Marcus Freeman named Dick Corbett Head Football Coach

Jiggafini19Deux

Jiggafini19Deux

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irishnd31

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Jiggafini19Deux said:
I have three daughters but I come to this board for the girl drama. It's great.
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Well, there is plenty of it on every thread to meet your needs. It truly is a Christmas blessing that keeps on giving all year round... especially in the off-season.
 
IrishLax

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My concern meter is a solid 6.5 out of 10. Why? Well, Notre Dame side people have had the same narrative for awhile about the contract extension getting done yet it hasn't. There are a handful of reasons for delay, but one of the simplest would be that Freeman sees no rush to sign it. Next you have all the NFL side reports about him being an attractive candidate. There will be ~7 jobs open two weeks from now. Most people are going to listen to phone calls and weigh all of their options. And I understand why a young guy would be interested in the NFL... plenty of tread on the tires, if he fails like Saban he can try again somewhere else. Plus he never got the opportunity to play at that level because of his medical issues so he probably has an itch to scratch.

I still think that the most likely scenario is that he does at least the 2026 season at ND but the playoff exclusion I think has really had a profound, compounding negative impact on ND and this shit is just the cherry on top.
 
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IrishTusker

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IrishLax said:
My concern meter is a solid 6.5 out of 10. Why? Well, Notre Dame side people have had the same narrative for awhile about the contract extension getting done yet it hasn't. There are a handful of reasons for delay, but one of the simplest would be that Freeman sees no rush to sign it. Next you have all the NFL side reports about him being an attractive candidate. There will be ~7 jobs open two weeks from now. Most people are going to listen to phone calls and weigh all of their options. And I understand why a young guy would be interested in the NFL... plenty of tread on the tires, if he fails like Saban he can try again somewhere else. Plus he never got the opportunity to play at that level because of his medical issues so he probably has an itch to scratch.

I still think that the most likely scenario is that he does at least the 2026 season at ND but the playoff exclusion I think has really had a profound, compounding negative impact on ND and this shit is just the cherry on top.
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It could be that the playoff exclusion has just soured him on college football. And fair enough. Although if the defense was even just mediocre early in the season (which is ultimately his responsibility) we're in the playoff. Anyway, he is what, 39? The NFL will be around in 10-15 years (or sooner) whenever he wants to leave.

But yeah, it's time to start making a list.
 
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IrishLax said:
My concern meter is a solid 6.5 out of 10. Why? Well, Notre Dame side people have had the same narrative for awhile about the contract extension getting done yet it hasn't. There are a handful of reasons for delay, but one of the simplest would be that Freeman sees no rush to sign it. Next you have all the NFL side reports about him being an attractive candidate. There will be ~7 jobs open two weeks from now. Most people are going to listen to phone calls and weigh all of their options. And I understand why a young guy would be interested in the NFL... plenty of tread on the tires, if he fails like Saban he can try again somewhere else. Plus he never got the opportunity to play at that level because of his medical issues so he probably has an itch to scratch.

I still think that the most likely scenario is that he does at least the 2026 season at ND but the playoff exclusion I think has really had a profound, compounding negative impact on ND and this shit is just the cherry on top.
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Can merckx or anyone else let us know for sure that the extension is on the table and he just hasn't signed it?
 
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IrishLax said:
My concern meter is a solid 6.5 out of 10. Why? Well, Notre Dame side people have had the same narrative for awhile about the contract extension getting done yet it hasn't. There are a handful of reasons for delay, but one of the simplest would be that Freeman sees no rush to sign it. Next you have all the NFL side reports about him being an attractive candidate. There will be ~7 jobs open two weeks from now. Most people are going to listen to phone calls and weigh all of their options. And I understand why a young guy would be interested in the NFL... plenty of tread on the tires, if he fails like Saban he can try again somewhere else. Plus he never got the opportunity to play at that level because of his medical issues so he probably has an itch to scratch.

I still think that the most likely scenario is that he does at least the 2026 season at ND but the playoff exclusion I think has really had a profound, compounding negative impact on ND and this shit is just the cherry on top.
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Let me ask you this: if he was the head coach at an SEC school, would he have signed the extension by now? Is there anything ND specific that’s a hold up for him is what I’m asking.
 
