The Next Notre Dame Fighting Irish Head Coach?

Luke Fickell

With a win against the Houston Cougars, the Cincinnati Bearcats would become the first non Power 5 school to make the College Football Playoffs. And this accomplishment would have everything to do with Luke Fickell.

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Fickell has coached under Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer and he has been on the coaching staff for 2 National Championship teams during his time at Ohio State. And who knows, it could end up being 3, if he and the Bearcats can pull off a Christmas Miracle and make and win this year’s College Football Playoffs.

He has four winning seasons to his name, three of which were 11 plus winning season, and he has single-handedly turned the Cincinnati Bearcats football program into a legit contender.

He has been able to take lesser ranked recruits and get the most out of them. Fickell has also been able to help develop Cincinnati QB, Desmond Ridder, into an NFL caliber QB. Something that hasn’t happened at Notre Dame in all of Brian Kelly’s 12 years.

Fickell doesn’t carry any baggage and to my knowledge hasn’t been involved in any scandals or NCAA violations. This is important when evaluating a potential head coach for Notre Dame, because the fans, boosters, and administration all take pride in the fact that Notre Dame holds themselves to a higher set of moral standards than the rest of the NCAA. Even though, you could argue that is most likely the main reason why they haven’t won a championship since 1988.

Recruiting

Fickell clearly started at Cincinnati with not a whole lot to work with, but it has been impressive to see that his success on the scoreboard has also mirrored his success in recruiting. Starting with a 74th ranked recruiting class when he got there to now landing a consistent top 40 class each year since. And currently he is set to bring in a top 30 class next year and currently ranks 12th for the 2023 season.

That’s really something when you come to the realization that he’s doing this at Cincinnati, who is in the American Athletic Conference. Just imagine what type of players he could recruit coaching at a Power 5 school.

P. J. Fleck

I’ve been following P.J. Fleck since his days at Western Michigan and when he finally hit the job market after a 13-1 season with the Broncos, I wanted the Irish to pursue him to replace Brian Kelly back then.

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PJ Fleck to me is a type of coach that you could call a “builder“. What I mean by that is, he is someone that can come in and take a crap team and if you give him the time and resources he needs he can build that program into a juggernaut from the ground up.

Fleck also demonstrates a few characteristics Notre Dame fans haven’t seen in a long time from their head coaches since Lou Holtz, passion, desire, and fire. Fleck is a lot like Dabo Swinney, they are both very intense. And for me that’s what a football coach needs to bring, intensity. You’ve got to be able to fire up your team to the point that they would run through a brick wall for you.

I believe Fleck would get Notre Dame players back to that swagger the players had at Notre Dame in the days with coaches like Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian, Dan Devine, Lou Holtz leading the charge. That swagger that said we play for Notre Dame because we are the best.

Recruiting

Since taking over the head coaching job at Minnesota, Fleck has maintained a steady supply of recruits and maintaining a top 30-40 class each year. Which again, is impressive considering he’s trying to convince 16-18 year old kids to move to Minnesota. Who in their right mind would want to live there?

Fleck has also helped 2 WRs get drafted in the first round of the NFL draft. Corey Davis from Western Michigan and Rashod Bateman from Minnesota. And if NFL scouts were actually good at their job, Antoine Winfield Jr. a safety from Minnesota would have also gone in the first round.

So, Fleck has a great eye for talent and he is also great at developing the players that he recruits. I believe Fleck would bring the intensity that Notre Dame needs and get the players that Notre Dame needs to beat the Alabamas, Clemsons and Ohio States of the college football world.

Final Takeway

If I had the power to pick between the two coaches, I would take PJ Fleck. But, Luke Fickell isn’t a bad second choice by any means. So I would be happy with either choice. Unfortunately, Jack Swarbrick is the one making the decision and he will probably choose some dope to take over where Brian Kelly left off and Notre Dame will retreat back to irrelevancy.