Mel Gibson has had a rough few years. While his stock used to fly high, all that dropped quickly when recordings of him were made public that revealed a rough and tumble relationship with now-ex Oksana Grigorieva that portrayed Gibson as racist.

But maybe Mel is poised for a comeback. And if the Enquirer’s inside source is worth his pay, that comeback might be in the form of landing the ultimate one that got away — away from Tom Cruise — Katie Holmes.

“Mel drools over Katie!” the insider said. “She’s everything he wants in a woman – sexy, intelligent, independent – real wife material.”

Let’s do a little math for a moment, Mel Gibson is 58 years old. Katie Holmes is 35. Mel had finished shooting Mad Max a year before Katie was born. While Katie was just getting started with Dawson’s Creek, Mel was playing Daddy to Heath Ledger — who was Katie’s age — in The Patriot.

But then again, Mel is only six years older than Tom Cruise. But perhaps that’s going the wrong direction for Katie. But Enquirer says that won’t stop Mel.

“Mel’s trying to arrange a date with Katie through mutual acquaintances,” their source says. “He’s convinced she’ll fall for his charms if she’ll sit down for dinner with him.”

But what about the Oksana Grigorieva mess? Does Gibson figure he’s lived that down? After all, at one point other actors and crew didn’t even want to work with the guy.

“Mel’s taken a real beating over the past few years, which is why he’s kept such a low profile,” an insider said. “But despite everything he’s been through, he’s incredibly self-confident and believes he’s as big a catch as ever.”

Maybe it’s time to let Mel’s bygones be bygones. Robert Downey, Jr. has asked that the world do just that. After all the trouble Downey had in years past, he has gone on to do great things, once the public decided to let all that go. He once asked that for his friend Mel Gibson.

“I humbly ask that you join me, unless you are completely without sin, and in which case you picked the wrong fucking industry, in forgiving my friend of his trespasses and offering him the same clean slate that you have me and allowing him to continue his great and ongoing contribution to our collective art without shame.”