Notre Dame "Not Interested" in Urban Meyer

Over the past week, there has been a media craze over Florida Head Football Coach Urban Meyer saying that Notre Dame is "still my dream job." Many sportswriters and fans have dived into this topic of, "What if Meyer had gone to be coach Notre Dame?" or "Will Meyer replace Weis at Notre Dame?," etc. 

The problem with many of these articles is that the writer is making one inaccurate assumption; that Notre Dame wants Urban Meyer.

I will make this very clear to people outside of Notre Dame football, when they decided to stick with Charlie Weis it was not because of money, it was not to be courteous, it was not to save a highly ranked recruiting class.

It's because the alumni, father Jenkins and Athletic Director Swarbrick felt that Charlie Weis was the "best option." The University of Notre Dame is now one of the best  Universities in the world as a result of the revenues of its storied football program.

Therefore, the powers that make the decision of who the Head Coach will do so in the best interests of the school. The school has made it very clear that they are not interested in another football coach, not Urban Meyer or anyone else at this time. This may change in later years, but Meyer's national championships will not look as impressive to Notre Dame as it will to other programs. 

This is because ND is looking for a Coach who understands their traditions, a Coach who can have its athletes be successful both on and off the field, a coach who can recruit around the country for student athletes that fit the mold of Notre Dame. They obviously are looking for wins as well, but if it came down to wins and losses to Notre Dame, Weis would have been gone.

The fact is that Notre Dame kept Weis is a tribute to their focus on student athletes (Weis has raised the team GPA from a 2.8 to over a 3.0) and the bigger picture of college football (graduation rates under Weis Notre Dame has the highest in the country). 

Some like Weis, and others do not, just like nearly every other football program both college and profesional. The main point here, is that Notre Dame supported Weis when they made the decision to bring him back.

They are not interested in Urban Meyer, they are invested in Charlie Weis. The powers that be know that Charlie has one of the most difficult jobs in College football, or at very least the most expectations however unrealistic, and Meyer has one of the easier jobs, or at very least easiest schools to recruit at.

For some Notre Dame fans they could not fathom why the University would not be interested in Meyer, he won two SEC championships in four years and is on the way to winning his second national championship. This is all very true and his success at Florida has been impressive.

However, the skill that Meyer has is not coaching, is not schemes, its not motivation it is simply recruiting. He is a masterful recruiter and has done a phenomenal job at Florida. However, Notre Dame has an incredible recruiter as well in Charlie Weis who was able to bring in the No. 2 class in the country after a 3-9 record. 

Swarbrick, Jenkins. and those close to the University know that Meyer will not bring anything to Notre Dame that they do not already have and although his success has been impressive, I am sure if Charlie Weis had taken over Florida four years ago he would have similar success.

To even compare Weis and Meyer is out of context because they have two very different jobs. Weis has to bring in high profile student-athletes with high GPA's and SAT scores while Urban Meyer can accept nearly every player he wants due to low academic standards.

Second, Weis has to recruit all over the country as Indiana is not at all a hot bead for football prospects where Meyer gets the majority of his team in-state. Next, Weis has to get students to come to South Bend Indiana where there is a strong religious community where females are not allowed to stay in boys' dorms past 2:00 a.m., aka, not at all a party school.

Meyer, on the other hand, brings his athletes to Florida on recruiting visits and they are in warm weather, going to huge parties with beautiful women all over the place; a much more exciting experience for an 18 year old then the churches and Rockne statue at Notre Dame.  They have both done well where they are, but just as Florida is not interested in Charlie Weis, Notre Dame is not interested in Urban Meyer.

So my words to Urban Meyer, do not take your job at Florida for granted, because there are many coaches in college football that could have your success if they were in your position, you are not the only one.

Yet, not many coaches in college football could turn Notre Dame around and bring them to two Bowl games in their first two seasons, and bring in three straight top 10 recruiting classes.

Yes, I know Charlie has struggled in the past two seasons, but Swarbrick, Jenkins, and the alumni of Notre Dame have their faith, money and support on this man and that means a lot considering how fast they have pulled the plug on coaches in the past.