(This will be a daily feature until Notre Dame actually decides who will replace Charlie Weis as the head coach of the Fighting Irish. I’ll report rumors, hearsay, speculation, anonymous tips, absolute falsehoods, and predictions. If you’ve got a hot lead, email me at KeithArnold@nbcsports.com)
If you thought there were fireworks on day one of Action Jack’s crusade to find a new coach, then day two probably blew you away.What started out as a seemingly mundane morning full of cyber-water cooler gossip, turned into pandemonium, when word leaked on a few message boards that not one, but two different coaches were done deals and ready to sign with Notre Dame by the end of the week.
But before we get there, let’s pack-pedal and cover some familiar ground...
* For those of us looking for a timetable on the changing of the guard, quarterbacks coach Ron Powlus may have given us the best idea, without providing an actual timeline. Cincinnati Enquirer writer Mike Dyer reported that when Powlus was visiting St. Xavier high school and five-star offensive lineman Matt James, Powlus confided to James’ coach Steve Specht that he thought the job would be filled within 7-10 days. (Dyer doesn’t mention this in his actual column, but he did on his Twitter page.) I’m not sure if this qualifies as news exactly, but it certainly got people thinking that maybe Action Jack has a coach already in hand...
* Meanwhile, in Chicago, Sun-Times writer Brian Hanley threw out a new name into the coaching search, claiming that a source told him that UConn coach Randy Edsall had been “contacted by a Notre Dame representative to gauge his interest in becoming the next Irish coach.” This had a large faction of Notre Dame fans panicking, because even if Edsall did manage to get a victory in South Bend (the victory that likely sealed Charlie Weis’ fate), he’s far from the glamor coach many were hoping for.
Of course, a local Connecticut writer caught wind of this rumor and actually thought to check it, and he found out that it was false. Courant writer Desmond Carter also told Huskies fans to chill out about Kansas rumors as well. (Apparently Randy Edsall is a popular guy...)
* Also add Kirk Ferentz’s name to the list of coaches who have distanced themselves from the Notre Dame job. Ferentz, who inexplicably finds his name linked to either a high profile college or NFL job every year without ever actually winning big at Iowa, said he wasn’t likely to consider going to Notre Dame, even if the Irish asked. Here’s hoping that’s true. I’ve watched Iowa for years and never have I once hoped that Kirk Ferentz would come lose two or three early games for my team and then sneak back into the tail end of the Top 25.
BEST RUMORS OF THE DAY:
This has to be a tie between the Bob Stoops report and the Brian Kelly “news.”
* For those of you that weren’t glued to their computer today, news broke this afternoon on the message boards at IrishSportsDaily.com from a poster named “radioactivegoldfish” who said that he worked for a search agency that Notre Dame hired and a coach was already in the fold. Word spread so quickly that within minutes ISD’s servers crashed, and a few minutes after that the servers at NDNation grinded to a halt. Nevermind that the poster turned out to be a complete fraud...
* Some website called IrishCentral.com reported that Brian Kelly will be the next Notre Dame coach. Writer Sean O’Shea said that “informed sources tell IrishCentral” that the Cincy coach is the next man for the job, playing out the season and BCS Bowl before reporting to Notre Dame. The only bit of “reporting” in this report is this snippet:
Wow. I’d rather ask the girl at 31 Flavors if Ferris Bueller is sick than take that report to the bank. I’m not really sure that qualifies as a scoop, but good work by IrishCentral. I’m guessing their hits are up about 4,000,000 percent.
And now to our FAVORITE THEORY OF THE DAY:
Comes from Twitter, where John Sullivan (not the former Notre Dame center) reveals he’s got the inside scoop on why Bob Stoops is really still coming to Notre Dame.
There you have it folks. Bob Stoops is still coming, according to John’s aunt, who I’m assuming is named Mrs. Wiwi.
