract extension, plus there's no way of knowing if he's ready for the big time.
Lou Holtz, retired Notre Dame Head Coach
The Upside: Do you have to ask?The Downside: He's retired. Plus, if I were in his shoes, I would be very worried that the second go-round wouldn't be nearly as successful as the first.
Jim Johnson, Eagles Defensive Coordinator
Was DB coach under Dan Devine, and DC under Gerry Faust.The Upside: Knows what it's like to win at ND...
The Downside: but, I guess he also knows what it's like to lose at ND.
Mark Mangino, Kansas Head Coach
Mangino has reportedly already been contacted by ND.The Upside: Head coaching experience.
The Downside: That experience has lead to a 12-24 record at Kansas. Plus, his mentor is none other than Jim Tressel.
Steve Mariucci, Lions Head Coach
The Upside: Head coaching experience.The Downside: Mariucci has already declined an interview with ND.
Greg Mattison, Notre Dame D-Line Coach
The Upside: Ellen LOOOVES him.The Downside: While that may be on Jessi's list of must-have qualities in an ND head coach, she isn't the AD yet.
Tom O'Brien, Boston College Head Coach
The Upside: Head coaching experience. The last time ND practiced "if you can't beat them, hire them" was with Ara, after his Northwestern team beat ND for a few years straight.The Downside: Ask the people in charge of cleaning up the visitors' locker rooms at Notre Dame Stadium.
Tom Pagna, former Notre Dame Backfield Coach
The Upside: Assistant under Ara, so he knows how to win at ND.The Downside: I don't know if he's still coaching, other than at ND fantasy camp. He's retired even from his broadcasting job, so I'm guessing that's a no.
Ara Parseghian, retired Notre Dame Head Coach
The Upside: One of only three coaches to lead Notre Dame to multiple football championships.The Downside: Retired - considering the health of his family, I would say he has his priorities straight.
Bobby Petrino, Louisville Head Coach
The Upside: Has turned Louisville into a BCS contender. Things should be interesing when the Cardinals join the Big East next year.The Downside: Another big contract extension. Plus, defense isn't exactly his speciality.
Mike Shanahan, Broncos Head Coach
The Upside: Head coaching experience.The Downside: I haven't heard if he's been contacted this time around. Plus, he's been known to have the people around him leave with bitter tastes in their mouths. Not what I'm looking for in a leader of young men.
Bob Stoops, Oklahoma Head Coach
The Upside: He can win.The Downside: He can win with a team loaded with jucos and a terrible graduation rate. I'm sure the administration will keep him in check, but will he be interested?
Jeff Tedford, Cal Head Coach
The Upside: Quickly has made Cal the "other" Pac10 powerhouse. The recent BCS snub may make him think of moving somewhere with more respect.The Downside: Yet another big contract extension.
Dick Vermiel, Chiefs Head Coach
The Upside: Has a tendency to win championships in his third season with a team.The Downside: Yet to actually be contacted by ND.
Randy Walker, Northwestern Head Coach
The Upside: The last Northwestern head coach ND hired worked out very well. (It was Ara.) Plus, he's done a decent job with what he has.The Downside: Northwestern isn't Notre Dame.
Dave Wannstedt, former Dolphins Head Coach
The Upside: Head coaching experience.The Downside: Mike, your thoughts?
Charlie Weis, Patriots Offensive Coordinator
The Upside: ND grad, he's now a part of the smartest head coaching team in the world.The Downside: Little if any. One, he has no head coaching experience. Two, he hasn't accepted the job yet. Yep, that's about it for downside.
Doug Williams, Buccaneers Personnel Executive
The Upside: Turned around a Grambling team (not a state) that struggled after Eddie Robinson's retirement.The Downside: Would he leave the Bucs? Has ND even considered him yet? Would ND get confused and accidentally hire the senior programmer from the place I worked at last fall?
