Charlie Weis' Time May Be Up: What's Next for Notre Dame?

Here we are, staring down the barrel of yet another disappointing Notre Dame season.

All year I've predicted that this team would be 9-3 or 8-4, with a loss to USC and two or three losses against teams like of Pittsburgh, Boston College, Michigan State, or North Carolina.

Instead, we went 0-4 against the decent teams on our schedule so far, with the USC game looming large at the end of the season. Heck, we could lose two straight to Navy.

So the obvious question is, where do we go from here?

A lot of grumblers are talking about parting ways with head coach Charlie Weis at the end of the season. While I am no longer as convinced of Weis' coaching ability as I once was, there are a lot of drawbacks to that move.

Consider, for example, what that move would do to recruiting. We have a top receiver and top running back signed to this year's class. Do they stay on board? Heck, does Jimmy Clausen stick around if the mentor he signed on to play for is gone? Who else jumps ship? Worse yet, who would take this job?

The talent is here, which is something that couldn't be said when Weis took the reins of the program. Indeed, I'd argue that the program was in a coma and on life support when Weis took over. Now the program is out of bed and on crutches, but we aren't improving quickly enough.

Look at what Alabama did with Nick Saban and what Florida did with Urban Meyer. Everyone knew that Notre Dame's reclamation project was going to take longer than those programs. Recruiting restrictions alone assured it would take time.

But it's taking too long.

We were supposed to turn the corner this year, get to a decent bowl, get a bowl win, finish ranked, and get set for a run at a championship next year. I'm not so sure that our program is there right now.

Weis can save his job by winning out, and I would sign on to a zero tolerance policy at this point. If Weis wants to prove his mettle as coach, he needs to take responsibility and accountability. Weis' own words are going to come back to haunt him: no excuses.

A record of 9-3 isn't good enough. Which leaves us back to floating names for a replacement.

Possible Candidates

Nick Saban, Head Coach, Alabama

We have no shot here. Why would Saban, for any amount of money, leave the No. 1 team in the country with the largest contract in college football, where he is given plenty of free reign over the program without all of Notre Dame's challenges?

Gary Pinkel, Head Coach, Missouri

This is a possibility and one I could get on board with. Much was made of Urban Meyer being a "system" coach when he was hired at Florida, and that worked out well for them.

All of these teams are clearly explosive on offense, but I'd be concerned about this being too much of a culture shock for the Notre Dame program. And where do we get our defense?

Joe Paterno, Head Coach, Penn State

Um, no. I want someone who will be alive when he takes the reins of the program.

Head Coaches Les Miles, LSU; Mike Leach, Texas Tech; Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State; Bob Stoops, Oklahoma; Pete Carrol, USC; Jim Tressel, Ohio State; Mark Richt, Georgia; Mack Brown, Texas

This group is made up of coaches who are excellent but also completely untouchable. They are coaches with huge contracts, a national championship under their belts in this decade (except Richt), and their teams are in or near the top 10, even after losses.

Head Coaches Chris Pederson, Boise State; Kyle Whittingham, Utah; Bronco Mendenhall, BYU; Gary Patterson, TCU; Brady Hoke, Ball State

All of these coaches are big risk/high reward options. For every Urban Meyer that comes out of a BCS-busting team, you get several Dan Hawkinses. Too risky for the Irish.

There are three coaches in the college head coaching ranks that I might be okay with hiring: Gundy, Leach, and Pinkel.

Jon Tenuta, Defensive Assistant, Notre Dame

Now, here's an interesting choice. He took a demotion to come to Notre Dame, and he has a very long history as a successful defensive coordinator. The defense, while it has its flaws, has improved drastically under his watch.

Norm Chow, Offensive Coordinator, UCLA

This guy has been around a long time and has won titles at BYU and USC as an offensive assistant. He's an offensive-minded coach who has developed several top flight QBs.

He could walk in here with as much cache as Weis had in developing QBs, possibly allowing us to hold on to QBs Jimmy Clausen and Dayne Crist.

Not sure why this guy hasn't been hired as a head coach yet.

Will Muschamp, Defensive Coordinator, Texas

Good coach with a strong background. One of the hottest commodities in college football. Probably completely uninterested in living in cold South Bend.

The "Wouldn't This Be Too Perfect?" Section

Skip Holtz, Head Coach, East Carolina

Too risky for my book, but would all but guarantee that the elder Holtz is plugged back into the program on some level.

With those options, are we better off waiting to see what happens next year?