Gerad Parker - Troy Head Coach :)

[Giddyup]

Like we should just cancel the season

 

[ulukinatme]

Utah is also playing with their 2nd and 3rd string QBs this season. Their recruiting classes the last 4 years average out to 30th as well.

 

[irishandy]

Hartman isn't the problem one has to wonder if he would've done better in Rees' OC system.

Last year Wake had 1 WR over 1,000 yards and 4 other WR's with over 500 yards.

Granted we've had injuries at WR but through 9 games we don't have any WR over 500 yards.

Talent wise (and no disrespect to Wake) ND recruits better WR's.

For those blaming Hartman....

 

[LSWho?]

While I don't agree with Gold1's evaluation of the Parker-Hartman dynamic, I do agree that the personal attacks on Parker are too much. If someone offers you a promotion that triples your pay and elevates your responsibilities, even if you're not ready for it, you're going to take the opportunity and see what happens.

I have been hard on Parker since I've begun posting, but he has done some cool things at times, like the dual-backs for Ohio State, and the analysis on the last page points out that he is trying to call complementary plays (good eye, luckofirish8 btw). It isn't that Parker doesn't deserve to be an OC somewhere in FBS football. I think he does actually. It just shouldn't be at Notre Dame, not at this time. ND didn't need to gamble with an inexperienced OC when everything else was set for a strong offense.

The responsibility for the offensive problems this season lay squarely on Swarbrick for whatever happened with the Ludwig fiasco and then also on Freeman for defaulting to his friend. I sympathize with MF because Rees left late in the offseason and after the Ludwig fiasco he probably was not sure he had the support of the administration to buy out the best candidate. My fear is that Parker does just enough to make Freeman run it back with him, which would be a huge mistake. Coaches ask players to sacrifice to do what is best for the team all the time; the same standard applies to coaches.

I would gladly accept a co-OC in name only role for GP. He can revert to being an excellent TE coach at higher pay and continue to learn under an experienced play-caller. That's the best solution. If he doesn't accept that, oh well, MF still needs to find the best OC for the job.

 

[NDWarrior]

In addition to up and coming Mack Leftwich with Texas State, I like Joe Craddock with Troy as a well experienced OC but still kind of up and coming as someone I would like to see at ND. Doing good things there.

 

[Irish4life]

Portal in Rising and bring Ludwig with him Inshallah

 

[ThePiombino]

Portal in Rising and bring Ludwig with him Inshallah

This is the way

Sent from my Pixel 8 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[Giddyup]

Ludwig or bust. Never forget!

 

[Ophiocordyceps]

I like Steve Parker for a name change.

 

[Irish#1]

Hartman isn't the problem one has to wonder if he would've done better in Rees' OC system.

Last year Wake had 1 WR over 1,000 yards and 4 other WR's with over 500 yards.

Granted we've had injuries at WR but through 9 games we don't have any WR over 500 yards.

Talent wise (and no disrespect to Wake) ND recruits better WR's.

For those blaming Hartman....

Hard to tell, but isn't ND a more run heavy offense than WF making it hard to compare?

 

[Irish#1]

You guys are the dudes crying because Andy savior Ludwig didn’t come here.

Like we should just cancel the season

You should run things through your brain a second time before posting or use the edit function.

 

[NDdomer2]

You should run things through your brain a second time before posting or use the edit function.

but how about them post count stats!

 

[IrishSpartan]

Why has the ludwig thing been coming up so much now? He wouldnt be my first choice these days

 

[GrangerIrish24]

I'm being a little facetious, but from a talent standpoint this is still the most talented and most experienced offense we've seen since Weis. With Kelly we were lucky to have one good WR a year, or the QB was a struggle, or the RB talent wasn't there, etc. Sometimes it was multiple positions because of the poor recruiting. We were a little thin at WR still this year when a bunch of guys were injured, but the talent is certainly improved from previous seasons.

A part of me wants to say I would rather have the skill talent from the 2015 and 2017 teams

 

[Irish4life]

Why has the ludwig thing been coming up so much now? He wouldnt be my first choice these days

Because the rumor (at least right now) is that Cam Rising will transfer to ND.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

First four games were lights out. Then the level of competition picked up a bit and suddenly it wasn't lights out. You have multiple moving parts happening that caused this. WR group being banged up didn't help Parker or Hartman in any respect. Four straight night games against four ranked opponents. The two road games were football Super Bowls for a couple of basketball schools. OL having it's issues, Parker making his own mistakes late vs Ohio State and against Louisville. They're 7-2 in spite of a lot, mostly of their own doing. That said, they might be 7-2 in spite of themselves. I think come end of season the Ohio State and Louisville losses will look better in hindsight if those two teams take care of business, and it certainly looks on paper like they both can.

Parker won me when he made in game adjustments against NC State. I feel like that happened in the second half vs Pitt but not enough IN BETWEEN those two games. To me he's shown he can beat the teams they're supposed to beat with talent that is a tier below what we have. Still too reliant on the tight end in the passing game, which I believe will come with upgrading the WR room with a couple more classes. The time for life to begin without Hartman and Estime could be coming very soon, too.

As for Hartman, I suppose this can be said in his thread, but in part of the offense as a whole I'll keep it here. He's definitely looked different since the Ohio State game. I think the expectations were high from the outset, and rightfully, plus he did a lot in the first four games to make us feel even more encouraged. He's not perfect, and he's better than the options we'd seen last year without question, but I do tend to agree with the idea that he's already 24 and not in the NFL yet. I'm guessing he's going to have an NFL opportunity come summer to make a team via camp, but there comes a point now where if you're ready to go to the League you do that for the football purposes and don't stick around to collect NIL money. Or maybe not. Maybe times have changed and this is the way.

