The belief that his recruiting prowess would take ND to the next level was the whole reason ND hired him and his main selling point
If he wasn't going to be able to deliver the goods in recruiting--what then was he bringing to the table as a head coach with ZERO previous experience?--serious question, I'll wait
*Not sure I can recall Jack Swarbick saying anything about recruiting prowess and that notion of an idea was from fans/media stating it....NOT as a fact
*CONTINUITY
"Once word circulated that Freeman was going to be the coach, the valued assistants rallied around the program, making their intentions known.
The first assistant to announce his intention to stay was Director of Performance coach
Matt Balis, who said in a video to the Notre Dame players that he “wanted to die here.”
On Wednesday night, at the Guglielmino, offensive coordinator
Tommy Rees told a group of players that Notre Dame was “where his heart was” and that “for the guys that are coming back, let’s go win a -———- national championship at Notre Dame.” Kelly had reportedly made an offer to Rees.
Shortly after that defensive line coach
Mike Elston, who had been with Kelly since 2004, tweeted, “Notre Dame is home!! 12 years and counting. Let’s ride fellas.”
Other assistants, like running backs coach
Lance Taylor, cornerbacks coach
Mike Mickens, tight ends coach
John McNulty and safeties coach
Chris O’Leary are all staying as well."
* ALSO at the time, had either
Michigan,
Cincinnati,
Alabama or
Oklahoma State lost their conference game there was a real possibility of ND getting into playoff..."Playoff chairman Gary Barta indicated that part of the committee’s evaluation includes whether the team in question has a head coach — a bizarre circumstance put in motion by Kelly’s decision to leave the 11-1 Irish two days after the regular season ended."*continuity was #1
*Swarbick also knew BK had offered Freeman to be the highest paid DEF coordinator and had to make a quick decision