There is a virtual parade going on across the Irish realm of the internet as people wake up - if they didn't get a midnight phone call last night like I did, thankfully  - that Dr. White has left Notre Dame for Duke.  The sins of the Good Doctor are numerous, and I'm sure Rob will gleefully recount everything he's done wrong since the beginning of his tenure in the near future, but I think its very telling that everyone is seemingly happy that he's gone.  I texted this information to a few friends late last night and when I got a phone call to confirm it, it sounded like half of a bar in Chicago was celebrating his departure.

So why did he leave?  With really no detailed knowledge of the Blue Devil athletic situation, let me count the ways it seems like an easier job.

1) As far as football goes, he's now in a conference, so there's far fewer games to schedule, and when you do, most people won't care, because it's Duke football.  If Cutcliffe ends up being some sort of savior and White manages to not screw that up, he'll get a little bit of credit for helping the process along.  If he manages to bring Spurrier back somewhere down the road, he'll be a hero.  If the Blue Devils keep winning two games a year, most people probably won't care.

2) The most important thing at Duke is basketball, but Coach K is there until he wants to retire.  When he does retire, he's probably going to name his successor, and if he doesn't, the entire school will be involved with bringing in the most successful Duke coach at the moment, so there will be little pressure on White.  And if White does, for some reason, try to push Coach K out?  Well, that's just entertainment for us all.

3) You're living in North Carolina instead of Indiana.  This seems like a rather obvious one.

4) Should Charlie Weis fail to return to any level of glory this season, then he'd probably be getting the boot, after two miserable seasons in a row and no signs of program improvement.  This means that White would be in charge of another coaching search, something he would surely not show any signs of improving at.
 and would probably take a ton of heat for no matter who he hired.  Instead of seeing his latest decision through - and his geographically-challenged neutral site scheduling plan - he's bolting.  While normally I'd be upset by someone abandoning their work partway through, I'm proud of Dr. White for packing up and moving out. Bye Bye , Kevin!  Enjoy your trip!  (Oh, Grizz; I'll miss you most of all.)