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I honestly still don’t understand why an NFL GM would throw a bunch of money at Freeman at this point.

I mean I do because they make stupid decisions all the time (particularly the Raiders, Cowboys and Browns) but Freeman has had one really good season at ND, and three good to ok seasons all with loses to the best teams on the schedule and or to teams with less talent largely due to coaching in my opinion.

Objectively, based on results it makes zero sense to me as to why he would be a hot commodity for an NFL head coaching gig.

Had this team made the playoffs, went on a run and or won it all then I would understand the hype.
 
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Jiggafini19Deux

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Marcus Freeman presents himself as the old school guy whose father was in the military. He is mentored by Lou Holtz and Jim Tressel. The simple solution that Marcus Freeman would likely make in public is that they should have beaten Miami and TAMU. There ends the frustration of being snubbed out of the playoffs this year. The situation sucks, sure, but I'm willing to bet that part of his message to the team was they did enough but could have done more. You can always do more. So the idea that he won't sign an extension because he's sore about not making the playoff doesn't seem to fit with the persona he has given off since he became HC. At least not to me.

NFL teams are going to be intrigued about Marcus Freeman because I'm going to wager that the majority of the feedback they're getting about him is mostly very good. Former players, former assistant coaches now in the NFL, scouts who have interacted with him since he's been at ND and even going back to his assistant coaching stops. It is inevitable that as long as he keeps winning, as long as more people continue to write glowing reviews of him as a professional and as a person, as long as he's visible to the masses that there is going to be interest. Signing a new contract absolutely does not change that.

A year from now, I hope we're sitting here again having the same damn conversation because that's probably going to be the case when he stays.
 
IrishSteelhead

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2013Irish said:
Have we ever considered that he's just enjoying a couple unexpected weeks off from a grind of a job with his wife and six kids and doesn't feel like wading into a manufactured story?
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Has HE ever considered that we are not enjoying a couple weeks off from a grind of a job with our wife and kids and don’t feel like waiting???????????????


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Ndaccountant

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IrishLax said:
My concern meter is a solid 6.5 out of 10. Why? Well, Notre Dame side people have had the same narrative for awhile about the contract extension getting done yet it hasn't. There are a handful of reasons for delay, but one of the simplest would be that Freeman sees no rush to sign it. Next you have all the NFL side reports about him being an attractive candidate. There will be ~7 jobs open two weeks from now. Most people are going to listen to phone calls and weigh all of their options. And I understand why a young guy would be interested in the NFL... plenty of tread on the tires, if he fails like Saban he can try again somewhere else. Plus he never got the opportunity to play at that level because of his medical issues so he probably has an itch to scratch.

I still think that the most likely scenario is that he does at least the 2026 season at ND but the playoff exclusion I think has really had a profound, compounding negative impact on ND and this shit is just the cherry on top.
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My thinking is that he has at least some interest in the NFL. ND knows this and is trying to make it difficult for him to leave ND under any circumstances given the resources they are committing to him. Likely negotiating those terms is the hold up is my read.
 
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Ndaccountant said:
My thinking is that he has at least some interest in the NFL. ND knows this and is trying to make it difficult for him to leave ND under any circumstances given the resources they are committing to him. Likely negotiating those terms is the hold up is my read.
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Agreed. ND doesn't want to be in this position every year so I suspect that their contract offer to Freeman would preclude him going to the NFL for a number of seasons. So Freeman has to decide NFL now or maybe 5yrs from now.
 
IrishLax

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ozzman said:
Can merckx or anyone else let us know for sure that the extension is on the table and he just hasn't signed it?
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I can say with absolute certainty that there is/was an extension on the table and that they have/had agreed to terms on principle. Yet it still remains unsigned, no press release, etc. and he's currently on vacation. So it's not being treated as a time sensitive manner, and unless you believe that there is still language getting hammered out (possible) or that ND is balking at $$ (unlikely) the only logical hold up is him wanting to see what the opportunities are on January 5th. One specific rumor is that the haggling is over an escalator clause that will automatically adjust his contract to meet-or-exceed any other offer he gets, but the language on that is quite tricky for obvious reasons.
 
