I too am tired of the pseudo-Parcells. It’s time to turn the corner (again) at ND. It’s frustrating to see the talent go to waste in the hands of an overrated, arrogant coach. Weis will be remembered less favorably at ND than Willingham – no small feat. He did it to himself by creating his image as a tough talking, hard-nosed “football” caoch, when in fact he’s about as tough as the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man. Truth hurts – see you Charlie. Have fun blowing all the unearned money you’ll get in your amazingly negotiated almost criminal contract buyout.

As we ponder the future of Charlie Weis maybe we need to look somewhat beyond all the teeth nashing and primal screams to consider this. 61 points – that’s what OU put up last night. 65 points from the other O – Oregon. What do they have in common with the majority of the Top 20? They all run some version of the spread offense with a option and/or mobile quarterback. This is not a condemnation of Jimmy, but rather the state of college football.

Charlie’s “expertise” come from a pro style offense that maybe quickly becoming irrelavant in college football. Ok – give SC credit for still lining the QB under center ( I don’t think they ever go to the gun) but given the freakish athletes they have they can get away with it.

Yes – Alabama fits the pro set – for now. But after they get smoked by Florida and their QB with the frat boy name ( come on – “John Parker Wilson” give me a break – how about J. Wilson or JP Wilson to be a little more manly) graduates look for them to adopt it as well. Even everyone’s favorite professor / coach Jim Tressel abondoned his 5th year quarterback to it, despite having the strong defense component that the schools that run this offense, like SC and Bama have.

Because face it – college football has become fast break basketball on grass. Do we think Charlie has the expertise to install this – recruit this – coach this? Think of the Demetrius Jones experiment – or better yet forget it, but realize to run the pro style offense ( think half court execution in basketball terms) in today’s environment means you got to play really tough D ( we are getting better but aren’t there yet) or score a lot of points. No matter how much we improve do you see us scoring the 30+ point average next year that is needed to compete in the pro style?

If you go to the spread (either with or without Charlie) can your current players make the transition? Maybe with improved “O” line coaching, but not at quarterback. (Ok, I’ll give you this – we have tried to run the inside zone read from the gun, but Jimmy is never going to pull the ball and run and everyone knows it).

If you fire Charlie and bring in a spread coach does Jimmy leave? From the looks of his face last night and I am sure the shit he caught on the field from his SoCal homeboys I wouldn’t be surprised if he did regardless of who is the coach.

There is however, a precedent – does the Chris Leak / Tim Tebow combo platter come to mind? Does that mean I want to see Urban on the sidelines? Wow, the thought makes my stomach queasy given how “smarmy” he seems to be. But is it an option to be explored.

At somepoint Jack S. might want to get with Urban and say this – you have won 1 (maybe 2 after his year ) National Championships and you will never eclipse Bobby Bowden as the state of Florida’s favorite coach of all time. Come to ND where you could add a National championship and be historically part of the greatest line up of coaches in history.

The question is when do you do it? Chances this year are slim for Meyer, but if you start the conversation now you can be in a good place in the future – after Tebow leaves. Maybe after the 09 season – the question is can we be patient? Should we be patient to get the right coach who has the expertise to compete in today’s college football landscape? Is it Urban and wait? Brian Kelly right now?

As you say Rob, lots to think about over the next couple of weeks, not only who is the coach but what the scheme will be.

My sister-in-law works in Gerald Myers office (A.D. at Texas Tech) and she said he received a phone call from Jack Swarbrick this morning. Do athletic directors contact each other directly when one is interested in anothers’ head coach? She said she has no clue if that’s what it was about, but she knew the two teams do not have a scheduled basketball game this season. What else could it be? Any ideas?