ND Coaching Search Megathread

ACamp1900

ACamp1900

Counting my ‘bet against ND’ winnings
Messages
48,954
Reaction score
11,239
irishog77 said:
Just throwing out some devil's advocate thoughts here:

I'm pretty warm to the idea of MF as HC. Unlike many others, I do feel there is a downside to him though. I think we can all agree that he'll recruit well and that players will like him. He may turn out to be wayyyy over his head leading a staff, delegating responsibilities, implementing game plans week to week, navigating in-game decisions and personnel, etc. though....
Click to expand...

Yeah I was trying to get at this last night... def a wildcard there.
 
IrishLax

IrishLax

Something Witty
Staff member
Messages
37,546
Reaction score
29,009
FightingIrishLover7 said:
How's that embarrassing? If they're done with Kelly, then that's a ballsy big boy move. They let him walk.
Click to expand...

What's crazy though is that it seems like they called his bluff and were like "we know what he's going to ask for, and we are not having those discussions until after the season" with the expectation that there was no way he was actually going to take one of these jobs before the playoff situation was settled. It does not seem like they were ready for him to walk at this time, based on how unprepared Jack seemed in the moment. I think they were preparing for him to leave in 1-3 years, but I'd be really surprised if this all went down how they wanted and as part of some master plan.
 
E

EvilleIrish

Well-known member
Messages
2,182
Reaction score
1,336
IrishLax said:
What's crazy though is that it seems like they called his bluff and were like "we know what he's going to ask for, and we are not having those discussions until after the season" with the expectation that there was no way he was actually going to take one of these jobs before the playoff situation was settled. It does not seem like they were ready for him to walk at this time, based on how unprepared Jack seemed in the moment. I think they were preparing for him to leave in 1-3 years, but I'd be really surprised if this all went down how they wanted and as part of some master plan.
Click to expand...

Lax...do you think the fact that we have heard basically nothing today means something might actually be going down? It has been very quiet.
 
Irish#1

Irish#1

Livin' Your Dream!
Staff member
Messages
44,620
Reaction score
20,108
Some Irish Bloke said:
well, your tweet is real. He clearly visited. The other news from the buckeye message board and a "wheels up flight to Columbus" is speculation. What if they were visiting a recruit? We don't even know that it was Freeman.
Click to expand...

Why do that if you're not going to be there? One could say he wants to keep the communication open because he's leaving, but if he's leaving, he probably has a lot of immediate things to deal with (agent, discuss with wife, terms of contract, etc.) tha would be a priority.
 
Luckylucci

Luckylucci

Administrator
Staff member
Messages
27,770
Reaction score
10,153
irishog77 said:
Just throwing out some devil's advocate thoughts here:

I'm pretty warm to the idea of MF as HC. Unlike many others, I do feel there is a downside to him though. I think we can all agree that he'll recruit well and that players will like him. He may turn out to be wayyyy over his head leading a staff, delegating responsibilities, implementing game plans week to week, navigating in-game decisions and personnel, etc. though. To those that think, "yeah, but he'll recruit well, so ND can just move on to another guy in 2-3 years," I say, Tennessee, Texas, USC, Miami, and Florida all say hello. It's not as simple as moving on to another guy.

The good sign that Jack called MF back from the road may be as simple as that MF was in MI, a few hours away, and maybe he was coming back to South Bend anyway. We might be making too much of this omen.

Any talk of keeping the '23 class together shouldn't factor or weigh in to any decision on a HC. There's a ton of time between now and then.

Jack isn't doing his job if he doesn't at least make some calls to guys like Aranda, Rhule, Fickell, etc. Totally agree that the Campbells and Brohms of the world do nothing for me personally, or more importantly, for ND. But somebody like Aranda may be another version of MF, but one with a few more years, a little better resume, and now experience as a HC.

Social media reports and campaigns. While they may have some validity, Jack probably also knows that the amount of people that actually have, post, and influence on Twitter, say, is not representative of the entire body. We all should know this by now.

