This is from the Chicago Tribune. It says in here that Urban interviewed with Florida on Monday...now that's interesting. I thought he had no interest in the Florida job.
Utah's Meyer just might slight the Irish
Mention Notre Dame around Urban Meyer and a remarkable thing happens to the type-A coach who oozes toughness and intensity.
Meyer simply melts.
"It's the purest form of college athletics and it will always be," the Utah coach told the Tribune last month.
For Meyer, Notre Dame represents what's right about college football. During his five years as an assistant coach in South Bend under Lou Holtz and Bob Davie, Meyer grew to love a school that didn't cater to 18-year-old recruits and truly stressed top-notch academics.
"And that's why those kids are so successful after football," he said. "If you want to see what college athletics are for, go fly into South Bend."
So it's simple, right? Notre Dame fires Tyrone Willingham on Tuesday and quickly makes Meyer's dream job a reality.
I doubt it will be that easy. I think Notre Dame still has a lot of selling to do.
Consider something else Meyer said: "It's not so much where you work. It's who you work for and who you work with."
At Notre Dame, Meyer would be working with an athletic director, Kevin White, who didn't appear to have the final say in dismissing Willingham. Will White choose to stay if his authority was undermined?
And Meyer would be working for trustees who decided three seasons were enough to decide that Willingham, a respected member of the coaching fraternity, had failed.
Sure, a provision in Meyer's contract at Utah allows him to leave for three schools—Notre Dame, Ohio State and Michigan—without having to pay a $250,000 buyout.
But given what transpired Tuesday in South Bend, perhaps Notre Dame is no longer Meyer's dream destination, his vision of NCAA purity.
And it's not like the man doesn't have options. One source said Meyer interviewed Monday with officials from the University of Florida, whose president, Bernie Machen, helped hire Meyer in 2002 when Machen was Utah's president.
Florida can offer bigger bucks than Notre Dame can. The Gators have more talent on their roster (their 7-4 season ended with a victory at Florida State) and play an easier schedule. They start the 2005 season with home games against Wyoming and Louisiana Tech.
Notre Dame, meanwhile, has no gimmes. The slate starts with back-to-back road games against a likely BCS bowl team (Pittsburgh) and a certain one (Michigan). After playing host to Michigan State, the Irish travel to Washington and Purdue. A date with Southern California follows.
No wonder former Irish coach Bob Davie told ESPN that if his close friend Meyer calls for advice, Davie would caution him.
"I would tell him: 'Look closely at the schedule,'" Davie said. "It's a matter of who you play and who you're playing with."
Davie said he wouldn't discourage Meyer from taking the job but added: "Notre Dame is a great, great place. But it's just like any other place now. If you don't win, they're not going to be patient with you."
So if Notre Dame can't land Meyer, who's next on the list? Forget about Jon Gruden, who is said to have turned down the job that went to Willingham.
A source close to Gruden said Tuesday the Irish shouldn't bother pursuing Gruden, who in February signed a two-year extension with the Buccaneers that bumps his salary to $3.9 million in 2006 and $4.3 million in 2007 and 2008.
"Is he the quintessential Notre Dame coach?" the source asked. "Yes, he is. But it's not going to happen. I think it's Urban Meyer's job to lose. It's just too good a fit."
Another good fit would be Kirk Ferentz, who is 30-7 in his last three years at Iowa. Ferentz's first head-coaching job was at Maine in 1990. White is the man who hired him.
"I love him," White told the Dubuque (Iowa) Telegraph Herald last year.
White said Ferentz has all four qualities he looks for in a leader.
"They need to be empathetic, they need to be task-oriented, they need to be flexible and they need to be passionate," White told the newspaper. "[Ferentz] has all of them. On top of that he's very bright. Unquestionable integrity."
But some might question that integrity if Ferentz were to leave Iowa weeks after signing a contract extension through 2012 that pays him $1.2 million per season and features six-figure bonuses for things such as bowl appearances and 55 percent graduation rates.
