Notre Dame Football is hardly a local enterprise

If they are looking to start from scratch, then they might hire a coach that builds programs from the ground up like a Butch Davis or Jim Harbaugh. Do they want a master recruiter or a coach that develops inferior talent The demands and priorities they set for the program will shape they type of coach they hire. Notre Dame Football is hardly a local enterprise. Its fans are rooted all throughout the United States, and has the largest national following of any college sports team. This expansive fan base leads to excitement for the program, media attention and TV contracts. Swarbrick, like anyone close to the program, understands that the football program is on tough times.

The fan base is split and the firing of Charlie Weis sent some fans right over the edge. Therefore, with a vulnerable fan base, will Swarbrick be tempted to bring in a coach that will have initial fanfare and be loved by the fans, or is he willing to take the spring, summer and early fall of scrutinty to bring in a risky pick. A guy like Al Golden from Temple or Randy Edsall of UConn are not as well known as the Brian Kelly, Urban Meyer or Bob Stoops but could be just as effective at Notre Dame. When Swarbrick puts the pen in the future coach's hand to sign on the dotted line and accept the Head Football Coaching position at Notre Dame, he will have answered all of these questions, either directly or indirectly. Nobody said the process was going to be easy, but there are a great deal of factors at play in this decision, far beyond the coach's previous success.

Brian Kelly has had three great seasons at Cincinnati, Harbaugh has shown he can recruit at a selective admissions school, Meyer has roots in South Bend after coaching there with Holtz, Davis has shown at UNC that he can turn a program around, and Edsall has proven he can build a team from scratch as he did at UConn. The question is not how qualified the coach is, the question is what is Notre Dame most interested in today They want it all, but no candidate offers that. They have to pick a direction, set the compass and let the wind take them.. Carmelo Anthony is the best player in the Western conference, at least for the first month of the season. The Nuggets small forward won Western Conference Player of the Month honors for October/November, which was announced mere hours ago on ESPN’s Kia NBA Shootaround. Melo has been nothing but smooth in 2009 his shooting stroke seems sweeter than ever, his passing is on point, and his energy on the defensive end is way up. Carmelo’s best asset is his scoring prowess and ability to take over any game on the offensive end.