Get ready for a wild ride

With Willingham, Davis out of jobs, coaching carousel reaching full speed

Thought to be a leading candidate at Florida, Urban Meyer moves immediately to No. 1 on Notre Dame's list. AP

They took place in two different cities at two different levels of football, but the twin dismissals of Cleveland Browns coach Butch Davis (although he officially resigned) and Notre Dame's Tyrone Willingham on Tuesday both will impact college football tremendously.

By the time the dominoes are done falling, several of the game's most high-profile programs will have new faces, and a couple of its most visible faces could have new homes.

For starters, Notre Dame's decision, which comes a year sooner than many expected, means Utah's Urban Meyer probably will not be coaching Florida next season. That's because he'll be coaching at Notre Dame. As a result, the Gators will be looking elsewhere on their list -- and Davis is likely to be at or near the top of it.

The only thing more stunning than Notre Dame firing Willingham after just three seasons would be if Meyer doesn't wind up as his replacement. Conspiracy theorists may argue that the timing was as much about the Irish not wanting to lose out on their dream coach as it was throwing in the towel on Willingham. After all, Willingham had nearly an identical record (21-15) as predecessor Bob Davie (21-16) in his first three seasons in South Bend. Davie was allowed to fulfill his five-year contract, and took the Irish to a BCS bowl in his fourth season.

On the other hand, Notre Dame fans had become increasingly fed up with repeated blowout losses (eight by 21 points or more), including three straight lopsided defeats to rival USC, not to mention the team's wild inconsistency (beating top-10 foes Michigan and Tennessee but losing at BYU and at home to Boston College and Pittsburgh).

Either way, Utah's Meyer is the logical successor for a plethora of reasons. Unquestionably the nation's hottest coaching commodity, the 40-year-old Ohio native was a recent Irish assistant (1996-2000) who still speaks reverentially about the school and has a specific out for it in his contract. "It's the purest form of college athletics and it always will be," he told the Chicago Tribune earlier this month. "... If you want to see what college athletics are for, go fly into South Bend."

Many believe Willingham never truly bought into the spectacle that is Notre Dame football -- his gruff personality and cryptic press conferences didn't help any. Meyer, who was brought up as a Catholic and named after a Pope, would be the closest thing to a true "Notre Dame guy" since Lou Holtz left town eight years ago.

But more than that, Meyer is a certifiable prodigy who in just four years as a head coach has turned two tradition-starved schools, Bowling Green and Utah, into winners beyond their wildest dreams. At Notre Dame, he would have tenfold the resources and recruiting cachet, and his electrifying brand of offense would be wholeheartedly embraced after three years of Willingham's stuck-in-the-mud West Coast system. AD Kevin White said he will conduct a national search in the weeks to come -- "I don't have any parameters in mind other than someone who can bring Notre Dame football back to the level of excellence we desire," he said -- but it's hard to believe he doesn't already have a leading contender.

While Notre Dame's move may or may not have been a preemptive strike to keep Meyer from going to Gainesville, word had leaked recently that Florida AD Jeremy Foley already was looking elsewhere. According to sources familiar with the situation, Florida has been doing its homework on both Davis and Louisville coach Bobby Petrino -- and Davis for one is definitely interested.

Known as a master recruiter during his six years at Miami (his 1999 class which featured Ken Dorsey and Clinton Portis, among many others, is considered one of the best assembled), Davis would bring built-in Florida recruiting ties, particularly in the coveted South Florida area, and a track record of having already rebuilt one state powerhouse. And it's not like the cupboard in Gainesville is bare now. He'd have a chance to come in and immediately compete for a national championship.

The question is whether the Florida brass is as high on Davis as Davis is for their job. There's no guarantee he'd be in it for the long haul, and his experience with the Browns (24-36, poor relations with his players) dealt a serious blow to his resumé. The Gators may feel Petrino is the better fit. In many ways he's a carbon copy of Meyer, having turned a mid-major school into a nationally competitive powerhouse with a dynamic offensive system that could do wonders with Chris Leak and the rest of Florida's returning personnel.

Finally, the dominoes may not stop with Notre Dame, Utah or Louisville. The Browns are looking for a new head coach, and one of their logical candidates is LSU's Nick Saban, a former Cleveland assistant who played at Kent State and was the head coach at Toledo. The reigning national college coach of the year has turned his back on previous NFL overtures, most recently from the Chicago Bears, but those close to him believe he's waiting for an opportunity where he would have control over personnel decisions.

In addition to Notre Dame and Florida, Pac-10 programs Washington and Stanford both currently have openings, and BYU could by the end of the week. A rumor circulating Tuesday was that Willingham had flirtations with Washington even before his firing.

The Huskies and Cougars, along with the Irish, Gators and LSU, are all schools that have won national championships in the modern era. Combine those possibilities with Steve Spurrier replacing Lou Holtz at South Carolina, and 2004-05 has the potential to be the most eventful coaching carousel in recent memory.

Stewart Mandel covers college sports for SI.com.