That first half against Pitt sucked. I was sitting at home again and just hoping the offense would hold them because I think the defense and special teams have been doing quite well overall. Defense in particular. The second half gave me some hope that they can really see these last three games out and get themselves into a good bowl to have an opportunity to beat a good team.

 

[Huntr]

 

[PutuporShutup]

It's not difficult. Every team is defending ND right now relatively similar. You don't need to run the ball 8 times before you can start play action passing.

It's not like parker needs to figure out how Clemson is going to defend ND, yeah there will be nuances, but it will be playing ND 1-1 outside, single safety high, and somewhat load box. Yes there will be differences on 3rd downs, blitzes, etc to prepare for, but parker needs to have ND ready to beat 1-1 press with a loaded box early in the game.

 

[mrmcgrail]

It was a smart game plan getting to the outside with swing passes and quick stuff. They wanted to be ahead of the chains which is also understandable. I would definitely like to see more deep shots. Tyree and Faison have good speed and on that deep ball to Merriweather the safety had to make a choice and you have to make teams pay when you are in single high like that

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

While I don't agree with Gold1's evaluation of the Parker-Hartman dynamic, I do agree that the personal attacks on Parker are too much. If someone offers you a promotion that triples your pay and elevates your responsibilities, even if you're not ready for it, you're going to take the opportunity and see what happens.

I agree with you there. The title of his thread in and of itself indicates that there are instances where our fan base has acted unfairly toward the guy. Offensive coordinators are typically easy targets, though.

The fashion in which the last two OC have been hired and the perception of the relationships with the head coaches who hired them has a lot to do with this. Parker's probably for all intents and purposes a good guy, or we'd hope as much any way. Parker played DI football at UK. Multiple injuries, multiple head coaches. There is some football cred that should be given. Considering about 7 years ago he had a DUI, he's now 42 years old and the OC at Notre Dame. Even if only through networking and social capital, he's come a pretty long way in his career from that point.

Taking the emotions out of it all is a big first step.

 

[ab2cmiller]

It was a smart game plan getting to the outside with swing passes and quick stuff. They wanted to be ahead of the chains which is also understandable. I would definitely like to see more deep shots. Tyree and Faison have good speed and on that deep ball to Merriweather the safety had to make a choice and you have to make teams pay when you are in single high like that

From what I could tell, Parker ran a fair amount of plays similar to what you were wanting. Forcing the single high safety to choose.

Here is Merriweather's shot. I think it was probably the play right before this one, Faison blew by his guy and was open for a long shot, but Hartman didn't see it. I was disappointed. Parker came back with this long shot to Merriweather. Safety had Faison more on his mind on this play and Merriweather was the beneficiary.

 

[ulukinatme]

A part of me wants to say I would rather have the skill talent from the 2015 and 2017 teams

Who was on the 2017 that's better than who we have now? Estime and Love are better than Adams and Dexter. Adams had a ton of yards, but it was also a run heavy offense with Wimbush. Evans is better than Smythe. Tyree will wind up ahead of St. Brown in stats by the end of the year, and Chase hadn't come into his own yet.
2015 Will Fuller was different, no doubt, but I wouldn't take anyone else on that offense over our current guys. Kizer might be the exception, but that 2015 started up front. That team had a ridiculously good OL, I'd take them before any of the skill players: Stanley, Nelson, Martin, Elmer, McGlinchey. That's a big reason Kizer looked so good and when 3 of those OL left that's one reason we struggled in 2016. Obviously the big reason was the awful defense and the loss of Fuller coupled with the inexperienced WR group.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Parker and ND can't really prove much to anyone at this point can they?

Saturday, it was "only Pitt." Clemson, Wake and Stanford are all games most will expect ND to win. If they fail to perform to expectations, Parker sucks. If they are impressive, well, none of these teams are any good.

It's a no win situation as far as optics and perception go. People have already made up their minds that they want a new OC next year and Parker is inept. My advice is clear your schedule and watch an early Big Ten game. You'll see what pathetic offense and play calling looks like. There are a lot of Power Five teams not far off from Iowa offensively, be assured.

 

[ulukinatme]

Parker and ND can't really prove much to anyone at this point can they?

Saturday, it was "only Pitt." Clemson, Wake and Stanford are all games most will expect ND to win. If they fail to perform to expectations, Parker sucks. If they are impressive, well, none of these teams are any good.

It's a no win situation as far as optics and perception go. People have already made up their minds that they want a new OC next year and Parker is inept. My advice is clear your schedule and watch an early Big Ten game. You'll see what pathetic offense and play calling looks like. There are a lot of Power Five teams not far off from Iowa offensively, be assured.

He'd have to face a good defense in a bowl game I think, and then scheme a very successful game for me to consider giving him another chance in 2024. We're losing Hartman next year obviously, along with probably Estime, Alt, and others. If he lays an egg in the bowl I've got no confidence he can put together an offense with so many key parts being replaced.

 

[BoredIrish]

Fwiw Looks like Sean Lewis may be looking for a new gig in the offseason.

Colorado's Shurmur moving to co-offensive coordinator

 

[IrishLax]

Fwiw Looks like Sean Lewis may be looking for a new gig in the offseason.

Colorado's Shurmur moving to co-offensive coordinator

Would be a great hire. Deion is an idiot.

 

[Giddyup]

I actually think Deion is pretty damn smart. He’ll hire right and get the train rolling next year.

 

[irishff1014]

Would be a great hire. Deion is an idiot.

I’ll second this

 

[ab2cmiller]

I would think that it would really hard for Lewis to call plays when Deion keeps screaming “I’m coming”

 

[Irish4life]

Fwiw Looks like Sean Lewis may be looking for a new gig in the offseason.

Colorado's Shurmur moving to co-offensive coordinator

Please......would be a HR