What do we think of Swarbrick now?

[Junkhead]

Was it a homerun hire? Did he do it the right way? Discuss...

 

[jason_h537]

Kept it low profile which was smart but made the boards go into a frenzy. I would call it a lead off double right now. There is no such thing as a home run hire. He has got a great chance to score.

 

[Junkhead]

I can't put my finger on it, but he just has that look of someone you don't trust, but are happy he is on your side.

 

[The hawaiianassassin]

just hope he does not do the same thing to us wich he probably will but at least it will be to the NFL and by then we will have better coaches wanting to come i hope

 

[WabashFalcon]

Let's see how recruiting goes the next couple of weeks. He pulls in a Cooper and keeps all the guys we got right now, he's trying to stretch it into a triple. He gets a Henderson or Chris Martin back in the fold, Triple. Head-first triple. Not even a discussion.

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

His amazing skill at keeping everything a secret annoyed me and made me go insane. I commend him on that (although the insane part was already half-way done I believe).

 

[Dizzyphil]

The recruiting I don't think will define coach Kelly (his first couple of weeks), I think it will be his supporting cast. Let's see who he gets in here as assistants and then go from there. There is a couple I hope he retains.

As far as Swarbrick, I think he found the best one available.
Diz

 

[BGIF]

Was it a homerun hire? ...

I previously gave him a bases clearing double. I'll take the 3 runs anytime over a solo homer.

But it's still the first inning.

 

[LOVEMYIRISH]

Home Run...he hit one...big time.

 

[dskoo65]

I previously gave him a bases clearing double. I'll take the 3 runs anytime over a solo homer.

But it's still the first inning.

good analogy. not a home run, but the ball is still in the air, in slo-mo, and we will see how far it carries.

did he have a hard job landing Kelly? id say absolutely not. everyone knew he'd come if offered the job, whether or not 10 other guys were sought out by Swarbrick before him. Kelly was always going to be waiting for that call.

 

[NDMontana]

just hope he does not do the same thing to us wich he probably will but at least it will be to the NFL and by then we will have better coaches wanting to come i hope

I don't see BK going to the NFL unless there's a seismac shift in the way offenses are ran in the league; his offense is a college offense.

I think this was a good hire and Swarbrick confirmed (or at least claimed) that this was the only offer he made to any candidate thus confirming what many suspected: Stoops was never offered the job.

 

[NDinL.A.]

I love the way he went about this process. He told the most powerful alumni group group/board of trustees that they were going to have NO SAY and would have no influence on the hire, and he stuck to his guns. And if you know anything about the BOT, then you know how difficult that is.

I loved how the entire media was tripping over themselves chasing false leads (and reporting them anyways), contradicting each other (and in the case of Joe Schadd, himself) every single day, every single hour. They all looked like fools, espcially ESPN and foolish websites like that football coaches joke of a site.

As for the actual hire, I LOVE it. Maybe I'm drinking the Kool-aid, but I've read up a ton on Kelly, and he just excites me for what he can and will do at ND. I'm in. Are you in?

 

[tankjeep]

I love the way he went about this process. He told the most powerful alumni group group/board of trustees that they were going to have NO SAY and would have no influence on the hire, and he stuck to his guns. And if you know anything about the BOT, then you know how difficult that is.

I loved how the entire media was tripping over themselves chasing false leads (and reporting them anyways), contradicting each other (and in the case of Joe Schadd, himself) every single day, every single hour. They all looked like fools, espcially ESPN and foolish websites like that football coaches joke of a site.

As for the actual hire, I LOVE it. Maybe I'm drinking the Kool-aid, but I've read up a ton on Kelly, and he just excites me for what he can and will do at ND. I'm in. Are you in?

yes i am.

 

[NDOM]

I love the way he went about this process. He told the most powerful alumni group group/board of trustees that they were going to have NO SAY and would have no influence on the hire, and he stuck to his guns. And if you know anything about the BOT, then you know how difficult that is.