Looking for a long shot candidate? Try Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, a Notre Dame alum who recently told the Providence Journal a college coaching job would interest him "in the certain right situation."
Although one source said a Notre Dame representative already has contacted Meyer, White said his coaching search had not yet begun.
"We haven't lifted the phone up," he said. "That will happen here shortly."
Utah's Meyer just might slight the Irish
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Tricky_Falcon
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orangeandbrown
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Re: Utah's Meyer just might slight the Irish
Luckily, no one lies in these situations. Maybe he sent an email Or maybe he used his speaker phone, which didn't entail actually lifting the phone.Tricky_Falcon wrote:Although one source said a Notre Dame representative already has contacted Meyer, White said his coaching search had not yet begun.
"We haven't lifted the phone up," he said. "That will happen here shortly."
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Anonymous
maybe this works better in this thread.
The ND players agreed to play in the game (gee that was nice of them) but their former coach will not lead them.
The more I look at it, the more I think Ty didn't like where he was. He knew he was the second choice, he didn't excite ND fans or alumni, and I would guess that word got back to UND that he was looking at other jobs.
ND dumping a coach after three of five years is one thing. But I can't think ND calls an emergency trustees meeting to fire him, unless they wanted to avoid having a coach leave them for something like a PAC 10 school.
If you fire him, then you dumped him because he didn't get it done, and you effectively shut him up. Unless the guy is Bob Davie who still seems to think he can convince the world he could coach. If Ty leaves ND, then he is free to say why he didn't think it was as good as where he went. And that is too much for ND types to deal with.
Personally, even if I've gone and will go to games there, I think dumping Ty was a good thing for ND. Ty was hired on the quick, to make up for the O'leary mess. Much like how they hired Davie to quickly cover up the way the railroaded Holtz out the door.
If they managed to get Urban, they are simply fixing a problem they created eight years ago.
Most of ND's mystique is created by ND fans for their own consumption. They don't care what anybody outside of their own circles think. Most schools craft their own lore and tradition over time, based on what they have around them. BG did that with the cannon and other things Urban pulled together for example. They didn't actually have a rule or tradition of giving coaches five years or their contract, that was something the fans picked out of the air after the trend was noted. They have flexed their admission rules when Holtz was there, and likely will do so again. They will simply not promote the fact they do. Their schedule is what Bob Davie is convinced cost him his job. He whines a lot. Their schedule isn't easy, but don't tell me Navy is a power program, even this year. Don't try to sell me on Michigan State being a huge game. Pitt? BC? It might not be the same as playing UB or San Jose, but it shouldn't be as big a deal if the coaches were doing their jobs.
ND has yet to bring a coach in that totally committed to a wide open offense. Davie started, failed, and ran back to running Holtz's traditional scheme. They won some games, the fans relaxed, then Davie got sucked into the same hole Holtz was working out of. Ty has laid some groundwork, but as with Stanford, he can't close the deal.
Urban can take kids, use them as they should be, getting the most out of them, and has gotten results. He would bring ND the exact image they totally lacked in both Bob Davie and Willingham. He is a fire breathing, die-hard Notre Dame fan, who both understands what the school is about, and what they expect.
He might be buddies with Bob Davie, but I seem to recall him brining in Earl Bruce, Go Blue Bo, Lou Holtz, and a lot of others whose view might differ a bit from Davie's.
Both Davie and Ty come across like unemotional rocks on TV. That doesn't get anybody pumped up. ND fans believe in Meyer and he doesn't even have the job yet. He would electrify their fans, students, players, and recruits. They might chew him up someday if he doesn't win. However he would have to think he can't win, not to take the job. If he blinks, if he says 'no' to ND, and doesn't have a Florida lined up, he runs the risk of wasting what maybe be the best chance he has to take another step up the ladder.
The more I look at it, the more I think Ty didn't like where he was. He knew he was the second choice, he didn't excite ND fans or alumni, and I would guess that word got back to UND that he was looking at other jobs.
