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no idea.

Unknown whether Dan LeFevour left a team meeting early and popped off to the press about Jones 'leaving for the money'. I wonder who Central will get now. As somebody mentioned before, I wouldn't be surprised if whoever they got had a no-Cincinnati clause in his contract. If so, it would be the first-ever such clause in a CFB head coaching contract (b/c really, who would have ever thought?)

more lenient academic standards, a pay raise, closer to his wife's family, and his [expletive] antics may go unnoticed a bit compared to the last guy.

lol, notre dame is EVERYBODY'S dream job. you're telling me a coach in a hypothetical four team playoff would bail to take a job at a team coming off three seasons of combined under .500 football? he would walk away from a 1 in 4 (or whatever) chance to win a NATIONAL TITLE to go to a school that has won like one national title in the last 30 years? give me a break. don't give me that BS. Kelly made it pretty well known that he's wanted the ND job for years. And if it came down to being 1 of 8 teams (and likely no better than the 3rd or 4th best team in the country) entering the playoff or missing your chance to coach at the school you always wanted to coach, I don't think he'd be all that likely to stay. Besides, saying Cincy would have a 1 in 4 chance of winning a title in an 8-team playoff this year is a bit generous.

How so? for one, the absolutely pointless 6 week or whatever gap between a team's last game and its bowl means the bowls are played in january, meaning a team that has fired its coach cannot wait until after bowl season to hire its coach, meaning teams playing in bowl games are likely to have their coach poached. secondly, it just goes to show how meaningless every bowl outside the championship is if a guy is willing to walk away from a chance at an undefeated season at the sugar bowl to take another job. he wouldn't walk away from cincy if his team was involved in a playoff with a shot to win a nat'l title. Yes, being able to get milllions of dollars somewhere else equates to meaningless. There's a handful of coaching changes where this becomes a factor every year, it's really not a big deal, and how would this change at all if there was a playoff? The last games of the year are going to be played in January regardless, and regular seasons are going to end in the beginning of December, regardless. if there was a playoff, kelly wouldn't have left. I don't know how you can say that. In fact, I'd say the exact opposite with the same level of conviction. This was Kelly's dream job before the position was even open this year. There was no way ND was waiting until January to get a coach locked in. And Kelly would have recognized that his chance of being HC at ND was more important than his very low chance of getting through a playoff to win the whole thing. Cincy would not likely come through even an 8-team playoff undefeated.

The news here said he would not coach the Sugar Bowl, i'm not a fan of that but goes along with a hire in this time of the month. Yeah, I'd say ND was pretty insistent that whoever they hire come aboard immediately. It's unfortunate for Cincy, to say the least, but it's an absolute necessity. You simply can't go 6 weeks in December and January without a coach and hope to retain any of your recruits. He needs to spend that time getting his staff together and then visiting as many of those wavering recruits (whether currently committed or not) as he possibly can. Have both Clausen and Tate hired agents, I guess I am asking are they gone for sure or could Kelly still talk them into staying? haven't heard anything, but neither is coming back. Clausen will be a top 5 pick and Tate was recognized as the best WR in the country. They're gone.

The news here said he would not coach the Sugar Bowl, i'm not a fan of that but goes along with a hire in this time of the month. Yeah, I'd say ND was pretty insistent that whoever they hire come aboard immediately. It's unfortunate for Cincy, to say the least, but it's an absolute necessity. You simply can't go 6 weeks in December and January without a coach and hope to retain any of your recruits. He needs to spend that time getting his staff together and then visiting as many of those wavering recruits (whether currently committed or not) as he possibly can.

That article says that she left their 1.2m California mansion. Um. 1.2m won't get you a California mansion. especially when you live in Florida

It really would have been interesting if Texas missed that kick and Cincy was playing in the national championship. Kelly is everything Weis wasn't. A proven winner, a good recruiter, and good promoter. I'm sure the Domers are still crying that Stoops wouldn't lower himself to coach ND, but they should be and will be very happy to have Kelly in a few years time. Charlie Weis is a lazy man in every sense of the word. He got out coached more times than I can count. He'll never be a head coach of anything. He should kiss a picture of Tom Brady every afternoon before he gets his lazy ass up. another stroke of genius. you claim to hate Notre Dame, but you can't keep yourself out of this thread.

2 BCS bowls and 3 bowls in 5 years (eligible for 4 bowls). He's going to be working as an NFL offensive coordinator next year and could easily be an NFL head coach someday. I get that you don't like ND and want to enjoy a little schadenfreude, but you have a very unusual definition of people falling on their faces. 16-21 in the 3 years where he started getting away from having all inherited players at Notre Dame is certainly falling on your face. At least after you guarantee that you'll out X and O everyone in the nation. this has been covered in multiple threads. you don't know what you're talking about, so i'm not going to explain it again.

seems accurate http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2009/12/after-meeting-last-week-brian-kelly-on-brink-of-becoming-notre-dame-coach.html

2 BCS bowls and 3 bowls in 5 years (eligible for 4 bowls). He's going to be working as an NFL offensive coordinator next year and could easily be an NFL head coach someday. I get that you don't like ND and want to enjoy a little schadenfreude, but you have a very unusual definition of people falling on their faces.

