RE: Weis and Kragthorpe on the hottest of seats?
Unless Urban Meyer is ready to move to ND after Signing Day, and Notre Dame's AD is the second coming of Machiavelli (which I hope is true), then Weis is safe for coming back for 2009.
Some ND fans foster a conspiracy theory that Weis will resign for "health reasons" after Signing Day and Meyer will accept the position.
I do not happen to be one of them, although here is the latest from Florida:
OrlandoSentinel.com
Meyer's Irish aspirations are a slap in the face to Gators
Mike Bianchi
SPORTS COMMENTARY
December 19, 2008
The Florida Gators are a couple weeks away from playing for their second national title in three years.
They have the hottest coach in college football.
They have a quarterback who is a rock star.
They have an athletic budget bigger than the GNP of Liechtenstein. They are the largest, richest university located in a state filled with stud football recruits. At the behest of Urban Meyer, they just spent $30 million to renovate the football offices.
And so what does Meyer have to say about all this?
"Notre Dame is still my dream job. That hasn't changed."
Ah, just what Florida fans want to hear from the coach they are paying $3.5 million a year.
That's right, Meyer actually told a South Florida radio station last week that Notre Dame remains his "dream job." And no matter how much he has tried to backtrack on those comments this week, the damage has been done. The only question now is who is more worried — Charlie Weis or Jeremy Foley?
So, Gators, how does it feel to be playing for No. 1 in the nation and knowing you're not even No. 1 in your own coach's heart?
Not that I blame Meyer for Notre Dame being his dream job; I just think it's a slap in the face to UF for him to admit it publicly. Hey, it's one thing for your high school sweetheart to always be the girl of your dreams, but you don't go and tell your wife about it, do you?
How well would this go over? … "Hey, honey, I love you, but she's the one I fall asleep thinking about."
I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Bianchi, you moron, are you trying to say college football is as important as the sanctity of marriage?"
No, I'm not. I'm saying it's statistically more important than the sanctity of marriage. How do I know this? Because I have a number of friends who've dumped their spouses, but I've never known one person who dumped their college football team.
Here's what you need to know about college football fans: Whether it's true or not, they like to foster the idealistic illusion that their football coach is as loyal to the school as they are. Even though Steve Spurrier eventually left UF for the NFL, you always knew UF was, in fact, his dream job. And say what you will about Ron Zook, but he would have spent his entire career at Florida if given the chance.
Be honest, do you get that same feeling about Meyer? I know I don't.
Florida fans obviously are happy he's their coach, but can they truly love him when they know he falls asleep at night and dreams of waking up the echoes?
Don't get me wrong, I totally get Meyer's infatuation with Notre Dame. He grew up a Catholic kid in the Midwest. His mother named him after a Pope. In fact, there were eight Popes named Urban, including Blessed Urban V (1362-70), who once arrogantly said when his papacy was trying to recruit bishops and cardinals, "We only take the top 1 percent of the top 1 percent."
But Meyer is one victory away from winning his second national championship in three years at Florida. He might be the best recruiter in college football.
He is dominating his rivals and could conceivably establish a mini-dynasty at UF. Why would he want to leave?
Maybe it's because, as Bear Bryant once said when asked why he would leave Texas A&M for a downtrodden Alabama program, "Mama called."
Nothing against UF, which is one of the premier programs in college football, but it will never have the storied tradition and national prestige of Notre Dame. You win a national title at Florida, you go to the NFL. You win a national title at Notre Dame, you go to heaven.
So, Gator fans, enjoy Urban Meyer while you still have him.
There may come a day real soon when you're swaying and singing "We are the boys from old Florida" and he's off in dreamland shaking down the thunder and cheer, cheering for old Notre Dame.
Mike Bianchi's Open Mike blog can be read at OrlandoSentinel.com/openmike, and his radio show can be heard every weekday from 9-11 a.m. on 1190 AM.
Copyright 2008, Orlando Sentinel
I think that Weis has been given a requirement to win ten games next year or he is gone. In the meantime, ND's AD is doing due diligence and vetting potential candidates.
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Weis and Kragthorpe on the hottest of seats?
