Don't cry for Weis, South Bend. 

Although Weis won't have many, if any, head coaching opportunities, he'll have a few NFL offensive coordinator opportunities.  The Cleveland Browns is a good fit, for example.

Now, what about the next coach for Notre Dame?  Some of the wish-list coaches have already declined (Meyer and Stoops). 

Barring securing a wish-list coach, Notre Dame will be served best by a coach 1) hailing from a non-BCS program, particularly one that has had to overcome limited recruiting options, poor conference prestige, and lack of resources (facilities and/or financial), 2) who has excelled despite said challenges, and 3) who delivers a balanced offensive attack with a very strong defense (defense wins championships).

Using this framework, here is a good example:

Texas Christian University (TCU)'s Gary Patterson | 1998-present; Fort Worth, TX

• 2009: 12-0; Outscored opponents 49-15 on average per game

• Arrived after 1997 season when TCU was 1-10

• Defense (6th in nation)

• Offense (4th in nation; balanced run/pass attack)

• Recruiting (has to compete with regional powerhouses Texas, Oklahoma and most big schools in SEC and Southwest US.  Interpretation: Patterson wins despite getting athletes that were not recruited by aforementioned schools).

Now, let's extend this framework further, to other college divisions. 

After all, one does not find diamonds-in-the-rough by staying on the well-worn path. The Ohio State University didn't attempt to find its wish-list coach by pursuing successful coaches at Division I schools; those were its backups.  OSU evaluated several Division II and Division III coaches, and wooed Jim Tressel, who was head coach at Division II Youngstown State University (Ohio).

Notre Dame will wake up the echoes by seeking diamonds-in-the-rough.  Moreover, the state of Ohio has been an unparalleled hot-bed of coaching talent, particularly within the lower division colleges, and, yes, high schools (Ara Parseghian, Lou Holtz, Bob Stoops, Urban Meyer, John Harbaugh, Les Miles, Bo Pelini and Jim Tressel were all diamonds-in-the-Ohio-rough, just to name a few). 

So, the key is identifying the statistical anomaly indicating coaching genius that transcends divisions.  It's picking the proverbial government file clerk to be one's lead physicist, before everyone and his brother want said physicist at their university.

Here is an example:

Mount Union College's Larry Kehres | 1986-present; Alliance, Ohio

 

• 2009 (will compete for national championship, again) 12-0. Outscored opponents 50-8 on average per game

• Coached 23 seasons: 275-21-3, .929

• Since 1993, won 10 Division III national championships

• 1994-2005, won 110 consecutive regular season games

• Prior to Kehres taking over head coaching position, Mt. Union was a historically average (.500) team

My guess is Notre Dame will pursue a "safe" choice, like a Davie, Weis or Willingham.  I hope that is not the case, Dear Loyal Irish Fans. 

I hope athletic director Jack Swarbrick can awaken the echoes of his Notre Dame undergraduate degree and channel the entrepreneurial decision-making of his Stanford University Law School degree to identify and woo a proven leader and winner, a Diamond-in-the-Rough.