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IrishLax said:
I can say with absolute certainty that there is/was an extension on the table and that they have/had agreed to terms on principle. Yet it still remains unsigned, no press release, etc. and he's currently on vacation. So it's not being treated as a time sensitive manner, and unless you believe that there is still language getting hammered out (possible) or that ND is balking at $$ (unlikely) the only logical hold up is him wanting to see what the opportunities are on January 5th. One specific rumor is that the haggling is over an escalator clause that will automatically adjust his contract to meet-or-exceed any other offer he gets, but the language on that is quite tricky for obvious reasons.
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Thanks for the response. As much of an ideal as it would be, I can't imagine MF leaving his phone completely off on vacation. He deserves the break, but it isn't realistic to think it's full radio silence. He has to know about the rumblings and nervousness his silence is causing. I agree with your logic that him wanting to see what is out there is the most likely reason, but if we take Pete at his word, it could be ironing out the escalator language.

Even if he has NFL aspirations, I can't believe MF would walk away from this roster he's building. I also don't think Washington and Seider turn down offers and choose to stay for a coach with a foot out the door.
 
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IrishLax said:
I can say with absolute certainty that there is/was an extension on the table and that they have/had agreed to terms on principle. Yet it still remains unsigned, no press release, etc. and he's currently on vacation. So it's not being treated as a time sensitive manner, and unless you believe that there is still language getting hammered out (possible) or that ND is balking at $$ (unlikely) the only logical hold up is him wanting to see what the opportunities are on January 5th. One specific rumor is that the haggling is over an escalator clause that will automatically adjust his contract to meet-or-exceed any other offer he gets, but the language on that is quite tricky for obvious reasons.
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An escalator to match anything shouldn’t be hard, it’s ND putting their money where their mouth is based on what Pete said 2 weeks ago.

ND has no idea how far they will likely fall if they lose Freeman. The entire ND community is behind him and that wasn’t even the case during Holtz.
 
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ozzman said:
Thanks for the response. As much of an ideal as it would be, I can't imagine MF leaving his phone completely off on vacation. He deserves the break, but it isn't realistic to think it's full radio silence. He has to know about the rumblings and nervousness his silence is causing. I agree with your logic that him wanting to see what is out there is the most likely reason, but if we take Pete at his word, it could be ironing out the escalator language.

Even if he has NFL aspirations, I can't believe MF would walk away from this roster he's building. I also don't think Washington and Seider turn down offers and choose to stay for a coach with a foot out the door.
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I mean, three weeks ago Pete said we were safely ahead of Miami and that USC/ND would be playing next year.
 
IrishLax

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RudyVerse said:
An escalator to match anything shouldn’t be hard, it’s ND putting their money where their mouth is based on what Pete said 2 weeks ago.

ND has no idea how far they will likely fall if they lose Freeman. The entire ND community is behind him and that wasn’t even the case during Holtz.
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It is hard, most coaches who have had something like this it's written "contract will be adjusted yearly to be top 5 paid coach" or something like that. It works off of other executed contracts. This one would be for a "credible offer" which is a lot like the escalating offers in real estate which are rife with issues and abuse. It's easy to see where that kind of contractual term could / would get weird. And even the ones that work off of executed contracts have gone out of fashion because they can become circular. But yeah, I dunno, I'm not a lawyer obviously.
 
Notre Dame Joe

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IrishLax said:
I can say with absolute certainty that there is/was an extension on the table and that they have/had agreed to terms on principle. Yet it still remains unsigned, no press release, etc. and he's currently on vacation. So it's not being treated as a time sensitive manner, and unless you believe that there is still language getting hammered out (possible) or that ND is balking at $$ (unlikely) the only logical hold up is him wanting to see what the opportunities are on January 5th. One specific rumor is that the haggling is over an escalator clause that will automatically adjust his contract to meet-or-exceed any other offer he gets, but the language on that is quite tricky for obvious reasons.
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I can say with partial-certainty the answer if Jimmy Sexton.
 
Huntr

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calvegas04 said:
Maybe ND wants a big buyout but MF is asking for small or none
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There's no way ND is asking for a big walk buyout.

Those simply don't exist in major CFB HC contracts, and insisting on having one would be ND cutting their own throat with future hires
 
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