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Irish stew Is Davie solely to blame for Notre Dame's slide?
Updated: Friday November 09, 2001 2:43 PM
Notre Dame doesn't play football this weekend, and for head coach Bob Davie, that is probably a good thing, because it means there won't be any opportunity to use another loss as reason to demand that he be fired. The Fighting Irish are 3-5, with games left at home against Navy and on the road at Stanford and Purdue. Looks like a 5-6 finish at best, and 4-7 is a possibility. In either case, there will be strident calls for Davie's ouster after the season. One year after finishing with a seven-game regular-season winning streak and a BCS berth in the Fiesta Bowl (albeit one that resulted in an embarrassing loss to Oregon State), Notre Dame has fallen back into the middle of the pack. Notre Dame, of course, can't be in the middle of the pack. A personal note: I like Bob Davie. As journalists, we are required to remain distant and objective about the people we cover. That's fine, but as human beings it's impossible not to make judgments about other human beings. I have spent long periods of time with Davie on a couple of occasions since he was hired to coach the Irish in 1997, and I have found him to be an earnest man, a tireless worker and, away from the field, a devoted family man. None of these qualities guarantees that he will be a great football coach. Some of the most successful football coaches I've known aren't wonderful people at all. They are, by turns, egomaniacal, selfish, much too driven and a little bit scary. The word "ruthless'' comes to mind. I'm convinced that's what makes some of them so good. The public doesn't always understand this. (One aside: After Tennessee finally beat Florida in 1998, I quoted Tennessee coach Philip Fulmer as speaking an unprintable epithet to me; Vols' fans wrote dozens of letters, aghast that a man such as Fulmer, a good Christian and leader of young men, would speak thusly. Please. The guy is a football coach, and a damn good one. That doesn't make him a saint. In fact, it probably precludes it). I'm not sure if Notre Dame needs to get rid of Davie or not. Never mind that he's under contract for four more years. The school's president reminded me two years ago that contracts can be bought out. But four years is a lot of mistake to admit. And a lot of money to eat. I'm not sure largely because I remain uncertain as to whether Notre Dame's high expectations jibe with reality. Nobody at the school will say what is acceptable. Maybe 8-3 or 9-2 every year. Surely not 5-6 or 4-7. NBC's ratings are down and even its own announcers are beginning to criticize the university for not admitting more marginal athletes. The schedule remains "national,'' which means it's often going to be brutal. (Another aside: On one visit to Notre Dame early in Davie's tenure, he asked me if I had taken a good look at the future schedule. I said I had. He said, "coach killer.'' I agree with that assessment). Hey, if in certain years, "national'' opponents are having down years, you get lucky. It's a crapshoot. College football is a different world in 2001. There are a whole lot of teams who can beat you if you're not a dominant team (and sometimes, even if you are). It's not far from 7-4 to 4-7. Half a dozen plays, maybe. Or less. Can a great coach make those half a dozen plays go his team's way? Maybe. But not every year. My gut feeling is that sometime before 2005 (maybe long before), Notre Dame will grab at a miracle worker. Jon Gruden. Tom Coughlin. Somebody with a name and a resume. Would the school pay enough? Are there any coaches who can restore Notre Dame to powerhouse status given the current environment both on campus and off? I'll say this: Not many. Not many at all. Sports Illustrated senior writer Tim Layden is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send him a question or comment.
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