So the Urban Meyer chase is on.

[IrishTusker]

Given how OSU is doing this year I think we can put the "Meyer leaves programs in a mess" line to bed.

 

[Circa]

FSU athletic department is a complete debacle. I wonder how much money they are going to offer someone. This will be interesting.

Please listen to reality. FSU has and never will be anything.... but a wide right type of school

 

[T-Boone]

Keep BK but put Urban on as OC and special teams coordinator.

 

[Irish YJ]

Isn't Catholicism about forgiveness? Just sell em the ol "He's a reformed man" routine, and win us some natty's.

10 Hail Marys and 5 Our Fathers.... Come on over.

 

[Valpodoc85]

Don't forget ND moved the football operations to their own board of trustees several years ago. If there was/is a search it doesn't go thru the dome like in years past.

 

[Rack Em]

Don't forget ND moved the football operations to their own board of trustees several years ago. If there was/is a search it doesn't go thru the dome like in years past.

It goes through Fr. Jenkins and ultimately the Board. I heard from a reputable source on campus this weekend that the Board has full trust in Jenkins, unlike they did with Monk Malloy at the end of his tenure, and would accept who ever he wants to replace BK should that time come. But Jenkins would not hire Meyer. I would not continue to hope that Pope Urban is a legitimate coaching candidate here.

 

[koonja]

Urban Meyer has coached at ND before. Urban Meyer is not dumb. Urban Meyer understands Notre Dame is "different". Urban Meyer has abided by what the AD and institution would tolerate in an environment when 50 schools are bending the rules. Urban Meyer is aware of his reputation from those on the outside. Urban Meyer would know this is his final hurrah, and chance at cementing his legacy as the greatest coach of all time (yes, above Saban).

Urban Meyer would not get ND in trouble. And he would win a National Championship.

 

[koonja]

Do you guys realize the ND die hards are getting really old, and 30 years without a title is a gap that if not closed, can disappear? Urban Meyer is the last great coach alive who has an affinity for ND.

Do you think in 2035 when ND is still titleless and all of the coaches have passed on - ND will have any shot?

This might be our last chance to ever wake up the echoes before they move from whisper to dead silence. Passing on Urban Meyer might be the final downfall of ND football that prevents us from ever reaching the top again. There are no more left to pass the torch.

 

[Rack Em]

Do you guys realize the ND die hards are getting really old, and 30 years without a title is a gap that if not closed, can disappear? Urban Meyer is the last great coach alive who has an affinity for ND.

Do you think in 2035 when ND is still titleless and all of the coaches have passed on - ND will have any shot?

This might be our last chance to ever wake up the echoes before they move from whisper to dead silence. Passing on Urban Meyer might be the final downfall of ND football that prevents us from ever reaching the top again. There are no more left to pass the torch.

1. You need to get on the Board
2. You need to incite a coup to oust Jenkins
3. You need to find another CSC priest with the academic credentials to be President of the University who cares more about football than Jenkins
4. You need to get a majority of the Board to approve that hire
5. Best of luck

 

[Kingbish01]

As much as I think BK has really helped ND get back some major swagger, along with trailblazing some upgrades they desperately needed. I'm a whore and would take Urban Liar or whatever we need to call him in a heartbeat. Every stud football player over the age of 10 knows the kind of coach UM is, and they've also heard of ND. If (I know it won't) Urban and ND would ever seal the deal...He would 100000% win a title even with the strict guidelines at ND within his first 5 years. And after he started his first year 8-0 we would all be singing a very different tune....

 

[dad4aa]

I would be curious to see a thread about people's reasons for following Notre Dame football besides "I'm an alum". Notre Dame has always done things differently and held themselves to a higher standard totally different than the football factories. For all of the posts about wanting to look the other way and hire Urban Liar with all of his baggage (which I believe would tarnish the dome and create a lot of negative PR let alone be wrong just due to his immoral character)...why follow Notre Dame and not Bama, OSU, USC, etc?

 

[ulukinatme]

There is so much delusion here. The challenges of winning at ND are greater than that of an tOSU or Florida. Urban is not going to just come in and just win a national championship. He's not even coming here. Some people seem to think Saban and Urban could just replicate their previous success when it's not that simple. This is not Alabama or Ohio State. Saban's track record prior to Alabama was spotty at best, and Urban can't seem to keep things rolling anywhere without flaming out in horrible controversy. The glare on him as ND coach would be greater than any of his previous stops, there'd be no way he could cut any corners here.

