Not much new

[Nacho]

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribu ... ndthebend/

Not much new. I wonder if Orsini will get the job. I think they know they could get him at a moment's notice. They are obviously trying to be very careful. Hopefully they will talk themselves out of it. I hope he stays but I wouldn't be surprised if he gets the job.

Interesting note about night games at ND.

[CalallenStang]

Maturi turned the job down? Odd...he's a ND grad and he hasn't exactly lit up the world at Minnesota.

[mrydel]

Maturi turned the job down? Odd...he's a ND grad and he hasn't exactly lit up the world at Minnesota.

He did not turn the job down. He declined to be considered. For the record, I also told them not to consider me.

[2112]

don't worry about orsini not working hard people.........i am sure that he is hard at work selling himself to the irish nation.....and packing his bags........coach jones has even said that orsini has put smu business on the back burner, while he is busy lobbying for the notre dame job......don't you know steve has had a lot of success, raising money for smu of late

[ponyboy]

I wish him well whether he stays or not. He's done a helluva job for us here.

[RedRiverPony]

don't worry about orsini not working hard people.........i am sure that he is hard at work selling himself to the irish nation.....and packing his bags........coach jones has even said that orsini has put smu business on the back burner, while he is busy lobbying for the notre dame job......don't you know steve has had a lot of success, raising money for smu of late

Sounds like you're convinced he's a goner. I wouldn't be so sure. There's talk that Cunningham also has a lot of allies in South Bend, including some pretty well-connected heavy hitters.

[PonySnob]

I wish him well whether he stays or not. He's done a helluva job for us here.

Let's hope that with all of the money that Orsini has spent, our football and men's basketball teams finally start to show improvement in the W-L columns!!

[mrydel]

I would think that a lot depends on when the decision is made. If prior to the FB season, if I am the ND bigwigs, I am hesitant on Orisini due to his close ties with Weiss. If the FB season begins and Weiss is producing a great turn around, they may be much more comfortable with Orsini. But either way, I have to believe that Orisini's close connection with Weiss will have to come into play.

[CalallenStang]

Maturi turned the job down? Odd...he's a ND grad and he hasn't exactly lit up the world at Minnesota.

He did not turn the job down. He declined to be considered. For the record, I also told them not to consider me.

I guess that the search firm told him he was not a top candidate, so to save face, he withdrew his name from consideration

[mrydel]

Maturi turned the job down? Odd...he's a ND grad and he hasn't exactly lit up the world at Minnesota.

He did not turn the job down. He declined to be considered. For the record, I also told them not to consider me.

I guess that the search firm told him he was not a top candidate, so to save face, he withdrew his name from consideration

Or he was afraid they may like him.

[couch 'em]

I'm still being told through my ND connections (my friend gets info directly from his high ND friends - take the info with that grain of salt) that Orsini is a top 3 candidate because of his potential, but his lack of success at a BCS program thus far is one of the main reasons he is not the #1 choice. They really like what he has done, but it hasn't translated into wins at SMU yet and is seen as slightly maverick. (?) They are trying to go for a proven BCS AD as the first choice before considering "up and comers".

[CalallenStang]

Maturi turned the job down? Odd...he's a ND grad and he hasn't exactly lit up the world at Minnesota.

He did not turn the job down. He declined to be considered. For the record, I also told them not to consider me.

I guess that the search firm told him he was not a top candidate, so to save face, he withdrew his name from consideration

Or he was afraid they may like him.

That would be strange. There are many jobs that ND is not a step up from, but Minnesota is not one of them.

[couch 'em]

I'm still being told through my ND connections (my friend gets info directly from his high ND friends - take the info with that grain of salt) that Orsini is a top 3 candidatebecause of his potential, but his lack of success at a BCS program thus far is one of the main reasons he is not the #1 choice. They really like what he has done, but it hasn't translated into wins at SMU yet and is seen as slightly maverick. (?) They are trying to go for a proven BCS AD as the first choice before considering "up and comers".

Youre welcome

[Peruna_Ate_My_Rolex]

don't worry about orsini not working hard people.........i am sure that he is hard at work selling himself to the irish nation.....and packing his bags........coach jones has even said that orsini has put smu business on the back burner, while he is busy lobbying for the notre dame job......don't you know steve has had a lot of success, raising money for smu of late

[Pony Soup]

I'm still being told through my ND connections (my friend gets info directly from his high ND friends - take the info with that grain of salt) that Orsini is a top 3 candidatebecause of his potential, but his lack of success at a BCS program thus far is one of the main reasons he is not the #1 choice. They really like what he has done, but it hasn't translated into wins at SMU yet and is seen as slightly maverick. (?) They are trying to go for a proven BCS AD as the first choice before considering "up and comers".

Youre welcome

Nice post, plus 2