I loved how the entire media was tripping over themselves chasing false leads (and reporting them anyways), contradicting each other (and in the case of Joe Schadd, himself) every single day, every single hour. They all looked like fools, espcially ESPN and foolish websites like that football coaches joke of a site.

As for the actual hire, I LOVE it. Maybe I'm drinking the Kool-aid, but I've read up a ton on Kelly, and he just excites me for what he can and will do at ND. I'm in. Are you in?

I agree. I'm in for sure. Having seen about 20 GVSU games when he was coach like it did would make a lot of nay sayers think differently. Only time will tell but I can tell you this, he is WAY more intense than Lou Holtz was and thats saying a lot.

 

[BearGB]

I'm sure we will probably never hear the details - although maybe later on a few will leak out, however I would love to actually have a timeline of how Jack went about this. It would be incredibly interesting to see how everything actually transpired: which rumors were true, how much interest did Stoops actually display, what was Meyer's reaction, who else was interested? Totally satisfied and completely excited about our new man, BK, but it is always intriguing to know what truly happened during the search.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

He sounds like a tremendous offensive coach. But, more than that, he sounds like a tremendous college coach. He can get young men to run through a brick wall for him. I've missed watching guys fly around the field on defense the last several years. See Chris Zorich's quotes about passion in the SBT today.

I'm very optimistic. BK will get a huge upgrade in talent. He'is loaded with 4 & 5 star talent on both sides of the ball (thank you Charlie). It sounds like he can be the right guy to get that talent to finally surface.

As for Swarbrick's grade, only time will tell if the above is true...but, I sure hope so.

 

[JefMaj]

According to what I've heard... No contact with Kelly until after Pitt game. That brief talks were had in Stoops direction (sis-in-law works at ND and heard that through friend in AD Dept.), however, very brief. That no talks with Harbaugh, or feelers. Than no AD's were contacted other than Cincy's, about contact with their coaches. That Kelly was always #1 and first contact came Wednesday... they met Wednesday (never in NYC) offer was made Wednesday evening at 8:00 pm... and accepted Thursday afternoon. Kelly was the only coach that met with JS.

There's an article in the Elkhart Truth called "Search Engine" - couldn't find it on NDNation.com

 

[BearGB]

According to what I've heard... No contact with Kelly until after Pitt game. That brief talks were had in Stoops direction (sis-in-law works at ND and heard that through friend in AD Dept.), however, very brief. That no talks with Harbaugh, or feelers. Than no AD's were contacted other than Cincy's, about contact with their coaches. That Kelly was always #1 and first contact came Wednesday... they met Wednesday (never in NYC) offer was made Wednesday evening at 8:00 pm... and accepted Thursday afternoon. Kelly was the only coach that met with JS.

There's an article in the Elkhart Truth called "Search Engine" - couldn't find it on NDNation.com

Very interesting. Do you know where they met on Wednesday?

 

[JefMaj]

The article said it would remain unknown... Swarbrick bought a new phone and only gave the # to Jenkins and a few others so he could not be tracked - only used it for coaching issue.

 

[IrishChris209]

good analogy. not a home run, but the ball is still in the air, in slo-mo, and we will see how far it carries.

Let's just hope Torri Hunter does not go over the wall and snag this home run in Center Field !!

 

[jgent78]

Here's hoping Kelly can get the defense to lay the wood to people.

 

[IrishinSyria]

As was said earlier, ball is still in the air. And as I said way earlier, I will be in love with Kelly by the time the season comes around.

But you asked what we think of Jack now. Here's my take.

Get a coach who has a winning history: A

Obviously good. You can't fault Kelly's record.

Get an experienced coach: B-

Long time as a head coach, but almost no time at a national power. If we can get coordinators with experience at big time schools who have contacts across the country, this becomes less important.