 

[Irishize]

Years ago writing for SI, Andy Staples wrote a “what if?”piece about CFB coaches & how it all hinged on one play in 2004. Part of it incl a “what if Urban Meyer was hired at ND in 2004”. It’s pure speculation so no need to criticize Staples for being out of his mind wrong. Just a fun article of what could’ve happened. For the record, Staples said as successful as Meyer may have been at ND, he wouldn’t have won a NC...at least while he was saddled w/ Davie/Willingham personnel.

“What if ... one play had altered the course of college football history?“

https://www.si.com/college-football/2012/06/08/alternate-college-football-timeline

 

[T Town Tommy]

Do you guys realize the ND die hards are getting really old, and 30 years without a title is a gap that if not closed, can disappear? Urban Meyer is the last great coach alive who has an affinity for ND.

Do you think in 2035 when ND is still titleless and all of the coaches have passed on - ND will have any shot?

This might be our last chance to ever wake up the echoes before they move from whisper to dead silence. Passing on Urban Meyer might be the final downfall of ND football that prevents us from ever reaching the top again. There are no more left to pass the torch.

koon....koon....koon....

love ya li'l bro but you are starting to sound like 10RC fans and their infatuation with Li"l Chucky.

Now... I am all for forgiveness and I believe people should be given second chances in life and sometimes even third or fourth chances given the situations, etc. But ND represents something so far away from UM represents and while I believe there are people who would be willing to give UM the chance, there are way too many more people who just aren't. Does UM deserve another chance to redeem himself and his legacy? That's a fair debate. But doing it at ND? I just never see that happening.

 

[Legacy]

Both Jimbo Fisher and Willie Taggart had Jimmy Sexton as their agent. Didn't he rake it in from those contracts? Anyway, Meyer's agent, Trace Armstrong, parted with him in December. I wonder if Sexton signed Urban? Would FSU sign Urban to a larger contract than Fisher's A&M one?

https://247sports.com/Article/Urban...es-Zach-Smith-scandal-agent-report-125932192/

 

[IrishTusker]

There is so much delusion here. The challenges of winning at ND are greater than that of an tOSU or Florida. Urban is not going to just come in and just win a national championship. He's not even coming here. Some people seem to think Saban and Urban could just replicate their previous success when it's not that simple. This is not Alabama or Ohio State. Saban's track record prior to Alabama was spotty at best, and Urban can't seem to keep things rolling anywhere without flaming out in horrible controversy. The glare on him as ND coach would be greater than any of his previous stops, there'd be no way he could cut any corners here.

Didn't ND sign top 5 classes in 2007 and 2013? Can somebody explain those to me? Were football players born in 1989 and 1995 unusually smart? Or (as seems more plausible to me) are those sort of classes replicable annually with the right coach?

And Saban won a NC at LSU; he had a clear track record of success in college football prior to going to Alabama. As for Meyer, OSU seems to be rolling along just fine this year- and you can bet that their trip to Ann Arbor will end differently than ours did.

 

[IrishLion]

Mike Bohn isn't going to hire Urban Meyer.

He's going after James Franklin first and foremost, and then there is probably a list of like 6 guys after that that range from "can we get him to leave his current job?" to "does he pass our test if we interview him?"

One guy kid of in the middle ground of that list is Luke Fickell, but I don't think Bohn will go that direction unless he absolutely has to. He's a high-character guy, so I don't think he would undercut Cincinnati like that unless it was his last option. I think he also knows that Fickell will always work best recruiting the Midwest and Southeast, even though recruiting to USC should be easy for anyone.

A guy I know that has connections at UC is adamant that Bohn is going to target Brian Kelly if he can't get James Franklin, and says it like it's a fact, but idk why he'd still be in touch with Bohn to know that type of info. The only thing I can think of is that apparently Bohn was going to target BK to come back to UC if ND would've fired him after '16, so maybe this guy just thinks Bohn is a big BK believer.

 

[Irish#1]

They already said they wouldn't target Meyer under any circumstance. And the following was reported this morning:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Reports: Urban Meyer is not expected to be targeted by USC in the Trojans' potential coaching search.<a href="https://t.co/eQSTGIOPMu">https://t.co/eQSTGIOPMu</a> <a href="https://t.co/TFNOWrftTU">pic.twitter.com/TFNOWrftTU</a></p>— 247Sports (@247Sports) <a href="https://twitter.com/247Sports/status/1191063303600181250?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Somebody send me some Icy Hot or Ben Gay, because my arm is going to be sore.