ND dumping a coach after three of five years is one thing. But I can't think ND calls an emergency trustees meeting to fire him, unless they wanted to avoid having a coach leave them for something like a PAC 10 school.
If you fire him, then you dumped him because he didn't get it done, and you effectively shut him up. Unless the guy is Bob Davie who still seems to think he can convince the world he could coach. If Ty leaves ND, then he is free to say why he didn't think it was as good as where he went. And that is too much for ND types to deal with.
Personally, even if I've gone and will go to games there, I think dumping Ty was a good thing for ND. Ty was hired on the quick, to make up for the O'leary mess. Much like how they hired Davie to quickly cover up the way the railroaded Holtz out the door.
If they managed to get Urban, they are simply fixing a problem they created eight years ago.
Most of ND's mystique is created by ND fans for their own consumption. They don't care what anybody outside of their own circles think. Most schools craft their own lore and tradition over time, based on what they have around them. BG did that with the cannon and other things Urban pulled together for example. They didn't actually have a rule or tradition of giving coaches five years or their contract, that was something the fans picked out of the air after the trend was noted. They have flexed their admission rules when Holtz was there, and likely will do so again. They will simply not promote the fact they do. Their schedule is what Bob Davie is convinced cost him his job. He whines a lot. Their schedule isn't easy, but don't tell me Navy is a power program, even this year. Don't try to sell me on Michigan State being a huge game. Pitt? BC? It might not be the same as playing UB or San Jose, but it shouldn't be as big a deal if the coaches were doing their jobs.
ND has yet to bring a coach in that totally committed to a wide open offense. Davie started, failed, and ran back to running Holtz's traditional scheme. They won some games, the fans relaxed, then Davie got sucked into the same hole Holtz was working out of. Ty has laid some groundwork, but as with Stanford, he can't close the deal.
Urban can take kids, use them as they should be, getting the most out of them, and has gotten results. He would bring ND the exact image they totally lacked in both Bob Davie and Willingham. He is a fire breathing, die-hard Notre Dame fan, who both understands what the school is about, and what they expect.
He might be buddies with Bob Davie, but I seem to recall him brining in Earl Bruce, Go Blue Bo, Lou Holtz, and a lot of others whose view might differ a bit from Davie's.
Both Davie and Ty come across like unemotional rocks on TV. That doesn't get anybody pumped up. ND fans believe in Meyer and he doesn't even have the job yet. He would electrify their fans, students, players, and recruits. They might chew him up someday if he doesn't win. However he would have to think he can't win, not to take the job. If he blinks, if he says 'no' to ND, and doesn't have a Florida lined up, he runs the risk of wasting what maybe be the best chance he has to take another step up the ladder.
NWLB
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Mr. Frieda
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ND Fans LIKED him
To say that he wasn't liked by ND fans is a stretch and maybe a focus on more recent events. When he was 8-0 and then 10-1 his first season, I heard many fans praising his name and hoping he was their Godsend. Only recently have they defected, and that's just how coaching is these days I guess.
Living in Virginia....so this is what elevation looks like =)
Re: maybe this works better in this thread.
nathan, well putNWLB wrote:The ND players agreed to play in the game (gee that was nice of them) but their former coach will not lead them.
The more I look at it, the more I think Ty didn't like where he was. He knew he was the second choice, he didn't excite ND fans or alumni, and I would guess that word got back to UND that he was looking at other jobs.
ND dumping a coach after three of five years is one thing. But I can't think ND calls an emergency trustees meeting to fire him, unless they wanted to avoid having a coach leave them for something like a PAC 10 school.
If you fire him, then you dumped him because he didn't get it done, and you effectively shut him up. Unless the guy is Bob Davie who still seems to think he can convince the world he could coach. If Ty leaves ND, then he is free to say why he didn't think it was as good as where he went. And that is too much for ND types to deal with.
Personally, even if I've gone and will go to games there, I think dumping Ty was a good thing for ND. Ty was hired on the quick, to make up for the O'leary mess. Much like how they hired Davie to quickly cover up the way the railroaded Holtz out the door.
