Irish eyes falling toward... Stoops & Ferentz?

With Jon Gruden seemingly taken off the coaching market -- maybe -- it’s time for the rumor mill to churn out yet another big name when it comes to potential replacements for Charlie Weis -- if/when he’s whacked by Notre Dame and flutters to the ground on his $18 million golden parachute.

So, exit Gruden, enter... Bob Stoops? And, just for good measure, Kirk Ferentz?

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, those are the two big names swirling around the Irish football program as potential replacements for Weis.

If athletic director Jack Swarbrick decides Weis’ Notre Dame career is over after his fifth season, a source said Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz will be in the mix to replace him. The source said Stoops has told confidants he would be interested in talking to the Irish.

Of course, the Irish wanting Stoops or Ferentz is one thing, but it’s another thing entirely for the interest to be reciprocated. Or if the interest even can be reciprocated.

Both Stoops and Ferentz signed long-term contract extensions this offseason , and both run through the 2015 seasons. The extensions likely contain substantial buyouts, especially this early on in the new deals.

Then again, if the Irish aren’t blinking at a nearly $20 million pill to swallow to rid themselves of Weis, they likely wouldn’t care about what the cost of a buyout would be to bring in the coach of their choosing.