Following Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis’ 27–22 loss at Pittsburgh, the 53-year-old former New England Patriots offensive coordinator has a 35–25 record over five years at the helm of the Fighting Irish.

Unfortunately for Weis, his 58.3 winning percentage is exactly the same as his two predecessors — Tyrone Willingham, who went 21–15 from 2002-04, and Bob Davie, who went 35–25 from 1997-2001 — before they were fired after short stints as the coach at Notre Dame.

On the other end of the spectrum, Lou Holtz won 75.8 percent of his games (100–30–2) from 1986-96, while winning the Irish’s last national title in 1988.

Since then, the ND program has failed to keep up with the times — blaming strict admission standards, brutally cold winters and coaching failures for the decline of what was once America’s premier football institution.

With four losses — at Michigan (38–34), USC (34–27), Navy (23–21) and at Pitt (27–22) — and games against Connecticut (Nov. 21) and at Stanford (Nov. 28) remaining on the schedule before bowl season, the 6–4 Fighting Irish could be looking at a five- or six-loss season after starting the year with BCS aspirations.

As a result, the perpetual Notre Dame coaching search has been reopened.

The Four Horsemen

Meyer, Kelly, Stoops or Gruden could join Stuhldreher, Crowley, Miller and Layden in Fighting Irish folklore by accepting the job or bring pestilence, war, famine and death to the South Bend faithful by rejecting the once-proud position.

Urban Meyer, 45, Florida
Easily the top prospect, Meyer was the receivers coach at Notre Dame from 1996-2000 and refers to ND as his “dream job” whenever he needs a pay raise at Florida — the recruiting goldmine where he has won two of the last three BCS national titles and is competing for a third this season. Meyer likely would have been hired over Weis in 2005.

Brian Kelly, 48, Cincinnati
Meyer-lite, Kelly has won everywhere he’s been (Grand Valley State, Central Michigan and Cincinnati) and is frequently taken for granted as the ND coach in waiting. But like Meyer’s perceived bait-and-switch of ’05, there are recent rumors of Kelly attempting to make a play for the Florida State job — since Bobby Bowden is on his way out and heir Jimbo Fisher has done little to earn the confidence of Seminole nation.

Bob Stoops, 49, Oklahoma
“Big Game Bob” has had a few bad breaks in Norman lately and a change of scenery may be just what Dr. Lou ordered. An established BCS national title winning coach whose best days may be behind him, Stoops would be a safe hire who would reaffirm the power of Notre Dame’s tradition for those who want to believe but have reason to doubt.

Jon Gruden, 46, MNF analyst
From Charlie to Chucky, the Super Bowl XXXVII winning coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is young, energetic and went to high school in South Bend. Theoretically, Gruden would be a great hire. Realistically, he’s an NFL coach who will be one of the top candidates for higher-paying pro gigs with less recruiting rules to learn and abide by.

Three-Leaf Clovers

Luck will have little to do with recruiting Harbaugh, Schiano and Johnson, all of whom appear to be happy and successful enough in their current jobs to turn down a higher-profile position such as Notre Dame.

Jim Harbaugh, 45, Stanford
A Michigan man who already turned his back on the Wolverines. Plus, with a freshman quarterback (Andrew Luck) and back-to-back Top-10 wins (Oregon, USC), Harbaugh’s stay on The Farm is starting to produce results.

Greg Schiano, 43, Rutgers
Thought to be favored over Randy Shannon at Miami — where he was the defensive coordinator from 1999-2000 — in 2007, Schiano likes what he’s building in the Big East and in the New York area.

Paul Johnson, 52, Georgia Tech
Triple-option Johnson would bring back leather helmet memories for the Irish purists. But with an ACC title in sight and the city of Atlanta to recruit from, the former Navy coach is unlikely to head north.

South Bend Boring

A little older and a lot less exciting, Patterson, Ferentz and Riley may not be household names but could be the most realistic options to take over as the face of the franchise for NBC Sports' weekly Saturday series.

Gary Patterson, 49, TCU
No shame in leaving the Horned Frogs after an undefeated season and BCS berth.

Kirk Ferentz, 54, Iowa
Familiar with Big Ten country but, like Weis, comes from the Bill Belichick tree.

Mike Riley, 56, Oregon State
Teams have played well against USC and brings NFL experience to recruiting trail.

Tom O'Brien, 61, NC State
Irish Catholic who served in the Marines and is a familiar face from his days at BC.

No Rockne Unturned

Four BCS busters and one well-known assistant, Peterson, Mendenhall, Whittingham, Sumlin and Strong are minority candidates in regards to religion and race, issues that may not be as significant today as Notre Dame’s hiring history indicates.

Chris Peterson, 45, Boise State
Reeled off an undefeated season, with a brilliant Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma, in 2006. Scientology ties may scare conservative Catholic decision-makers away from one of the hottest coaches in the country.

Kyle Whittingham, 49, Utah
Meyer’s successor posted an undefeated season capped by a Sugar Bowl win over Bama last year and is unbeaten (4–0) in bowl games. Former BYU linebacker has strong L.D.S. (Mormon) faith.

Bronco Mendenhall, 43, BYU
Fair or not, L.D.S. (Mormon) beliefs and specific comments made regarding Notre Dame after BYU lost out on L.D.S. five-star linebacker recruit Manti Te’o will be an obstacle for the up-and-coming coach.

Kevin Sumlin, 45, Houston
An Indianapolis native who played at Purdue and coached under Stoops at Oklahoma, Sumlin would be a bold hire and only the second black coach in Notre Dame history.

Charlie Strong, 49, Florida (Def. Co.)
One of the top assistants in the country, Strong has coached under both Steve Spurrier and Meyer, and was the defensive line coach at Notre Dame in 1995. Strong has speculated that his interracial marriage has prevented him from becoming a head coach.

Dr. Lou’s Missing Link

The son of the Fighting Irish’s last national championship coach has established himself as a strong coach in his own right, but likely would be a disappointing hire for many who follow the Golden Domers nationwide.

Skip Holtz, 45, East Carolina
Louis Leo Holtz Jr. was an assistant at Notre Dame from 1990-93, serving as the receivers coach (’90-91) and offensive coordinator (’92-93) for his father. Since then, Skip has been the head coach of Connecticut (1994-98) and East Carolina (2005-pres.) as well as the offensive coordinator for Lou Sr. at South Carolina (1999-2004).

This is one case, however, where nepotism won't impact a coaching hire, due to the polarizing on-air personality and debatable controversial exit from Notre Dame by the Fighting Irish’s loudest fan this side of Regis Philbin.