College Football 2021: Ranking the notable Power Five job openings

*Note: Marcus Freeman has been hired as head coach

National Titles: 11
Home Stadium: Notre Dame Stadium (77,622)
Heisman Trophy Winners: 7

Advantages

Notre Dame is a program you can retire from if you run it right. Despite being one of the smaller schools in the Power Five (fewer than 9,000 undergraduates) and academic requirements because they are private, Notre Dame is a place where you can have success.

Whoever takes the program from now-LSU head coach Brian Kelly, they are taking over a program that has an elevated floor. Kelly, Notre Dame’s all-time leader in wins, has made the Irish a nine-win team in “lean” seasons.

The Irish have won 10-plus games six of the last seven seasons under Kelly and recruiting has had an uptick in recent years. The most important aspect of the program that has improved under Kelly is the player development program.

Players have gotten bigger, faster, and stronger in South Bend. The number of early-round draft picks in the NFL the last three seasons is proof that the Irish can develop talent.

Disadvantages

Notre Dame is tricky for several reasons. The players the Irish can recruit is limited because of their academics. Even if a student can qualify, they have to be able to keep up with the rigorous course load Notre Dame students have to take.

Keep in mind, just because someone can qualify for Notre Dame doesn’t mean they want to go there. One the other hand, there are some students the Irish cannot recruit because they cannot qualify.

Though Kelly has raised the floor of the program, the Irish have not faired well against the elite of college football. It is difficult to recruit the depth needed to compete with the best of the best of college football.