End of the line

Even the most passionate Charlie Weis supporter cannot defend him now. With another season ending home loss to an inferior team Notre Dame is now forced to bite the bullet and remove Coach Weis from his position as Head Coach. Looking back maybe the worst decision ever made by a Notre Dame Athletic Director was former A.D. Kevin White's decision to extend Weis's contract to 10 years early into Weis's first year. It was too soon to extend a contract at that time and now Notre Dame will have to take a big hit financially when they have to buy out the rest of Weis's contract. On top of that if Notre Dame wants to replace Weis with an established successful Head Coach, they will need to offer a big contract along the lines of Urban Meyer's $3 million a year contract when he signed on with the University of Florida.
The Head Coaches being talked about to become Notre Dame's new Head Coach are Brian Kelly, Bob Stoops, Urban Meyer, and Jim Harbough. Stoops and Meyer are already fixtures with their respective teams and it is hard to imagine them taking the Notre Dame Head Coaching job. Brian Kelly looks to be the best choice. He has been successful everywhere he has been starting with the job he did coaching Grand Valley State University to two Division II national championships in 2002 and 2003. After going on to Central Michigan, Kelly took the Head Coaching job at the University of Cincinnati in December of 2006 and has put that program on the map. This year's Bearcat team is currently undefeated and has a great chance to make it to a BCS bowl game this year. Jim Harbough is definitely an intriguing choice as well particularly with the success he has had at Stanford but a former Michigan Quarterback as the Head Coach of Notre Dame seems pretty awkward. Since Harbough has been able to outcoach USC's Pete Carroll two of three years now, Notre Dame fans should be willing to overlook where Harbough went to college.
Whoever the new Head Coach is, they will have a difficult task ahead of them especially since there is a strong possibility that Quarterback Jimmy Claussen and Wide Receiver Golden Tate will opt to enter the 2010 NFL draft. The good news is that if Notre Dame can make the right choice as Head Coach, they can go a long way in getting the football team back on the right track. USC was barely an average team before they hired Pete Carroll and OU was not even average before they hired Bob Stoops. Both those Head Coaches turned their respective teams around and so can the next Head Coach of Notre Dame. Let's hope Notre Dame's current Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick makes the right choice.