Who will be Notre Dame's next head coach if Charlie Weis is fired?

I can tell you that Urban Meyer wont be leaving.....And Skip Holtz and lou Holtz had a rocky relationship at the end it wont be him either.

Brian kelly would be the 1st candidate

Whoever gets the job will be an alum. That means not Brian Kelly and not Chris Peterson. Here's why.

Coaching at Notre Dame comes with some unrealistic expectations. Unlike Cincinatti where winning is a new thing, Notre Dame has a tradition of being an elite team and that is phenomenally tougher thing to do now than it was in the past. Getting elite recruits is a very important step in building an elite team and it's harder to get elite recruits there now because in the age of ESPN and DirecTV sports packages they're no longer the only team people ever hear about (like they were 20 years ago) and all the kids who are super fast or freakishly gifted (and ultimately strive to go pro) are exposed to more options in warmer climates (with hotter girls) that don't care as much about creating a student athlete culture and do care a lot about giving their players the tools they need to be great (and therefore go pro) no matter what. Florida, Texas and USC for example still get those recruits, while Notre Dame cannot since it's stricter campus atmosphere, extra stress on academics as opposed to a total commitment to athletic excellence (which is tied to pro football success) and to a lesser extent the cold turns off these elite recruits that they used to get.

And yet, Notre Dame has the exact same expectations as Florida, Texas and USC do. It's not exactly the same at Cincinatti or Boise State. If Brian Kelly or Chris Peterson at Boise State went 7-5 (which is what I think ND's record will be this year) and got to a lower tier bowl game I doubt anyone would even think of going in a new direction. I'm pretty sure at this point, UC or Boise State fans would be happy with that, if not hopeful for next year. If a coach does that at Notre Dame, he'd be out of the job, like what's going on now. What a nightmare for a coach!!! That's why Chris Peterson, Brian Kelly and previous up and comers like Urban Meyer don't want to coach at Notre Dame. It'd take years to build a program up to the point where you could win like Florida or Texas or USC with less than elite talent, but the administration won't give you years, they want be elite now. It'd be like asking an artist to paint the Sistene chapel with a bunch of crayons...in like 2 months. Not even Michelangelo would take that job.

And that's why only someone who's dream is to be head coach at Notre Dame would ever take that job the way it is now. I can't get into every coaches head but i'm guessing alumni would fall into this category. Rright now some ND alums who can coach include Skip Holtz the head coach of a pretty good ECU team, Michael Haywood head coach of a halfway decent Miami OH team. Andy Heck the O line coach of the Jaguars and Tom Clements the QB coach of the Packers, are Notre Dame alums could also get some consideration.

Personally, I like Skip Holtz for the job, it seems like a great fit and I think he'll find the recruiting hurdles I mentioned a little easier since he's young. Still, I just don't see Notre Dame returning to what they used to be overnight no matter who they hire. It can be done, it'll just take about 6 years of going 7-5 and losing to USC before everything turns around.

They should kick all of the players off the team first. Coaching isn't the problem in Notre Dame's case... the players all suck. Even if it was Weis' fault, the people on the field could win a few more games. No they shouldn't fire him because of this season. Every team has a bad year every now and then.

I agree with many fans re: the ideal mix for Notre Dame i.e. Urban Meyer. Who really knows but I would not forget Jon Grudin. His football history as a pro coach wasn't bad. His family is heavily connected to ND

Urban Meyer would be my pick! He has a serious record over many years. He knows how to attract great athletes AND he was Lou Holtz's assistance at ND. He is young enough to lead ND for many years. NDs best chance for getting back to a long term powerhouse is Urban Meyer. Plus he has previously stated it would be his dream job.

Brian Kelly for sure.

Kelly wants out of a low-profile school like Cincy, and ND wants a good coach like Kelly.

ND fans seem to want Brian Kelly,the Cincinnati HC.

Bill Parcells

Jim Zorn.

SKIP HOLTZ