I dont buy that USC is not going after Urban Liar....I think they are secretly all-in on him.

USC does not want to end up with another 'helton' hire; they want Urbs without making it look like he is their target.

I agree. And it would not be good for ND. It would be Carrol vs Weis all over again.

Contrary to what you think, the image of USC (including academically) to its administration is important to them. The academic fraud also included the athletic program. Go to the USC thread and you'll see why Meyer won't be going to USC.

 

[stlnd01]

A guy I know that has connections at UC is adamant that Bohn is going to target Brian Kelly if he can't get James Franklin, and says it like it's a fact, but idk why he'd still be in touch with Bohn to know that type of info. The only thing I can think of is that apparently Bohn was going to target BK to come back to UC if ND would've fired him after '16, so maybe this guy just thinks Bohn is a big BK believer.

I think they’d certainly at least call to see if BK is interested. There aren’t many jobs in college football that compare to USC in terms of profile, complications, etc., but ND is one of them. And even if ND fans have become a bit jaded (spoiled?) I think the consensus nationally is that BK has done a pretty damn good job here. He could handle USC better than most.

Add on whatever relationship they might have through Cincinnati (I realize Bohn wasn’t Kelly’s AD there, but I’d think they at least know some of the same people). And whatever that smoke was about Kelly-to-USC in 2016. And BK’s contract coming up in a couple years. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they make a serious run at him.

What Kelly, and Notre Dame, would do in response would be interesting. But I think some people around here since the Michigan game might be careful what they’re wishing for.

 

[Irish#1]

I dont buy that USC is not going after Urban Liar....I think they are secretly all-in on him.

USC does not want to end up with another 'helton' hire; they want Urbs without making it look like he is their target.

I agree. And it would not be good for ND. It would be Carrol vs Weis all over again.

Urban Meyer has coached at ND before. Urban Meyer is not dumb. Urban Meyer understands Notre Dame is "different". Urban Meyer has abided by what the AD and institution would tolerate in an environment when 50 schools are bending the rules. Urban Meyer is aware of his reputation from those on the outside. Urban Meyer would know this is his final hurrah, and chance at cementing his legacy as the greatest coach of all time (yes, above Saban).

Urban Meyer would not get ND in trouble. And he would win a National Championship.

This has nothing to do with Meyer understanding and abiding by any rules. This has to do with Meyer's low character. His willingness to help criminals skirt the law and willingness to turn a blind eye while knowing one of his assistance is using his wife as a punching bag. Then his willingness to bring that same coach to OSU and not only turn a blind eye again, but stand in front of the media and lie about it.

You might be better off becoming a Buckeye or Bama fan.

 

[Irish#1]

I did hear this morning that Oregon let Taggert go to FSU without a fight because they knew after a very short time his hiring was a mistake. I agree with others that FSU let him go now to get a headstart. One name floated was Franklin.

 

[OhioIrish31]

I would be curious to see a thread about people's reasons for following Notre Dame football besides "I'm an alum". Notre Dame has always done things differently and held themselves to a higher standard totally different than the football factories. For all of the posts about wanting to look the other way and hire Urban Liar with all of his baggage (which I believe would tarnish the dome and create a lot of negative PR let alone be wrong just due to his immoral character)...why follow Notre Dame and not Bama, OSU, USC, etc?

I grew up in an Irish catholic house where Notre Dame was our team and I remained an ND fan to this day. I'm not Alum. I think Alum seem to be more OK with mediocrity but doing it the right way...than non-Alum. Alum have an attachment to the academic standards...Hell, they can brag about them. As a non-alum, I don't care about academics as much. I do value positive graduation rates and getting degrees and not cheating. As a non-alum I believe football gave ND the opportunity to become a great academic school...Not the other way around.

 

[Sea Turtle]

I did hear this morning that Oregon let Taggert go to FSU without a fight because they knew after a very short time his hiring was a mistake. I agree with others that FSU let him go now to get a headstart. One name floated was Franklin.

Another name is Indiana's Tom Allen.

 

[Free Manera]

I did hear this morning that Oregon let Taggert go to FSU without a fight because they knew after a very short time his hiring was a mistake. I agree with others that FSU let him go now to get a headstart. One name floated was Franklin.

Franklin has been associated with the USC job for the past couple years too. Also heard Mike Leach for FSU. I'm a big fan of the pirate so that would be a bummer.

Regardless this could be an all-time coaching carousel year.