Get A coach who is a significant upgrade ($18m)from Weis: C+

Only time will tell on this, but if money was no object why weren't we playing ball with the big boys (Urban, Stoops, etc). I have a tough time believing that ND as a school is better off buying out Weis and paying Kelly than they would have been keeping Weis.

Get a coach who will fit in South Bend: C

Let's see, Charlie Weis was a strong offensive coach whose defense killed him. We're bringing in a strong offensive coach, whose offense relies even more on a WR-based aerial attack than Weis. Kelly will need a strong D coordinator to get this D in shape and will likely under-utilize ND's deepest positions: the TEs and RBs. On the other hand, he is Irish Catholic, and that's kinda cool.

Long term outlook: ?

Let's face it, Kelly is the Flavor of the Week. He's coming off 2 BCS bowl appearances and he runs a spread offense (just like everybody else in the country is starting to). There is certainly a lot of potential in the hire, but there are a lot of questions too. Personally, I think the buyout money would have been better spent buying Charlie a top flight D-coordinator with a ton of energy.

Basically, Jack did exactly what people expected him to do, in a very professional fashion. There is nothing bold or visionary about the choice. Will it turn out well? Only time will tell. Also, who the school can get in place under Kelly is VERY important. But Jack does get an A+ for keeping everybody guessing this whole time.

 

[NDOM]

As was said earlier, ball is still in the air. And as I said way earlier, I will be in love with Kelly by the time the season comes around.

But you asked what we think of Jack now. Here's my take.

Get a coach who has a winning history: A

Obviously good. You can't fault Kelly's record.

Get an experienced coach: B-

Long time as a head coach, but almost no time at a national power. If we can get coordinators with experience at big time schools who have contacts across the country, this becomes less important.

Get A coach who is a significant upgrade ($18m)from Weis: C+

Only time will tell on this, but if money was no object why weren't we playing ball with the big boys (Urban, Stoops, etc). I have a tough time believing that ND as a school is better off buying out Weis and paying Kelly than they would have been keeping Weis.

Get a coach who will fit in South Bend: C

Let's see, Charlie Weis was a strong offensive coach whose defense killed him. We're bringing in a strong offensive coach, whose offense relies even more on a WR-based aerial attack than Weis. Kelly will need a strong D coordinator to get this D in shape and will likely under-utilize ND's deepest positions: the TEs and RBs. On the other hand, he is Irish Catholic, and that's kinda cool.

Long term outlook: ?

Let's face it, Kelly is the Flavor of the Week. He's coming off 2 BCS bowl appearances and he runs a spread offense (just like everybody else in the country is starting to). There is certainly a lot of potential in the hire, but there are a lot of questions too. Personally, I think the buyout money would have been better spent buying Charlie a top flight D-coordinator with a ton of energy.

Basically, Jack did exactly what people expected him to do, in a very professional fashion. There is nothing bold or visionary about the choice. Will it turn out well? Only time will tell. Also, who the school can get in place under Kelly is VERY important. But Jack does get an A+ for keeping everybody guessing this whole time.

You will like kelly in a matter of time. He's da man.

 

[IrishinSyria]

You will like kelly in a matter of time. He's da man.

There's no doubt about that. But is he an 18 million dollar upgrade?

 

[OCIrish]

I have been very critical of JS, and in my opinion, justified. We've been outcoached, and beaten very soundly over the last 13 years, because of AD's making inept calls at the HC position for the football team. I still think that Stoops could have been persuaded with the right kind of cash, but Kelly was who I expected to end up with the job. Kelly has won at every stop he's been to and I expect much the same in South Bend. On the other hand, I also thought that Weis would get it as well, but I was wrong. Did Jack make the right call? Only time will tell, let's revisit this question after year 3, and that will give the tell tale sign if Jack did his due dilligence in the HC search. Don't get me wrong, I really hope that Coach Kelly gets it done, I'm sick of mediocrity resonating from the Irish football team, there's too much talent to be losing the way they have.

