Read the debate intro and the opposing argument from Babe Ruthless.
Describing Notre Dame as the best head coaching job in college football is like saying that the best head coaching job in the NFL is with the Cleveland Browns. Both jobs are for storied programs with a great history (and exposure in front of a loyal, rabid fan base), and both are about as stable as a toilet-paper table in quicksand.
If you haven’t noticed, the revolving door has been spinning on high in South Bend over the past few years. During Notre Dame’s hey-day, coaches like Knute Rockne, Ara Parseghian, and even Lou Holtz, stuck around for 10-15 years at a time. Brian Kelly, who was just last week named the newest head coach of the Fighting Irish, will become the FOURTH head coach since Holtz retired 13 years ago. It seems to me that the best head coaching job in college football should be one that comes with a little stability.
Make no mistake, Notre Dame is a step up for Brian Kelly. With all due respect to the University of Cincinnati, he now has a marketing machine at his disposal to help him recruit talent to a more prestigious institution than Cincinnati. Do not confuse a step up in caliber from Cincinnati as being the best coaching job, though. There are too many other jobs in the NCAA that offer more pay, more support, success, and a LOT more security.
The Ohio State Buckeyes
The Buckeyes program offers just as much prestige and history as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, but they have managed to remain relevant in the national conversation over the past 20 years. Unlike the Irish, who have not been able to claim a national title since 1988, Ohio State has won a national championship in the last 10 years, and has played in the championship game twice in the past five seasons. This season also marks the fifth consecutive season the Buckeyes are participating in a BCS bowl game. Notre Dame has been absent from the BCS since 2005 (where they were soundly throttled by the Buckeyes).
You want history? The Buckeyes played their first season in 1890, only three years after Notre Dame’s first season. If legacy is what you’re after, the Buckeye’s head coaching history competes very favorably with Notre Dame’s. The Irish may have had Knute Rockne and Lou Holtz, but the Buckeyes had Paul Brown and Woody Hayes. Both schools also boast seven Heisman Trophy winners, but none have come from Notre Dame since 1987, when Tim Brown won the award. Once again proving their ongoing relevance, the Buckeyes have seen two Heisman winners SINCE Brown won it over 20 years ago, with Eddie George and Troy Smith earning the honor in 1995 and 2006, respectively. As for fan support, the Buckeyes play in front of an average home crowd of more than 100,000 for EVERY home game!
University of Southern California Trojans
Like Ohio State, USC carries history and tradition to rival Notre Dame, and their national relevance today far surpasses that of Notre Dame. What else does USC offer that Notre Dame does not? The top paying coaching job in the country! Pete Carroll earned a whopping $4.4M this year, which was the top draw for any college football coach. Sure, Charlie Weis earned a very respectable $4.2M at Notre Dame, but it was not the HIGHEST paying job.
The SEC
The model of success in college football today comes from the SEC. In terms of recruiting, Alabama has had one of the two best recruiting classes in the nation for three consecutive years. Before that, Florida was at the top of the recruiting heap. In the time of Alabama and Florida’s recruiting dominance, Notre Dame has had one successful year of recruiting in 2008 when they were ranked as having the second best recruiting class of the year. Outside of 2008, Notre Dame has not had a recruiting class better than eighth.
How has that recruiting success worked out for the SEC? How about three consecutive national championships, with a possible fourth coming in January?! The SEC has provided some of the best talent to set foot on the gridiron over the past five seasons and all indications point to continued success for the foreseeable future. While Brian Kelly is tasked with trying to resurrect a Notre Dame program that has not seen championship-caliber football in twenty years, the coaches of the SEC seem to perennially experience nothing but victory.
All of these examples lead to the same conclusion – the head coaching position at Notre Dame is very impressive, but it is far from the best there is in the nation. There are plenty of programs with the history and legends that Notre Dame has. Whether the goal is to play in front of a monster-sized fan base (Ohio State), earn the highest paycheck in the country (USC), or to lead a program that successfully turns top-tiered recruiting classes into championship football teams annually (the SEC), there are better options than the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.
