A few "memories" (far beyond "opinions"):
A. Coach Kelly was and is a great head coach. He heals crummy programs, and makes them serial winners just short of National Championships. When he was hired he inherited a LOUSY QB prospects room. Only Dayne Crist was present as a possible player. When Crist turned into a surprise panicker, Coach had NOBODY. If you revisit Coach's quotes a year later as he contemplated recruiting, he chuckled about this and said (this is pretty close to a quote): Maybe I won't have to recruit eight QBs in this class. In his first recruiting year he DID recruit at least SIX guys who had been high school QBs --- he knew he had to go bonkers in that position in hopes of someone who would be at least competent. The person that he found (AND THE ONLY ONE) was Tommy Rees, who saved our respectability for a few years even as every fan screamed crap at him and Kelly. There were no QBs recruited in the previous 2009 class, and only Crist in the 2008 with Nate Montana as a PWO. Coach scrambled late in the game (remember that he had to let the OC/DC coach Cincy in their bowl game to try to get set up in hopes of salvaging something. He signed Rees, Hendrix, Massa, Danny Spond who was aimed elsewhere, but was a disaster relief option, and a guy named Roback --- Montana's other son slipped away late. SIX QBs. One succeeded against all odds. Thus Kelly's wry humor about recruiting eight QBs. I write this to remind everyone about how much sh!t Coach was facing. Freeman is not facing quite the problems Kelly had (he also inherits high level OL and DL people. Better than Kelly's --- remember that we had only one blue chip OLine recruit and he killed himself in an accident at a party.)
B. Coach Freeman does NOT have Coach Kelly's post-Cincinnati savvy ... probably about ANYTHING except coaching defense (though Kelly was pretty good at that too.) (And Coach Freeman seems to have a better personality for recruiting.) If personnel problems arise (they have), he won't have the "wisdom" yet to deal with them as efficiently as Coach Kelly can do. So fans have the choice: Do you recognize this severe learning curve? If you don't then your view is doomed to emotional ignorance in assessing anything about the Freeman potential and reality. If you DO recognize this, then you must decide whether you are going to be patient or want faster gratification. IE is full of both types. (mostly impatient adolescent behavior, but still a split.) Those recognizing the growing up phase for Coach Freeman, can still be split: those who think he'll be more than a defensive mind and a recruiter, and those who don't. If the latter, then even those who give Coach Freeman some slack may still not think that he is the right guy for this job.
There's lots more that can be said about Coach Kelly and Coach Freeman. They probably should not be over-analyzed and griped about in their at-the-moment performances. For one thing, our great former coach is gone. What's the point of bringing him in as to any pity party? Hate him or not, Coach Kelly was a great coach. All the national commentators agree to that. He's going into the Hall of Fame eventually. All we can hope for now is that Coach Freemen (in what? six to eight years?) becomes a mature head coach who is in the conversation of best NCAA coaches. There's NO data yet pointing to that. There MIGHT be ultimately, but decide for yourselves whether you want to be patient here, and admit that if you voice concrete opinions about how good Coach Freeman will become as a head coach, you, and NO ONE, knows what we are talking about.
... I guess it "passes the time" ... but public opinion (even baseless opinion) CAN ultimately influence real world decisions in people's lives, rather than armchair "fans." I'm choosing to just blank out on Coach Freeman (yes I HOPE he succeeds --- I'm an ND fan) and let this play out. I ain't seen nuthin' yet, but there's a bunch yet to come.
