Ask Merckxe525 aka Dear Abby

IRISHDODGER

IRISHDODGER

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LifelongFan said:
Without Marcus, Bowden would be asking people if they want fries with that. You think he would have some respect from the guy who dragged him into this million dollar contract, but that kind of ego explains why we missed on recruits. This program with a real GM is about to shock the world. I truly believe that. Kids today care about "aura" and everything about this program screams aura.
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I wouldn’t go that far. His dad, Jim; was a GM in MLB. I suspect that’s enough to get his son’s foot in the door w/ a MLB organization.
 
zelezo vlk

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BuaConstrictor

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Merckxe525 said:
Pete is perfect for what Notre Dame is trying to do now, while Jack was perfect for what Notre Dame was trying to do then.
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This perfectly encapsulates the mood of many. Putting other sports aside for a moment, Jack was the right man for the right time at Notre Dame when he came in. It's tough to find a bad hire or a bad deal that Jack made in the moments they were made. Some of the deals or coaches aged poorly or he had too much of an issue moving on from certain coaches (Brey) but that was toward the end of Jack's tenure....when the sports world was passing him by a bit.

In all honesty, had it not been for COVID, I think Jack is moving on sometime around 2020 or 2021. He really only stayed on because of COVID and then coming right out of COVID you had the playoff expansion talks escalating. Did Jack hang around too long? Yes. Was some of that out of his control? Yes.

Swarbrick was easily a net positive for the University and the entire reason ND could hire a guy like Pete is because of some of the table setting Jack did. Similar to the only reason Freeman could be hired by ND is because of the place the program was put in by BK.
 
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Irish5Saint

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BuaConstrictor said:
This perfectly encapsulates the mood of many. Putting other sports aside for a moment, Jack was the right man for the right time at Notre Dame when he came in. It's tough to find a bad hire or a bad deal that Jack made in the moments they were made. Some of the deals or coaches aged poorly or he had too much of an issue moving on from certain coaches (Brey) but that was toward the end of Jack's tenure....when the sports world was passing him by a bit.

In all honesty, had it not been for COVID, I think Jack is moving on sometime around 2020 or 2021. He really only stayed on because of COVID and then coming right out of COVID you had the playoff expansion talks escalating. Did Jack hang around too long? Yes. Was some of that out of his control? Yes.

Swarbrick was easily a net positive for the University and the entire reason ND could hire a guy like Pete is because of some of the table setting Jack did. Similar to the only reason Freeman could be hired by ND is because of the place the program was put in by BK.
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Fully agree here. The Athletics Department (and football as a whole) was a mess when Kevin White got fired. Swarbrick is very much the reaosn ND hasn’t joined the ACC or Big 10 full time by now. He did a very good job at allowing ND to remain relevant and a player in the moves in the CFB world.
 
Kingbish01

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Merck....For fun out of Klubnik, Milroe and Ewers if the rumors are true that all three were on ND's radar and even maybe contacted. Which one (if any) was the closest to really happening?
 
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Curious from the coaches/players perspective: what were the most rewarding/fulfilling victories of the Freeman era (both on the field and in recruiting).

What was the vibe like around the program during and in the immediate aftermath of the Kelly departure (leaving Merriweather recruiting trip, 6am meeting with team in Gug)?
 
Irish8248

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Merckxe525 said:
2022 - Clemson

2023 - USC

2024 - Texas A&M, Georgia, Penn State

All of these wins were absolutely massive.

The players were uncertain, but optimistic.

Within the program, and administration, the majority were very pleased Kelly was gone.

As soon as it was clear Marcus was getting the job, absolutely everyone was ecstatic (I'm not sure I will ever be able to fully related how much Marcus is universally loved)
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Oooooh shit, someone within the Gug set FBK up with a LSU offer..... and he TOOK IT!

That's skull and bones society shit. Classified UFO/Hoffa/Bigfoot shit.
 
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BuaConstrictor said:
This perfectly encapsulates the mood of many. Putting other sports aside for a moment, Jack was the right man for the right time at Notre Dame when he came in. It's tough to find a bad hire or a bad deal that Jack made in the moments they were made. Some of the deals or coaches aged poorly or he had too much of an issue moving on from certain coaches (Brey) but that was toward the end of Jack's tenure....when the sports world was passing him by a bit.

In all honesty, had it not been for COVID, I think Jack is moving on sometime around 2020 or 2021. He really only stayed on because of COVID and then coming right out of COVID you had the playoff expansion talks escalating. Did Jack hang around too long? Yes. Was some of that out of his control? Yes.

Swarbrick was easily a net positive for the University and the entire reason ND could hire a guy like Pete is because of some of the table setting Jack did. Similar to the only reason Freeman could be hired by ND is because of the place the program was put in by BK.
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Curious what you mean by the reference to 2020 and 2021 and whether there is a story there?

And is it too simple to boil the value of his legacy down to what Brian's success was and/or what Marcus will be able to achieve?
 
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Irish5Saint

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Merck can you share anything about staff members who other schools made runs at but ND mananged to keep in recent years?
 
KPENN

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Has Swarbrick been around quite a bit still? I saw him at the Stanford game
 
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Islandboi

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Irish#1 said:
You do that and IE will put a statue of you in between gates 3 & 4 at the stadium.
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Um. Who's Chadwick and what'd he do? What'd I miss? And Chadwick. If you ruffle the features of Mercksadomas. Sir. I will be riding at dawn.🤣🤣
 
BuaConstrictor

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GC90ND said:
And is it too simple to boil the value of his legacy down to what Brian's success was and/or what Marcus will be able to achieve?
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I didn't boil his legacy down to that, FWIW. Wasn't my intent. I was trying to draw a similarity between what BK did at ND and the condition he left the program in for Freeman and what Jack did for ND Athletics as a whole and how Pete B is able to spring board off of that.
 
BuaConstrictor

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GC90ND said:
Curious what you mean by the reference to 2020 and 2021 and whether there is a story there?
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What Mercke said.

That's not exactly a secret though. Swabrick let that slip a time or two when talking with Prister on a pod/interview.

The more interesting sliding doors moment is that I think it actually benefitted ND that Swarbrick hung around as long as he did..even if the last few years weren't as great as his epoch years. Had he left around 2021, we aren't hiring Pete B and I'm not sure we get someone as forward-thinking. Pete B, Fr. Dowd, and the new BoT leadership all happening nearly in unison wasn't a coincidence.
 
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BuaConstrictor said:
I didn't boil his legacy down to that, FWIW. Wasn't my intent. I was trying to draw a similarity between what BK did at ND and the condition he left the program in for Freeman and what Jack did for ND Athletics as a whole and how Pete B is able to spring board off of that.
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No, I apologize, I think my tone / intent was lost there, and part of what I was trying to say was basically the opposite of how I think it came across: I think for most people, over time, you will be able to boil Swarbrick's legacy down to those three things - hiring BK, hiring Marcus, and setting the table for Pete. Helping ND maintain its independence, being one of the principal architects of the 4-Team and 12-Team CFPs, being the first school to publicly advocate for NIL comp, the UA deal (notwithstanding some people now feel differently about that), etc. are all important contributing factors to a fulsomely accounted legacy story, no doubt, but for most people those will not matter, particularly if Marcus wins a NC. And if legacies are determined by the balance of public opinion, then I guess I would ultimately agree with the notion that his legacy will be measured the three things above.

There were A LOT of skeptics when Marcus was hired, and even more after Marshall obviously. Not as many now.
 
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