Notre Dame football has spent the last couple of months getting ripped by analysts and coaches alike for continuing to be independent. However, count Micah Parsons among those in the NFL who think professional football could use a system that would make a Notre Dame for his league.
The former Dallas Cowboys and current Green Bay Packers' star told Front Office Sports that he'd like to see "an international team, I know that it'd be uneven in divisions, but I look at it like, make it like the Notre Dame of the NFL."
What Parsons was suggesting was a team that would take stars from across the globe and have them play an open schedule, giving a much more international feel to the game. It's unclear exactly how he thinks this would all work, but it would essentially be a team that isn't in any conference, but if it has a good enough record, it could be factored into the playoff field.
Could a Notre Dame‑style team help the NFL grow internationally?
Parsons thinks it would be a very interesting way to grow the game overseas, and he's not wrong. However, it also feels like one that would be harder to do in the NFL for no other reason than the playoffs are always determined by the division champs and then the wild cards. What conference would this wild-card, Notre Dame-like team be inserted into?
The league would still have to get at least two international teams, one for the AFC and one for the NFC, and at that point, there's no need for there to be a Notre Dame approach.