 

[NDinL.A.]

There's no doubt about that. But is he an 18 million dollar upgrade?

***What the hell is an 18 million dollar upgrade???

I could care less how much of a dollar figure you choose to put on it. Is he an upgrade? Absolutely. He's won everywhere he has been, and even better, HIS PLAYERS DEVELOP UNDER HIM. And just as important, he takes 2 and 3 star guys and regularly and consistently beats teams with equal or better talent. He didn't lose to teams like Navy or Syracuse or UCONN or Navy with 4 and 5 star guys. He beat UConn and Pitt with low-rated players when CW couldn't do it with highly rated players. For you to give him a C+ upgrade from Weis, regardless of $$$ amount, is a joke. And this is coming from a guy who loves CW.

***You gave him a "C" on fit in South Bend. WTF? He wants to be here, he's dreamed of being here, this is his dream job, he left a BCS game and an undefeated season to be here, he's beyond excited, he's won everywhere he's went, his defense lost 10 of 11 starters from last year and he STILL went undefeated (beating 2 teams we lost 2), he actually has a defensive background, he's hungry as hell, and oh yeah, he's not scared of the challenge that is being the coach at ND. He's embracing it full-steam. And he's Irish Catholic. That's not better than a "C"??? He's a fantastic fit.

***Flavor of the Week??? Name a better candidate??? I keep asking you anti-Kelly guys this, and not one of you has responded. I expect you to be the 4th one to ignore me. Stoops was not interested in being the ND coach under the ways ND run its program. You could have thrown all the money in the world at him and he wasn't coming. He was a pipe dream that most ND fans got excited for because the media was blowing up a story with out ANY facts. Herbstreit kept on telling us that Stoops wasn't coming but we believed some hacks over a guy who was talking directly to him. HE WAS NEVER COMING. He was not a viable candidate. And neither was Meyer the Liar. Go read the SI piece on him. His wife is everything to him and she wasn't coming to South Bend, period. And he wasn't leaving a program in which he could sleepwalk through recruiting and STILL pick up 20 STUDS from his own state. Not once did he give any indication that he wanted to come to SB. It was another pipe dream. Swarbrick had ZERO chance to hire him. He didn't do the 'safe thing' by hiring Kelly...he did the best thing.

And Kelly is no flavor of the week. He's a proven winner and developer of talent. Cinci's not the biggest stage, but it is a BCS conference team and he's been to 2 BCS bowls, getting better each and every season. That's a true coach fellas. Skip Holtz 2 years ago was a flavor of the week. Edsall and Harbaugh right now could be called flavor of the weeks by your definition.

Oh, and some flavor of the weeks turn out pretty damn good. Meyer and Tressel come to mind. How did those hires turn out?

So I ask you, who is a better candidate who wanted to come to ND than Kelly.

It was a fantastic hire by Swarbrick...

 

[IrishJayhawk]

>>***Flavor of the Week??? Name a better candidate???<<

Agreed.

He has a longer and, arguably, a better resume than Urban Meyer did prior to going to Florida. He has done more with less than anyone in the country.

Stoops was probably always a pipe dream.

 

[NDOM]

>>***Flavor of the Week??? Name a better candidate???<<

Agreed.

He has a longer and, arguably, a better resume than Urban Meyer did prior to going to Florida. He has done more with less than anyone in the country.

Stoops was probably always a pipe dream.

EXACTLY!

 

[OCIrish]

I'm not saying he didn't do the best thing, I felt all along that Kelly would be the next HC. I just feel that Stoops would have been a better hire because he has been in the pressure cooker that is OU, and would be able to translate that to ND, and like I said, I'm rooting for Kelly to succeed, I'm sick of mediocrity.

 

[IrishChris209]

There's no doubt about that. But is he an 18 million dollar upgrade?

How much does the school earn when they go to a BCS bowl?