Urban Meyer Notre Dame Rumors HEAT UP: Fighting Irish Head Coach Job May Be Up For Grabs

Urban Meyer to Notre Dame?

Rumors are heating up that Meyer could be courted to return to the Fighting Irish, where he served as an assistant coach from 1996 to 2000, as Charlie Weis continues to disappoint as head coach.

The 2009 Notre Dame squad is 6-4 and coming off tough losses to Navy and Pittsburgh. A South Bend match-up with Connecticut and trip to Stanford is all that's left in another mediocre regular season for the Fighting Irish.

Bleacher Report columnist James Walker points out, "the annual rumor mill that has Urban Meyer returning to South Bend is cranking back up."

Peter Kerasotis of Florida Today says Weis being let go is becoming more inevitable with every loss, especially now that Irish athletics director Jack Swarbrick has said money will not be a consideration in such a decision (Weis was signed to a 10-year contract extension in 2005, believed to include a multi-million dollar severance deal).

Kerasotis puts Meyer first on the list of possible replacements and adds about him:

The best coach in the country is young (45), innovative and, yes, Catholic (named after a pope). He's also a former Notre Dame assistant coach. For many very good reasons, Notre Dame covets him. In fact, Meyer is the reason the Irish didn't wait until after the 2004 season to dismiss Willingham. They saw Florida pursuing Meyer after firing Ron Zook in midseason and tried to beat the Gators to the dotted line. They didn't.

Is the move just inevitable? An Ashtabula, Ohio, native, Meyer may make the move from Florida to the blue and gold after all. If speculation is any indication, it could be just a matter of time.

Time for your thoughts.