 

[ulukinatme]

Didn't ND sign top 5 classes in 2007 and 2013? Can somebody explain those to me? Were football players born in 1989 and 1995 unusually smart? Or (as seems more plausible to me) are those sort of classes replicable annually with the right coach?

And Saban won a NC at LSU; he had a clear track record of success in college football prior to going to Alabama. As for Meyer, OSU seems to be rolling along just fine this year- and you can bet that their trip to Ann Arbor will end differently than ours did.

Signing classes and producing are two different things. What did the 2007 class give us? Our first loss to Navy in a billion years, and quite a bit of disappointment. Clausen turned out good, so did Tate, and Harrison Smith rose above his three star status. The rest? There was 5 star Duvall Kamara (I seriously don't remember him being that highly ranked). Steve Paskorz? Kerry Neal? Gary Gray? Matt Romine? Mike Ragone? The 2013 class wasn't much better: Max Redfield? Greg Bryant (RIP)? John Montelus? Malik Zaire (Would have been interesting if he never got hurt)? Hunter Bivin? Doug Randolph? Mike Heuerman? Devin Butler? That's a lot of guys that failed to live up to their potential. It's fortunate they had Jaylon and Will Fuller, along with a couple others, otherwise that class was highly rated on paper only.

Saban had one magical year at LSU where he wound up in the NC game despite USC being ranked #1 in both the AP and Coaches Polls. LSU instead had the benefit of playing OU behind Jason White and his broken knees, the first Heisman trophy winner to go undrafted. If the Tigers had to face Carson Palmer and the Trojans, they lose. That's the lone bright spot in Saban's coaching career prior to Alabama, they were the beneficiaries of the BCS computers. As far as tOSU, of course they're rolling along just fine. They've got 4 straight incredible recruiting classes to fall behind, and the only team they've played with a pulse is Wisconsin. A blind monkey could put together a good season in the same position. It'll take a few years before the wheels can possibly fall off that wagon. That doesn't change the fact Meyer had to resign because he once again brought a load of controversy and problems to the university that employs him. Would Meyer bring some better recruits in? Probably, but he's not getting Percy Harvin into ND. It's not like Urban's going to be able to overrule the university when his star players get suspended a year for weed. Expecting he would have the same success here is folly. This entire paragraph is irrelevant though because Saban and Meyer are not coming to ND.

 

[SouthernIndianaNDFan]

Didn't ND sign top 5 classes in 2007 and 2013? Can somebody explain those to me? Were football players born in 1989 and 1995 unusually smart? Or (as seems more plausible to me) are those sort of classes replicable annually with the right coach?

And Saban won a NC at LSU; he had a clear track record of success in college football prior to going to Alabama. As for Meyer, OSU seems to be rolling along just fine this year- and you can bet that their trip to Ann Arbor will end differently than ours did.

This. ND currently has the top class in the country in 2021, and routinely recruit among the best in the nation (Top 10-15). To say UM -regardless of his character flaws- wouldn't come in here and heighten the state of ND recruiting just isn't true. He's possibly the biggest name in collegiate football, he and Saban, that sh*t sells. Add UM to what already comes with ND, and I think they recruit Top 5 annually.

 

[Wild Bill]

There is so much delusion here. The challenges of winning at ND are greater than that of an tOSU or Florida. Urban is not going to just come in and just win a national championship. He's not even coming here. Some people seem to think Saban and Urban could just replicate their previous success when it's not that simple. This is not Alabama or Ohio State. Saban's track record prior to Alabama was spotty at best, and Urban can't seem to keep things rolling anywhere without flaming out in horrible controversy. The glare on him as ND coach would be greater than any of his previous stops, there'd be no way he could cut any corners here.

Generally speaking, I agree it is more challenging at ND. However, the other day I suffered through a conversation with a Michigan fan about recruiting and basically said that ND has to get into the top five year after year to compete for titles. Out of curiosity, I went back and looked at Clemson's classes the last four years and was somewhat surprised by their rankings. I was wrong. Their classes were ranked far lower than I anticipated they'd be ranked. I linked the comparison between Clemson and ND below. My point is not to say that you're wrong, it's just that ND may be within striking distance and I think a guy like Urban or Saban could close the small gap and turn this program into a perennial title contender despite all of the challenges. I'm not suggesting either of them will be pacing the sidelines in South Bend but I do believe someone can overcome the challenges that ND football faces. That's just one man's opinion.