If they managed to get Urban, they are simply fixing a problem they created eight years ago.
Most of ND's mystique is created by ND fans for their own consumption. They don't care what anybody outside of their own circles think. Most schools craft their own lore and tradition over time, based on what they have around them. BG did that with the cannon and other things Urban pulled together for example. They didn't actually have a rule or tradition of giving coaches five years or their contract, that was something the fans picked out of the air after the trend was noted. They have flexed their admission rules when Holtz was there, and likely will do so again. They will simply not promote the fact they do. Their schedule is what Bob Davie is convinced cost him his job. He whines a lot. Their schedule isn't easy, but don't tell me Navy is a power program, even this year. Don't try to sell me on Michigan State being a huge game. Pitt? BC? It might not be the same as playing UB or San Jose, but it shouldn't be as big a deal if the coaches were doing their jobs.
ND has yet to bring a coach in that totally committed to a wide open offense. Davie started, failed, and ran back to running Holtz's traditional scheme. They won some games, the fans relaxed, then Davie got sucked into the same hole Holtz was working out of. Ty has laid some groundwork, but as with Stanford, he can't close the deal.
Urban can take kids, use them as they should be, getting the most out of them, and has gotten results. He would bring ND the exact image they totally lacked in both Bob Davie and Willingham. He is a fire breathing, die-hard Notre Dame fan, who both understands what the school is about, and what they expect.
He might be buddies with Bob Davie, but I seem to recall him brining in Earl Bruce, Go Blue Bo, Lou Holtz, and a lot of others whose view might differ a bit from Davie's.
Both Davie and Ty come across like unemotional rocks on TV. That doesn't get anybody pumped up. ND fans believe in Meyer and he doesn't even have the job yet. He would electrify their fans, students, players, and recruits. They might chew him up someday if he doesn't win. However he would have to think he can't win, not to take the job. If he blinks, if he says 'no' to ND, and doesn't have a Florida lined up, he runs the risk of wasting what maybe be the best chance he has to take another step up the ladder.
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BelieveNBG
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Truth be told...ND alum and fans did not like or want Ty as their coach from the very beginning. After the 8-0 run, they warmed up to the idea, but quickly retreated a short time after that. He was not welcome and was criticized at every turn. In the end, things will work out for the best for Ty. As long as he ends up in a situation where the fans appreciate him and he can continue to do what he loves for a darn good premium...he wins.
Ty's biggest fault was starting the 2002 season 8-0. Many ND alums and fan thought he was a savior. Than it all came crashing down just as fast. He would have been better off to start off his first season like 6-2. After you start 8-0, the only place you have to go is down. After that inflated start they expected it to stay like that when the truth was that 8-0 start had many games in which they should have lost to teams that were more talented than them.BelieveNBG wrote:Truth be told...ND alum and fans did not like or want Ty as their coach from the very beginning. After the 8-0 run, they warmed up to the idea, but quickly retreated a short time after that. He was not welcome and was criticized at every turn. In the end, things will work out for the best for Ty. As long as he ends up in a situation where the fans appreciate him and he can continue to do what he loves for a darn good premium...he wins.
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transfer2BGSU
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Falcon Commander
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Falcon Commander
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Tricky_Falcon
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Urban meeting with Notre Dame today?
ESPN.com news services
Notre Dame officials will meet with Utah coach Urban Meyer on Thursday, a source with knowledge of the discussions told the New York Times.
According to the newspaper's story, Notre Dame contacted Meyer, a former Irish assistant, on Wednesday, one day after it fired Tyrone Willingham. The source said that if Meyer were hired by the Irish, he would still like to coach Utah in its bowl game, which is expected to be the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2. That decision would be made by Utah officials.
Notre Dame is one of the three schools listed in Meyer's contract that would allow the coach to leave Utah without a buyout.
"I have great respect for that university. That's the reason it's in my contract," Meyer said after Tuesday's practice. "I think a lot of people look into it more than what it is. I'm sure that this is going to spark a lot of discussion, but I'm just trying to get a team ready to play in a bowl game."
