AbsoLOUtely?

As I watch House and try to draw parallels between House and Cuddy's relationship and the one between Urban Meyer and Notre Dame (think about it...it's scary...in a great way...I think), I thought I'd share this little nugget with you. This weekend at our tailgate we spent some time with a family friend who also happens to be close friends with Lou Holtz. He said Lou told him that if the University asked he would coach for two years at no salary while they figured out what to do long term.

Now as giddy as the thought of seeing Lou on the sidelines makes me, I realize this makes no sense right now for a couple reasons. First of all, it'd be a stopgap solution and what we need is a long-term answer. Knowing that Lou wouldn't be at the helm long would make recruiting nearly impossible. If the intention would be to transition to Skip I think I'd pass.

The bigger reason though is the fact that in his latest life as a television personality he's almost become a caricature. How can 18 to 21 year olds be expected to take the inspirational pep talks Lou is famous for seriously after seeing them as a borderline joke on ESPN the past few years? I think this move could've worked in 2001, but right now I just can't see players suddenly buying into Dr. Lou. In reality that's really all they know him for; they were barely alive the last time Holtz took the Irish to #1. Bringing him back would be like asking today's NFL players to follow John Madden into battle. The history books will show that both Lou and Madden deserve places on the pantheon of great coaches, but the generation they'd need to lead right now would have an impossible time trying to get over the coaches' television (or video game) personas.

I truly don't believe that the game has passed him by and I think he'd be incredibly effective in utilizing the immense talent that resides on our roster...but when he chose to go the route he has these past few years on ESPN it ended any chance of him finding his way back to the sidelines.