Whether one agrees with this article, in todays paper, it does provide some interesting input reference the storied football programs. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/sharp/2009-11-24-michigan-notre-dame-football_N.htm Don
Without getting into individual quotes in this article, there is truth in the general idea. One of my pet peeve's has always been when someone tells me the Gators don't have the tradition of some programs and therefore are somehow lacking. I haven't heard that in a bit so am not bringing it up for arguments sake. What I do think is that the college football field has been rearranged in my lifetime and is no longer dominated by just a few programs. Scholarship limits, growth of states like Florida, Georgia and Texas relative to the rest of the country and having lot's of home grown talent. Integration in the south is also a factor. The result is that on any given year more teams are competitive to beat other teams. I could go on but won't. I am not saying at all that I agree that Michigan and Notre Dame are looking up in the sense that they are down to stay. But what is true is that there are not schools that can just look for what they feel are the best coach and lure him away from another top program. Why should Meyer, Stoops, Mack Brown, Saban or others leave there programs to go anywhere? They have a good thing going where they are. Where I differ is that I think Michigan, Notre Dame, Florida, Alabama, USC and a host of others are pretty much on equal ground. If on any given year a couple of them go head to head for a coach, one gets him and one doesn't and that doesn't mean that if the same two went head to head again in a couple of years the same one would prevail. Personally I think is Rodriquez does not run afoul with the NCAA he can still win at Michigan, if he does as Bobda said he will be gone. I also think Notre Dame will get a good coach this time around and be on the way back. I have to sign off and get on the way to Florida.
Michigan has a better shot at Miles than ND does at Meyer. Personally I think ND should empty the bank for Kelly and maybe Mike Gundy could revitalize UM.....but I think RR deserves at least one more year.