Latest Gruden to ND Rumor
Latest Gruden to Irish rumor says that ND will buy out Chuck Weis' contract as soon as the new recruiting class is finalized. Original source is a New York Daily News IIRC, sighting an "Insider". I hope it's not true. I prefer to face mediocrity out of South Bend
http://www.collegefootballtalk.com/2009/01/19/paper-floating-gruden-to-…
January 19th, 2009 at 1:54 PM ^
perhaps their D cord would come over and make the different are team needs on that side of the ball.
Somehow...I just don't think NL would make such a radical move AT this time...
January 19th, 2009 at 1:55 PM ^
Dude, what's with your subject headline?
January 19th, 2009 at 1:56 PM ^
Great job on the title! I think we are finally getting the change around here that we've needed for so long.
January 19th, 2009 at 1:58 PM ^
There is no way this happens. Schools (even SEC ones) do not fire coaches after the recruiting class has been signed. ND, which is extremely image-conscious, wouldn't pull something like that.
January 19th, 2009 at 2:01 PM ^
Actually, expect to see it happen more and more. Another hot rumor has Bellotti retiring after signing day to give Chip Kelly a head start.
January 19th, 2009 at 2:04 PM ^
I could maybe see a coach retiring to promote an assistant, but I don't think it'll ever become common for schools to *fire* coaches after signing day. It's too late. It would leave the players, assistants and even the new coach in a bind. And an image-obsessed school like ND will definitely not do this after promising a few weeks ago that Weis would be retained.
January 19th, 2009 at 8:43 PM ^
The latest rumor is that Oregon will probably start the season next year in the top ten and Bellotti will coach them. After next year he will step down.
January 19th, 2009 at 2:17 PM ^
Well they are definitely going to have to hire Gruden. Would you want a fat man as the image of your program or a young handsome NFL coach?
January 19th, 2009 at 2:28 PM ^
with recruiting almost done. That would be seen as pulling the rug out from under the new recruits with the ink on their LOIs barely dry.
However, should ND stumble again in '09, and Gruden is available, then I could see it happening as soon as ND is done getting hammered by USC in November. The big question is money. Would ND want to hand out another huge wad of cash to a guy that's unproven at the collegiate level? For every Pete Carroll there's 5 Bill Callahans.
January 19th, 2009 at 2:42 PM ^
more workable than the knee jerk reaction. However,much isn't known about NL ad. Perhaps he does have a BIG pair and bust a move on the college football world.
January 19th, 2009 at 2:14 PM ^
I can get some ice for your fingers if you'd like. Extra words are a hassle.
Edit: Nice edit; thanks for deleting the part about me being a petty schmuck. I won't edit mine.
January 19th, 2009 at 2:00 PM ^
I think this is a real possibility. There were no real candidates in December and Gruden has made it known that Notre Dame is his dream job.
I'm not all that scared, though. Chucky hasn't worked in college in 18 years.
January 19th, 2009 at 2:04 PM ^
HATS OFF to them...I just don't think they have the coconut balls to do it.
January 19th, 2009 at 2:30 PM ^
That would be a terrific hire for Notre Dame. Gruden would win a MNC within 3 years, imho.
January 19th, 2009 at 2:44 PM ^
That this headline was informative. Otherwise the people who hang out on a sports-related message board might ... waste some of their time.
Good on ya.
January 19th, 2009 at 2:55 PM ^
Gruden is easily the most overrated coach in the NFL, perhaps in NFL history. Yes, he won a Super Bowl with Tony Dungy's team. He then won exactly zero playoff games after that. He's supposedly an offensive guru, yet Tampa Bay's offense has never been ranked among the top offenses in the NFL.
Plus, and it's one guy's opinion, but the opinion of a guy that worked with Gruden in Philadelphia and Oakland, but Michael Lombardi of National Football Post pretty much says that he is impossible to please and impatient, which are two things that don't help when your business is developing young players.
http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2009/01/notes-from-lombardi-6/
Seriously, you can't name a single offensive player developed by Gruden. Not one. Did you see Michael Clayton's comments about him?
If not: http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nfcsouth/0-7-103/Video--WR-Michael-Clayton-o…
So I'm not scared of Jon Gruden. That said, I doubt this will happen. A lot of people have called Notre Dame their "dream job" including Urban Meyer, right before turning down ND for Florida. Gruden will probably be on ESPN next year fighting Emmitt Smith for face time.
January 19th, 2009 at 2:56 PM ^
Tony Dungy couldn't win with Tony Dungy's team. Somehow, Gruden found a way to do it. He was also screwed out of a trip to the AFC championship game while HC of the Raiders because of the stupid "tuck rule." Gruden is a better coach than you give him credit for.
January 19th, 2009 at 3:10 PM ^
The "______ won a championship with _____'s team" argument is like the dumbest fucking thing ever, isn't it? RIGHT THERE, the guy accomplished something their predecessor failed to do. Gruden won with "Dungy's players"? Well Dungy couldn't get them out of the first round. Urban Meyer won with Ron Zook's players? Zook couldn't win 9 games with them.
January 19th, 2009 at 3:28 PM ^
Exactly!
January 19th, 2009 at 8:13 PM ^
Give Dungy a little more credit in Tampa, though. He made it to the conference championship the year the Rams won the Super Bowl.
He also beat the Lions in what I believe was their last playoff appearance, too (wildcard round, of course).
January 19th, 2009 at 2:57 PM ^
A coach that is "impossible to please and impatient?" Wow, I can't imagine........
January 19th, 2009 at 3:03 PM ^
Perhaps it was a little broad, but if you read the linked story, you'd see what I meant.
January 19th, 2009 at 3:06 PM ^
Even if all of that were true, it would still be an upgrade over Weis.
January 19th, 2009 at 3:00 PM ^
If you want to say that he won with Tony Dungy's players (somehow giving the credit to Dungy when he went 9-7 his last year in Tampa) then you have to say that Oakland got to the super bowl that year with Gruden's players.
Any way you slice it he has a ring. You can't take that away from him.
January 19th, 2009 at 3:05 PM ^
Yes, Oakland did go to the Super Bowl... with Bill Callahan helming the ship. How did he work out for Nebraska? Point being, the guy isn't exactly Bill Belichick.
January 19th, 2009 at 4:54 PM ^
By your logic, Callahan, this would suggest that Mike Tomlin is winning with Cowher's players, and Ken Whisenhunt is winning with Dennis Green's players. And so on and so on and...
To call him a great coach can be debateable, do it at your whim. He WOULD be an upgrade over Fat Chuck, how much we don't know. But to call him perhaps the most overrated coach in NFL history? Puhleeze.
January 20th, 2009 at 8:55 AM ^
The most overrated coach in NFL history is Charlie Weis.