But Clausen didn't fall on his face. He's going to be an NFL QB And Weis is going to be an NFL OC. ND needed a good dose of confidence when Weis came in. He was overly confident. Meh. I think it helped him as much in recruiting as it hurt. Same with Clausen. #1 rated QB makes very public announcement that he's coming to ND to win big and is a leader in getting recruits to sign on (not only to his class, but the next one, in which we landed the top QB in California for the 2nd straight year). I think both guys served to boost confidence in the program so I don't care how history views those actions.

maybe. though it seems that the only thing less reliable than what a CFB tells a recruit is what he tells the media about his candidacy for another job.

If you were Cincy's AD and your coach just finished an undefeated season, wouldn't you want to fire him if he didn't vote your team #1? It's perfectly reasonable for the coach of an undefeated BCS team to vote his team #1 and I think it's actually his job to do so. Bo Pelini deserves to be kicked in the balls for that vote. So, to vote your own undefeated BCS team #1 is fine, but to vote the undefeated BCS team who beat yours #1 is not? Ummm, okay. something like that. Not to mention voting a team in your own conference #1. There is nothing wrong with what Pelini did. You think it's ok for a coach to vote Texas #1? Shock! My post was somewhat sarcastic, but I do think there's a difference between voting your undefeated team #1 and voting an undefeated team that you don't really think is the best in the country #1 because it could possibly benefit your team. Does he really think Texas is the best team in the country after they needed a last second FG to beat Pelini's team? It bothers me less when a coach gives his team a bump than when he bumps other teams in his conference even though he knows they don't deserve it (or should know, anyway).

don't follow Jimmy's footsteps and be the best QB in CFB this year and be drafted in the first few picks of the NFL draft and make millions? don't do that? any other advice?

If you were Cincy's AD and your coach just finished an undefeated season, wouldn't you want to fire him if he didn't vote your team #1? It's perfectly reasonable for the coach of an undefeated BCS team to vote his team #1 and I think it's actually his job to do so. Bo Pelini deserves to be kicked in the balls for that vote. So, to vote your own undefeated BCS team #1 is fine, but to vote the undefeated BCS team who beat yours #1 is not? Ummm, okay. something like that.

If you were Cincy's AD and your coach just finished an undefeated season, wouldn't you want to fire him if he didn't vote your team #1? It's perfectly reasonable for the coach of an undefeated BCS team to vote his team #1 and I think it's actually his job to do so. Bo Pelini deserves to be kicked in the balls for that vote.

Well yes, with the favorable standards and consistent overranking they could be in the mix for non-championship BCS bowls relatively frequently. favorable standards? overranking? yeah, the coaches and media just LOVE the Irish. Who was it that said it's not the 80s anymore?

the coach has to work his ass off, but I think it trickles down to the assistants. If Kelly is hired, it would be great if he could blend a staff of great fundamentals coaches with great recruiters. ND has a couple on board, including 1 that is both. We'll see what happens.

Right. Weis showed you can still bring the talent into ND. It's just a matter of finding the coach who can both bring in the talent and develop it. It's not just coaching. And talent isn't just about getting a top flight QB and a wideout or two. Talent is about getting 1st round draft type talent everywhere; on the defensive line, linebackers, defensive backs, offensive line, etc, and a truck load of depth. I think it's possible for ND to contend for a title, because it's possible for just about anybody. But I do not think they can legitimately contend every year as Andy suggests. The Floridas of the world have too much of an advantage. they can be in the BCS mix year in and year out. not going to a BCS bowl literally every year, but it should be a realistic goal that is attained consistently.

Did he get defensive talent? Manti Te'o and uh... Well maybe not great defensive talent but without looking through the rankings I'm pretty sure their defensive performance wasn't commensurate with the talent they did get. He started to in the last 2-3 years. He missed big on DT, MLB, and S his first 2 years, which killed the defense. He landed great CBs, and some great ends/OLBs. The last couple years, he's hit big on interior players, Te'o being the most obvious. The ND brand still sells. But you have to actually go out and sell it. Weis did that, but he wasn't a fundamentals teacher (except for QBs). Unfortunately, neither were many of the coaches he hired until this year. They brought in 3 great coaches this year in Verducci, Alford, and Hart, but too little too late.

don't believe everything that you read.

Technically they don't, but players can apply for fifth years if they fill redshirt criteria, and they pretty much always get them. another significant difference - you have to take grad classes while you're playing your 5th year. you can't have football and ballroom dancing be the only 2 classes on your schedule.

Weis was pulling in good talent throughout at least some of his tenure, but they weren't developing it seems. If they make a good hire – it doesn't have to be a big name, just a good football coach – then they can be good again. The key is to give the coach time to make it work. no, the key is to hire a good coach. Give the wrong coach more time (like Willingham) and the program suffers. Having a good AD in place is a great first step. Davie wasn't a good plan. Willingham was a disaster. And once Willingham tanked recruiting, no one wanted the job (everyone could see what 2007 was going to be). So the AD, who didn't want to fire Willingham, had done no prep work to find a replacement. So when the President had to effectively fire the coach and tried to land Meyer at the last minute, the AD was caught with no backup. Weis took the job no one wanted, knowing what he was getting himself into. Weis has probably proven that he's not a great college coach (hard to say, he's been fighting in the media for his job since the 3rd year, which makes ND a tough sell and makes it difficult to coach kids). But he's also proven to be a great NFL offensive coordinator. But he worked tirelessly at ND and recruited great kids. There isn't a disaster waiting 2 years down the road for the next guy. You hire a good college coach that can develop 18-22 year olds and will work at recruiting and it'll be done.