Optimism level highest since the era of Ara
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GreatGolson
Formerly GreatDayne
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Holtz?
My first thought was also, "Holtz?"
Holtz like Ara turned a program around. But Lou didn't maintain it the way Ara did.
Pull up ND's yearly totals Ara only had one, 3 loss season. Never more than 3. Lou has seven seasons of 3 or more losses including four, 3 loss seasons, a 4, a 5, and a 6. In fairness to Holtz! He played more games per season (Ara only had one, 12 game season) and played more Top 25 teams.
But the OP's comment was the long term future. In the mid 90's ND were calling for Holtz to be replaced. That was never the case with Ara.
It's early in The Kelly Era but he's already jump past Willingham 25 v 21 wins in less than 3 seasons. Only Holtz and Devine have a higher winning percentage at .76 to Kelly's .72. With another season like this one in '13, Kelly would pass Devine, Holtz, and Layden in winning percentage.
Holtz was a fine coach but he his recruiting success was due to his FullTime Recruiting Coordinator, Vinny Cerrato. Vinny's last recruiting class played their final season for ND in '93. Compare ND record before and after '93. It wasn't the curse of BC that so many lament. It was the loss of Cerrato. Holtz's assistants now had to recruit their own players. Lots of talented OLs wanted to play for Joe Moore. But Joe Moore wasn't going on the road to recruit them. He wasn't going to write countless letters or schmooze with recruits and their parents. He wasn't going to market the benefits of an ND education, ROI, alumni network, etc. Moore wasn't the only one but he was the worse.
Kelly has a staff that recruits from the top down. Everybodies involved. That commitment is a stark difference between Kelly's regime and the last 6 years recruiting and 3 on the field for Holtz. And the prime reason I agree with the OP.
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irishpat183
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I wasn't around back then...but I agree. I think for the first time in my 30 years, I feel like we're buildinig a program that will LAST and not just win now...but win for a long time.
Keeping the coaching staff intact is going to be a big challenge once we start racking up big wins.
Keeping the coaching staff intact is going to be a big challenge once we start racking up big wins.
C
Cackalacky
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BGIF.... could Alford be our new Cerrato?
ThePiombino
The OG "TP"
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Agreed. I think that in a couple years, ND will be fielding teams that would p*ss on this year's team. That's not meant to be disparaging against the '12 team, but more a sign of the direction this program is headed. LOVE IT!
No. Holtz said, "Vinny is the only assistant coach I have that has permission to have a tan ... from being outside on the road so much."
The NCAA since the early 90's has only allowed 9 assistant coaches AND all must coach a position. This rule was known as the Cerrato rule as it was passed to stop a coach like Holtz from designating an assistant as a full time recruiter. The NCAA (other coaches) eliminated one assistants position at the same time requiring all assistants to have full time position coaching responsibilities.
Alford has a natural tan courtesy of his mom and dad and may have Cerrato keen eye for raw talent and his polish for schmoozing but he'll never have the time and resources that Vinny had available.
Alford is probably the closest from a success rate. Just image if Alford didn't have actual coaching responsibilities.
Bubba
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So true. I hope we have a couple NCs before they start going out on their own...
anarin
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You must be sober right now
J
johnnykillz
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I'm optimist about the future for the first time in my life. I was too young during Holtzs era. In 1988 I was 8.
We are looking plain sexy.
irishpat183
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Rhode Irish
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I think we all agree that the coaching staff is vital (as BGIF explained so well), and that the current group of guys we have is a likable and competent bunch. But I don't think we necessarily need to keep this exact staff together to be good. There has been a lot of consistency for Coach Kelly throughout his career at some very diverse places, and one of the things that has allowed him to be consistent, along with his ability to identify players that fit his system, is his ability to identify good coaches and put together a good staff. How many of us had heard of Scott Booker or Bob Elliot? How many were pumped about Harry Hiestand joining the staff?
I think it's unrealistic to expect that this staff stays together in its entirety for however long BK stays at ND. There are some older guy on the staff, and unfortunately the guys we would want to hold onto the most are also the most likely to get opportunities elsewhere. I'm confident that BK will be able to fill the holes, though. "Next man in" is not just something coaches say to benchwarmers so they learn their playbook; its an organizational philosophy that can just as easily be applied to coaches.
GoldenDomer15
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Born in 1988, so this is all new to me...and I freaking love it!
jakerbluegold
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Hear me out before stoning me good sires, but I recently had a fleeting thought, or comparison of our team to another. Dare I say it, but I compared them to Michigan of last year.
I remember all of the bounces that went against us, the turnovers, bad breaks, 14 point swings, etc, and then got uber pissed when I'd see Michigan pull off the most ridiculous wins.
This year it seems as if this team is getting the "lucky" bounces, and I thought, maybe we could have a let-down like they did this year.
However, my mind quickly made some semblance of it with the fact that this team is built from the ground up. The O and D lines, and all around depth of the team are way above anything that Michigan had last year.
I'm not going to lie when I say that I'm giddy when looking at recruiting and the future of this program.
P.S.
We're almost the same age Johnny! Seeing those Holtz teams in our younger years made for some damn good memories!
Nice write up BGIF, I didn't even know about the Cerrato thing.
I remember all of the bounces that went against us, the turnovers, bad breaks, 14 point swings, etc, and then got uber pissed when I'd see Michigan pull off the most ridiculous wins.
This year it seems as if this team is getting the "lucky" bounces, and I thought, maybe we could have a let-down like they did this year.
However, my mind quickly made some semblance of it with the fact that this team is built from the ground up. The O and D lines, and all around depth of the team are way above anything that Michigan had last year.
I'm not going to lie when I say that I'm giddy when looking at recruiting and the future of this program.
P.S.
We're almost the same age Johnny! Seeing those Holtz teams in our younger years made for some damn good memories!
Nice write up BGIF, I didn't even know about the Cerrato thing.
ulukinatme
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I'm also hoping this season is a sign of good things to come. This is the best this team has looked in a long time. In '05 and '06 we had decent offense, but didn't have the defense to back it up and we struggled to score on teams like USC. In '02 we had a pretty good defense, but the offense was ugly and we lucked into a lot of wins before getting exposed. While the offense is still coming along this year, this defense has stood some major tests this year outside of the recent flu setbacks that hurt against Pitt. We're recruiting well, and actually developing the players it seems. We also have a great defensive coordinator. We've been due for a break.