I like the idea of MF as HC, but maybe we shouldn't ride or die with him.

That's all for now.
Click to expand...

I'll start by saying I'll be very happy with the hire. I thought he was a homerun hire as a DC and I'll be very happy with him as HC but I agree that I see possible downside as well. I mean, he'll have an entire side of the ball (offense) that he'll be responsible for, for the first time. And that will be in recruiting, managing the roster, and staff. I think it's a lot easier said than done to just recruit your way into success. There are so many examples of programs that recruit very well but don't have the results. And usually it's because of in-game coaching or uneven recruiting (recruiting all posiiton groups well). Freeman will be handling both of those for the first time. Especially in this day and age with the transfer portal.
 
F

FDNYIrish1

ARE YOU SUPPORTIVE OF THESE ONESIES???
Messages
3,015
Reaction score
5,237
Clearly there are still upgrades to be made to facilities and other areas, but they certainly have made efforts to improve. They stepped up and paid MF last year, brand new indoor facility, crossroads etc. Jack admitted BK had made some comments along the way about moving on. You’ve got one coach complaining about what you don’t have and need to compete and another leading the way on 2 elite recruiting classes by selling what you do have to offer.
BK seemed like he was content to coach out his time here until LSU backed up the Brinks truck. I’m curious to see how a Northeastern/Midwestern lifer manages the Deep South. Damn shame of it is that LSU is my favorite SEC program from way back.
 
BleedBlueGold

BleedBlueGold

Well-known member
Messages
6,271
Reaction score
2,496
IrishLax said:
Buried in that article is that Kelly:
1. Turned down LSU when they initially approached him
2. Requested a meeting with Swarbrick and Jenkins, and they blew him off.
3. Took the LSU job when they came back with about $100mil of guaranteed money.
Click to expand...

ND should've been way more proactive in keeping Kelly, no question. But it is what it is at this point. It almost sounds like this could be viewed as mutual parting of ways because reports are that the players were tired of Kelly's unapproachable CEO persona. Given how Kelly exited and early reports of some staff wanting to stay put, it appears they may have been fed up too and are looking for a fresh face to run the program. #Freeman
 
ACamp1900

ACamp1900

Counting my ‘bet against ND’ winnings
Messages
48,954
Reaction score
11,239
Irishman77 said:
Letting Kelly have his moment …press conference
Click to expand...

IDK,.. it's not the lack of a deal or confirmation or news from Jack and ND specifically that is odd to me... it is the lack of anything (leaks, insider reports, anyone in the media going out on a limb to break the news with what should seem obvious if a deal were anywhere close, or even if talks were happening... that kind of stuff)... it's been really quiet with the media. Now that could just be a side effect of being a huge fan and checking for updates constantly but idk... everyone with any inside track at all has got to be trying to be the first to break any rumors or movement and there's nothing.
 
Luckylucci

Luckylucci

Administrator
Staff member
Messages
27,770
Reaction score
10,153
tussin said:
If MF is the move, they should break it right now.
Click to expand...

Yea, hopefully they can get this done with some flare in short order. It sure would be nice to get back on the offensive with not only recruiting but the new staff and team.
 
Irish#1

Irish#1

Livin' Your Dream!
Staff member
Messages
44,620
Reaction score
20,108
IRISHMAN said:
if freeman does get the HC job how much would this situation be to when lincoln riley got the HC job at OU when he was only 33 years old?

i like freeman but being so young and never being a HC before i worry that the job would be to much for him, having to deal with everything rather than dealing with just the defense.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it only took him half the season to get out of that damn three man front!
 
