Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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THE FIFTH QUARTER LOU SOMOGYI Notre Dame officials immediately flew to Salt Lake City to finalize the deal … only to see Florida beat it to the punch. The Gators had fired Ron Zook in October to get a head start on the Meyer sweepstakes, and suddenly Notre Dame's fantasy coach had left egg all over its collective face. Speculation spread about the whys. Meyer's wife and family didn't want to move back to South Bend … he wanted several "academic excep- tions" per year in recruiting to have a chance to win a national title, SEC style … Holtz reportedly told him if you have to ask or think about it, the job probably isn't for you … he strung along Notre Dame to sweeten the pot at Florida … Fact or fiction, the overwhelming opinion was Notre Dame was only liv- ing on yesterdays, while Florida was the hip, warm-weather school where success would be easier to attain. Meyer indeed became the next big thing in coaching … and then some. His extraordinary 153-27 career re- cord (.850) trails only Knute Rockne (.881) and Leahy (.864) on the all-time NCAA chart for winning percentage at major schools; he won three consensus national titles by the time he was 50 (at Florida in 2006 and 2008, and Ohio State in 2014); he joined Nick Saban as the lone coach to win a national title at two different schools since the start of the Associated Press poll in 1936; and his 9-2 record in the postseason is the best in NCAA annals. Timing is everything, though. Had Joe Montana been drafted in 1979 by New Orleans instead of San Francisco with new coach Bill Walsh, would he have become the quarterback legend that he is today? If Charlie Weis could go 19-6 his first two seasons at Notre Dame in 2005-06, we're certain Meyer could have done at least just as well, but … At Notre Dame, could the intense Meyer — we used to joke when he was an assistant here that he needed to have his ankles taped just to watch game tape — have put up with some of the academic restrictions and dis- ciplinary measures (there were 31 player arrests in his time at Florida from 2005-10)? Could he have salvaged the 2005 recruiting class to help prevent the 2007 meltdown, or even secured a Tim Tebow from Florida? Could he have lasted more than six seasons at Notre Dame if he couldn't even remain beyond six at Florida be- cause of reported health concerns? No job can be more of a killer in the spot- light than Notre Dame. Five years later, the Irish hired an- other coach who had just gone 12-0 (Brian Kelly at Cincinnati) and has restored some consistency into the program. Nothing would boost his coaching stature more than a victory against Meyer. For Meyer, it has been a wonderful coaching life without Notre Dame. For the Irish, the chance to achieve wonder- ful achievements still beckons. ✦ Senior Editor Lou Somogyi has been at Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 1985. He can be reached at lsomogyi@blueandgold.com