And the Winner Is...

The chart above is a compilation of stats from the top coaches in college football. Most of these teams are ranked in the Top 25 in the BCS standings. Now if you are an idiot, you can listen to the media who will say Urban Meyer, Brian Kelly and Jim Harbaugh (really?) are the most likely candidates to replace Charlie Weis as the head coach of Notre Dame. (see post below) However, I am not pleased with any of those candidates so I put together some research on my ideal candidate and some interested trends appeared:

CONTRACT LENGTH

It seems as if the culmination for a decision on a head coach is around the 5 year mark. At the end of 5 years, if a program is not happy with where the program is at, a move has to be made. If a program rests on a solid foundation, then the coach has job security. Furthermore, once a coach passes the 12 year mark like Frank Beamer, Bobby Bowden, and Joe Paterno then they receive a lifetime contract and schools are forced to wait until they retire, for better or worse. With Charlie at the end of year five and Notre Dame still struggling, its time to make the move.

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS

It is no coincidence that the top four teams competing for a National Championship have the best defenses in college football. At the same time, they have capable, but not great offenses. Teams with stellar offenses, like Notre Dame, can't succeed without stout defenses, yet teams without an offense, like Ohio State and LSU, are annually in the picture.

SCHEDULING

Notre Dame will always receive scrutiny over their schedule. Regardless, the Irish schedule is just fine in my opinion and almost annually turns out to be quite competitive. All teams have patsies and tough rivalries. In reality, the schedule typically lightens up in November, which is where Weis has had his most difficulties (3-9 in November the past three seasons). Bottom line, the schedule will be what it is and it shouldn't matter.

So all things considered, the next coach at the University of Notre Dame is...BOB STOOPS.

I think Stoops is a viable option for a lot of reasons. One: He has been at Oklahoma for 11 years and is struggling this year. It might be time for him to move along and find a new challenge. After all, most coaches don't last longer than 12 years at a school before they are locked in for life. Two: He is a proven winner. He was won a National Championship and is in the hunt every year. Three: He is a defensive minded coach which has proven to be the necessary piece to winning a National Championship. Four: He's passionate and can light a fire under his players and future players, which he will have no problem recruiting to Notre Dame. Five: It's not a risky pick. Some of the "hot" coaching prospects right now are too risky. After botching the last four hires, Notre Dame MUST get this one right or the program might never recover.