Southside Sully

Southside Sully

Well-known member
Messages
1,691
Reaction score
439
Luckylucci said:
I'll start by saying I'll be very happy with the hire. I thought he was a homerun hire as a DC and I'll be very happy with him as HC but I agree that I see possible downside as well. I mean, he'll have an entire side of the ball (offense) that he'll be responsible for, for the first time. And that will be in recruiting, managing the roster, and staff. I think it's a lot easier said than done to just recruit your way into success. There are so many examples of programs that recruit very well but don't have the results. And usually it's because of in-game coaching or uneven recruiting (recruiting all posiiton groups well). Freeman will be handling both of those for the first time. Especially in this day and age with the transfer portal.
Click to expand...

I think if Polian, and Elston stay on, you have yourself quite a bit of backbone to rely on in those regards?
 
Irish#1

Irish#1

Livin' Your Dream!
Staff member
Messages
44,620
Reaction score
20,108
NDIrish88 said:
To me it isn't facilities alone. Kelly made an emotional decision because the Shaun Davis report, to me, is plausible.

Jack said no extension. If you don't win a Natty by the end of the contract, you gone. Kelly got ahead of it, especially since Freeman was waiting to ascend, and bounced. He is now setup at LSU to get paid for mediocrity if it plays out that way. Winning at this point is just a bonus.
Click to expand...

Given the record since '16, I find it hard to believe Jack would give him an ultimatum like that. Firing a coach that's winning 10+ games a year would cause Jack so much grief and look bad for the university. You have a board that doesn't want to be known primarily for FB. If you fire a guy winning like that, it tells the world you are a FB school.
 
IrishRazor82

IrishRazor82

Banned
Messages
861
Reaction score
356
I'm not saying it's late, but it will be late after tonight and the longer this goes on, the less likely it's Freeman. I'm growing more and more bored with the idea of Fickell. Matt Campbell would put me in a coma.
 
NDMatt91

NDMatt91

Well-known member
Messages
3,533
Reaction score
3,453
IrishRazor82 said:
I'm not saying it's late, but it will be late after tonight and the longer this goes on, the less likely it's Freeman. I'm growing more and more bored with the idea of Fickell. Matt Campbell would put me in a coma.
Click to expand...

Fickell will be BK 2.0, best case. Not an elite recruiter who will go 10-2/11-1 by beating up on average teams and continuing to get blown out in big games. No thanks. Safe, boring, predictable hire. Swing for the fences on an elite recruiter who will close the gap by building a more talented roster.

FWIW, Driskell is saying on his live Youtube chat that Swarbrick wants Fickell but everyone else wants Freeman. He also said that he's hearing that players who are thinking about leaving (Kyren, Foskey) will leave for sure if Freeman isn't the HC.
 
Irish#1

Irish#1

Livin' Your Dream!
Staff member
Messages
44,620
Reaction score
20,108
IrishLax said:
Buried in that article is that Kelly:
1. Turned down LSU when they initially approached him
2. Requested a meeting with Swarbrick and Jenkins, and they blew him off.
3. Took the LSU job when they came back with about $100mil of guaranteed money.
Click to expand...

Do we know that they blew him off or was it that it didn't happen in the time frame Kelly wanted?

Still, in the time between the Tigers’ initial flirtations several weeks ago and the time that Kelly accepted the job, Kelly had requested a meeting with Swarbrick and Notre Dame president Rev. John Jenkins that ended up never happening.
Click to expand...

Given the way this has went down and using some good old hindsight, I think Kelly let his ego get in the way. He wanted an immediate agreement for improvements and when the meeting didn't happen in the time he wanted, he made his decision. Not saying the administration is off the hook for some of this, but I think he may have been pushing for immediate answers. Why? Because LSU had been whispering sweet nothings in his ear for a while and he was about to lose the offer.
 
Last edited:
Rogue219

Rogue219

Well-known member
Messages
5,430
Reaction score
1,080
IrishRazor82 said:
I'm not saying it's late, but it will be late after tonight and the longer this goes on, the less likely it's Freeman. I'm growing more and more bored with the idea of Fickell. Matt Campbell would put me in a coma.
Click to expand...

I'm going to go into a fit of rage if I see one more suggestion of Dan Mullen for OC or David Cutcliffe for QB coach.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top