2015: Clemson #9 .8912 vs ND #13 .9045
https://247sports.com/college/clemson/Season/2015-Football/Commits/

https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/Season/2015-Football/Commits/

2016: Clemson #11 .9030 vs ND #15 .8900
https://247sports.com/college/clemson/Season/2016-Football/Commits/

https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/Season/2016-Football/Commits/

2017: Clemson #16 .9210 vs ND #10 .8937
https://247sports.com/college/clemson/Season/2017-Football/Commits/

https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/Season/2017-Football/Commits/

2018: Clemson #7 .9345 vs ND #10 .9005
https://247sports.com/college/clemson/Season/2018-Football/Commits/

https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/Season/2018-Football/Commits/

 

[ulukinatme]

Generally speaking, I agree it is more challenging at ND. However, the other day I suffered through a conversation with a Michigan fan about recruiting and basically said that ND has to get into the top five year after year to compete for titles. Out of curiosity, I went back and looked at Clemson's classes the last four years and was somewhat surprised by their rankings. I was wrong. Their classes were ranked far lower than I anticipated they'd be ranked. I linked the comparison between Clemson and ND below. My point is not to say that you're wrong, it's just that ND may be within striking distance and I think a guy like Urban or Saban could close the small gap and turn this program into a perennial title contender despite all of the challenges. I'm not suggesting either of them will be pacing the sidelines in South Bend but I do believe someone can overcome the challenges that ND football faces. That's just one man's opinion.

2015: Clemson #9 .8912 vs ND #13 .9045
https://247sports.com/college/clemson/Season/2015-Football/Commits/

https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/Season/2015-Football/Commits/

2016: Clemson #11 .9030 vs ND #15 .8900
https://247sports.com/college/clemson/Season/2016-Football/Commits/

https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/Season/2016-Football/Commits/

2017: Clemson #16 .9210 vs ND #10 .8937
https://247sports.com/college/clemson/Season/2017-Football/Commits/

https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/Season/2017-Football/Commits/

2018: Clemson #7 .9345 vs ND #10 .9005
https://247sports.com/college/clemson/Season/2018-Football/Commits/

https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/Season/2018-Football/Commits/

Recruiting is completely subjective though. In 2018 Clemson's class was ranked #7 to our #10, but they had five 5 star recruits while we had none. Would you take PJ over Trevor Lawrence today? I think they get a lot more out of their star players than we do. They also aren't suspending star players a year for weed. Lets face it, the bar is higher at ND, and there's far greater challenges beyond the academic side of things. Clemson doesn't have to deal with that stuff, that's why Dabo is at Clemson. That's why Saban is at Alabama. None of these coaches are coming to ND. It goes far beyond recruiting. I'm not trying to sound like a pessimist, I'm just being realistic.

 

[Irish#1]

Another name is Indiana's Tom Allen.

He's done a good job so far. I have nothing to base this upon except my gut, but am of the mind that he would turn them down if offered to interview.

Franklin has been associated with the USC job for the past couple years too. Also heard Mike Leach for FSU. I'm a big fan of the pirate so that would be a bummer.

Regardless this could be an all-time coaching carousel year.

I did hear Leach's name and Hugh Freeze mentioned with Franklin's on Clay Travis this morning.

It could get real interesting. Arkansas and Rutgers have to can their coaches don't they?

 

[Wild Bill]

Recruiting is completely subjective though. In 2018 Clemson's class was ranked #7 to our #10, but they had five 5 star recruits while we had none. Would you take PJ over Trevor Lawrence today? I think they get a lot more out of their star players than we do. They also aren't suspending star players a year for weed. Lets face it, the bar is higher at ND, and there's far greater challenges beyond the academic side of things. Clemson doesn't have to deal with that stuff, that's why Dabo is at Clemson. That's why Saban is at Alabama. None of these coaches are coming to ND. It goes far beyond recruiting. I'm not trying to sound like a pessimist, I'm just being realistic.

Clemson's classes are better, no doubt. My point was that Clemson didn't have to string together three or four top five classes to win a title, and that gave me a bit of hope b/c I do not believe ND could land a top five class year after year, i.e., Georgia under Smart. That said, I'm confident Urban could recruit the type of classes that landed Clemon a title at ND.

Think of it like this, how many near misses has ND had on elite recruits over the last five years that Urban would have locked down? Those guys the current staff missed on were ND eligible and I believe there is more than enough ND eligible talent out there to win a title. It won't be easy and Urban won't be the guy who does it, but it is possible and I hope it happens.