PALO ALTO, Calif. — After presiding over a winning coin toss for Stanford, where she is a political science professor, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice walked gleefully with the Cardinal captains toward the home sideline.

Too bad visiting Notre Dame was in much worse need of the diplomacy of Rice, who earned her master’s degree at the university in 1975.
An Irish change of the guard appears to be under way that, if governed correctly, will alter college football’s balance of power. As Charlie Weis coached what was believed to be his final regular-season game in an entertaining 45-38 loss Saturday night on the Farm, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops dodged rumors back in America’s heartland.
Bob Stoops at Notre Dame? With the schedule and talent in place, Stoops could promise his next recruiting class it will play in a national title game, and it wouldn’t sound like blarney.
But first things first. A national broadcast pregame report speculated Stoops would be on his way to South Bend, Ind., as early as Sunday. The only confirmation Irish fans wanted to hear was the time to meet Stoops’ jet at the airport.
Slow down. Even if Stoops represents the best, most ambitious place for the Notre Dame coaching search to start, Weis’ body of work is still warm. Inviting Stoops or any candidate to campus Sunday would be tacky if it were true. It wasn’t.
“Any version of anything you hear about a contact with a coach is absolutely wrong,” Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said in the Stanford press box. “We haven’t talked to anybody, we haven’t authorized anybody to talk to anybody. You don’t have to ask me about A, B, C or D — not one of them is true.”
The truth?
It was hard to come by after Notre Dame spent a tumultuous week in the bunker.
Weis banned players and coaches from the media after Jimmy Clausen sustained a black eye in a bar fight that only made it harder for the program to look in the mirror. You might say it’s not the first time in five years a Weis decision has rendered everybody speechless.
The truth?
The truth is that academic equals Stanford and Northwestern have brighter outlooks than Notre Dame. The truth is that Notre Dame needs to stop making other programs’ recruiting videos.
All accounts are that Swarbrick not only can handle the truth, but also will make a statement in the coming days that proves how dissatisfied he is with the direction of the football program.
Based on conversations with people who have spoken to either Weis or Swarbrick or members of their staffs, Swarbrick made clear to Weis in a frank discussion last week that he thought it was best that the coach and the university part ways.
It remains possible Weis could coach in a bowl game depending on the terms of the separation, according to two sources. But whenever the search for a head coach begins, Swarbrick has been given complete authority and encouraged by key board of trustee members to be ambitious.
That means no pocket is too deep, and the university learned from its last meddling experience post-Tyrone Willingham to let the AD do his job without trustee intervention.
That also means starting by pursuing Stoops, who could have done what Florida coach Urban Meyer did and rule out any potential interest. As of Saturday night, Stoops hadn’t.
He is said to be content and building a new home in Norman, Okla. But Stoops also is coming off a blase 7-5 record and is reminded too often by Sooners fans that he is 1-3 in Bowl Championship Series title games for “Choke-lahoma.”
If Stoops took Notre Dame to four national title games in 11 years, no one would ask why he’s 1-3. They would ask where he wants to put his statue.
The only danger in chasing Stoops is if he says no, forcing Notre Dame to hire Plan B, but it’s a risk Swarbrick must take. Especially if Plan B is Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, another guy who might be ready to go somewhere that appreciates him more than his current employer.
You might recall before the Hawkeyes’ current 10-victory season, Ferentz was feeling pressure for the number of player arrests on his watch. One confidant said that loss of support stung Ferentz. A Notre Dame offer might indicate how much.
Then there’s Cincinnati’s Brian Kelly, the safe choice whose success in building three programs and witty, Irish Catholic background make him George O’Leary with a cleaner resume. A coaching colleague who has spoken to members of Kelly’s Cincinnati staff left no doubt Kelly has indicated he would take the Notre Dame job, if offered.
And don’t be fooled by the way Notre Dame played against Stanford with all the pressure off. A job still needs to be offered.
But first it needs to be vacated, officially.