That day, he declined to say whether he would be interested in replacing Willingham.
"It's hard to avoid it. I guess I'm one of those guys, I try to avoid it. You can only avoid it for so long," Meyer said. "I'm not going to have a team meeting to discuss it. I think our guys are still focused."
With an 11-0 team that's about to become the first from a mid-major conference to crack the Bowl Championship Series, Meyer has been widely mentioned as a contender for some of the top coaching jobs as they've opened recently.
He's been asked and declined comment on the Florida opening ever since Ron Zook's firing was announced last month. Meyer has only said he and his family are happy in Utah and he plans on coaching here a long time.
But Meyer has no ties to Florida other than university president Bernie Machen, who was Utah's president when Meyer was hired two years ago.
Meyer has much more history with Notre Dame, where he was an assistant from 1996-2000 before getting his first head coaching job at Bowling Green. He quickly turned around the Falcons, whose 8-3 record in 2001 was their first since 1994. Bowling Green followed that with a 9-3 season in 2002 and Utah quickly hired him after Ron McBride was fired.
Utah went 10-2 in Meyer's first season with the Utes, winning the school's first outright conference title since 1957. He got a contract extension last summer that included a clause allowing Meyer to leave Utah without penalty if he is named head coach at Michigan, Ohio State or Notre Dame.
That's a big three to list for someone whose only head coaching jobs have been in the Mid-American and Mountain West conferences in four seasons, but Meyer may have the credentials to take over one of the top jobs in the country.
Meyer, 40, is 21-2 at Utah, coaching the Utes to their first unbeaten and untied season since 1941.
Notre Dame officials will meet with Utah coach Urban Meyer on Thursday, a source with knowledge of the discussions told the New York Times.
According to the newspaper's story, Notre Dame contacted Meyer, a former Irish assistant, on Wednesday, one day after it fired Tyrone Willingham. The source said that if Meyer were hired by the Irish, he would still like to coach Utah in its bowl game, which is expected to be the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2. That decision would be made by Utah officials.
Notre Dame is one of the three schools listed in Meyer's contract that would allow the coach to leave Utah without a buyout.
"I have great respect for that university. That's the reason it's in my contract," Meyer said after Tuesday's practice. "I think a lot of people look into it more than what it is. I'm sure that this is going to spark a lot of discussion, but I'm just trying to get a team ready to play in a bowl game."
That day, he declined to say whether he would be interested in replacing Willingham.
"It's hard to avoid it. I guess I'm one of those guys, I try to avoid it. You can only avoid it for so long," Meyer said. "I'm not going to have a team meeting to discuss it. I think our guys are still focused."
With an 11-0 team that's about to become the first from a mid-major conference to crack the Bowl Championship Series, Meyer has been widely mentioned as a contender for some of the top coaching jobs as they've opened recently.
He's been asked and declined comment on the Florida opening ever since Ron Zook's firing was announced last month. Meyer has only said he and his family are happy in Utah and he plans on coaching here a long time.
But Meyer has no ties to Florida other than university president Bernie Machen, who was Utah's president when Meyer was hired two years ago.
Meyer has much more history with Notre Dame, where he was an assistant from 1996-2000 before getting his first head coaching job at Bowling Green. He quickly turned around the Falcons, whose 8-3 record in 2001 was their first since 1994. Bowling Green followed that with a 9-3 season in 2002 and Utah quickly hired him after Ron McBride was fired.
Utah went 10-2 in Meyer's first season with the Utes, winning the school's first outright conference title since 1957. He got a contract extension last summer that included a clause allowing Meyer to leave Utah without penalty if he is named head coach at Michigan, Ohio State or Notre Dame.
That's a big three to list for someone whose only head coaching jobs have been in the Mid-American and Mountain West conferences in four seasons, but Meyer may have the credentials to take over one of the top jobs in the country.
Meyer, 40, is 21-2 at Utah, coaching the Utes to their first unbeaten and untied season since 1941.