Ty Willingham, former Notre Dame Head Coach
For the record, Darrell Campbell wasn't happy with the firing. Rumor has it that Willingham would have stayed if he was willing to get rid of Bill Diedrick (and perhaps a few other assistants).The Upside: Sunday through Friday.
The Downside: Saturday.
Joe Yonto, retired Notre Dame Defensive Coordinator
The Upside: Knows how to win at Notre Dame - he played for Leahy and coached under Ara, Devine, and Lou. That's three championships, and it could have been five - after playing in '45, he was injured and missed the '46 season. He retired in '87. He's also an expert on locomotion and cheerleading.The Downside: He doesn't know how to put a plaid on a band uniform. Scratch that, he knows now. So, make that no downside, other than being retired.
Cleveland Browns General Manager
Ozzie Newsome, Ravens General Manager
The Upside: The Browns Hall of Famer is currently doing well in the same position with the Ravens.The Downside: According to Terrell Owens, he's a racist. Last I checked, though, Newsome was still African American.
Scott Pioli Patriots VP of Player Personnel
The Upside: Pioli was named NFL Executive of the Year, and is a member of the Super Bowl Champions.The Downside: Who isn't after this guy, and why would he want to leave a proven winner?
Cleveland Browns Head Coach
Dave Campo, Browns Defensive Coordinator
The Upside: Already involved with the team. Previous head coaching experience.
The Downside: He's a DC now because he was fired from his only NFL head coaching stint.
Kirk Ferentz, Iowa Head Coach
Can you imagine that there was a time where both Ferentz and Nick Saban were coordinators under Bill Belichick in Cleveland? If it wasn't for The Move, very good things would have happened. Fortunately, Belichick was fired at the same time as The Move.The Upside: See above.
The Downside: See above.
Romeo Krennel, Patriots Defensive Coordinator
Belichick is a defensive genius, which could mean that Krennel is no more than a figurehead. However, smart coaches like Belichick know not to cut corners, so Krennel must be the real deal.The Upside: The Patriots defense is one of the best in the league.
The Downside: Cleveland won't be able to contact him until February, and they'll probably want to have someone in place by then.
Terry Robiskie, Browns Interim Head Coach
The Upside: Already involved with the team. His tight end minded playcalling has been one of the few pleasant surprises for the Browns this season.The Downside: He only has head coaching experience on an interim basis, both this year and the year Norm Turner was fired in Washington.
Nick Saban, LSU Head Coach
The man my dad wants to keep calling "Lou" for some reason. Maybe it's a sign.The Upside: A Belichick guy, Saban has returned LSU to prominence. An innovator, Saban has said he'd love to return to the Browns one day.
The Downside: Is this "one day"?
Charlie Weis, Patriots Offensive Coordinator
The Upside: His innovation on offense and team-minded attitude is just what the Browns need.The Downside: As with Krennel, the Browns would have to wait until February. Plus, Cleveland would have to fight almost every other team and college with an opening.
Miscellaneous Ramblings
- Congrats to ND Women's Soccer for winning their second national championship in grand fashion. An overly condensed wrap up: scorless first half, UCLA scores on ND own goal, ND ties on perfect penalty kick. Score remains tied on an amazing PC save by the ND goalie late in the game. Finally, after two scoreless overtimes, ND goes 4-3 on 6 penalty kicks. Wow. Oh, as an aside - could that annoucer have been more anti-ND?
- Does anyone want to put an over/under on the number of times this year an annoucer will mention that Jordan Cornette and Rick Cornett are not related?
- My #1 pick in next year's KankaMatic Football draft is down to Peyton Manning and Julius Jones. In case you missed Bill Parcell's quote after the game: "By the way, our running back is running well, in case you haven't noticed."
- Finally, since it's that time of the year. We have an artificial Christmas tree (better for the allergies) that my dad bought at an after-Christmas sale on the day Notre Dame won the '88 championship. He says we're not buying a new one until the next championship.
