Jack Swarbrick Press Conference Disaster

[Irishize]

British Knights or gtfo

Nah, got go w/ a brand a Domer promoted…LA Gear

 

[Irishize]

This is probably not worth typing, but it has always puzzled me that people seem to think that an employee (even a very highly placed one like Swarbrick) would have the power to initiate and dominate planning on very big agendas without being significantly constricted by his employers. I've pretty much always thought that Swarbrick was in a nearly unwinnable situation much of the time, as he is eternally caught between what staff feels that they essentially need and how the real bosses view their "bigger picture." Maybe fans need a face to complain about. I'm boggled at how this fellow has survived this constriction for so long and done pretty well. I have been expecting his resignation and withdrawal towards peace for awhile, but wouldn't be surprised if he just died on the job suddenly. ... not sure that I see that as a plus in many dimensions.

I agree. He’s like a middle manager trying to appease his bosses and his underlings. I think ND is in a no-win situation w/ big time CFB as it sits today. They’ll always be a step (or three) behind the P5 factories as it relates to NIL. Until they reconcile taking on undergrad transfers (w/o the long waiting period to see if they qualify), they’ll be behind there as well.

JMO but in 2022, a P5 program cannot be all things to all parties. There’s no “splitting the baby” here. ND needs to be all in or all out. That’s why I wouldn’t mind seeing CFB break into two leagues. A professional league where the players are employees and all paid a salary/benefits/etc and not required to go to class and a traditional student-athlete model where the kids willingly sign w/ a school (not a coach) based on the education & the chance of being drafted. So a league may look like this: ND, Northwestern, WF, GT, Vandy, Stanford, Rice, Army, Navy, Air Force, Duke, Virginia and the Ivy League schools. I know that wouldn’t be a popular choice on a fan-based message board but ND struggled to keep up w/ the factories before NIL. This just widens the gulf between them and it’s going to continue to grow.

 

[Free Manera]

I actually don't think NIL is as big of a problem to ND as the transfer portal is. I think with a great staff, ND can recruit high schoolers at a high level.

However, with transfer portal free agency, top teams will no longer have roster holes. Any recruiting misses and attrition will be quickly filled with elite incoming transfers.

To have success, ND will need to basically hit on 90% of their recruiting evals, minimize attrition, and get in at least a few impact transfers every year. So I'm saying there's a chance...

 

[RDU Irish]

I don't understand why we wouldn't have an NIL advantage? National brand - QB@ND doing Guinness commercials with Joe Montana for starters. Once these packages get to be established a bit why can't we poach the free agent market as well as anyone? Bama can have the local Chevy dealer, we will take General Motors.

 

[Free Manera]

I don't understand why we wouldn't have an NIL advantage? National brand - QB@ND doing Guinness commercials with Joe Montana for starters. Once these packages get to be established a bit why can't we poach the free agent market as well as anyone? Bama can have the local Chevy dealer, we will take General Motors.

If everyone used NIL as the law intended, ND probably would have an advantage. However schools down south quickly converted it to pay-to-play where they're just giving guys 100k+ to sign on the dotted line and it is hard for some guys to turn that down. That is not the spirit of the rule and I don't think ND will operate that way.

For kids willing to listen about the investment in their future, I think ND's NIL options will be just fine. But you're still kind of shrinking the pool of interested top 150 guys.

However the transfer market issue has nothing to do with funding. It's about getting them into school. Brandon Joseph almost didn't get in and he had like a 3.8 at Northwestern. ND's transfer market is a baby pool while everyone else's is Lake Superior.

 

[Irishize]

I don't understand why we wouldn't have an NIL advantage? National brand - QB@ND doing Guinness commercials with Joe Montana for starters. Once these packages get to be established a bit why can't we poach the free agent market as well as anyone? Bama can have the local Chevy dealer, we will take General Motors.

Sure…it could be an advantage but ND is too conservative to ensure that happens outside of ND (since the school can’t facilitate NIL…at least get caught doing it). Another thing ND should do (IMO) is publicly (yes, I’m sure they do it in living rooms) stress the small % of kids who make an NFL roster & then last for more than 4 years. In other words, the importance of a backup plan. They can do this publicly w/o being looked at as elitist. Hell, be passive/aggressive about…b/c it’s true and I want to see these factories defend their academic records.

But we know ND won’t do that. Instead, they’ve been preoccupied in the recent past w/ self-reporting in hopes the NCAA will pat them on the head and say “well done”…only to find out they bring the hammer down on them w/ vacating multiple seasons of wins. It’s like Lucy is the NCAA & ND is Charlie Brown falling for the same trick every time.

 

[ShamrockOnHelmet]

And we thought the PRESSER was a disaster!?!?!

 

[Sea Turtle]

I hope Jack is pleased that he bowed to player pressure.

 

[NDMatt91]

I hope Jack is pleased that he bowed to player pressure.

Bending over backwards to keep Rees was worse.

 

[BeatSC]

But the joy the players experienced when they announced MF as coach was truly something to behold! All downhill after that. Is his contract all guaranteed? At least he will be a rich dude and can support hisb6 kids. I knew when I heard he bought a Ferrari we had a problem. Who has 6 kids and buys a Ferrari?!

 

[Pointman02]

I think the problem is that you heard he bought a Ferrari. Pretty sure a wealthy booster let Freeman use a Ferrari for a few days of a recruiting trip.

 

[PigtownIrish]

Swarbrick has presided over ripping out the grass, jock jams, vivid seats, crappy under armour deal, Brian Kelly shenanigans, and now handcuffing Freeman with Rees. He is clueless and incapable of actually delivering the best resources and coaches to ND student athletes across the board. Can we hire Gene Smith please.

 

[TNUtoNotreDame]

I think the problem is that you heard he bought a Ferrari. Pretty sure a wealthy booster let Freeman use a Ferrari for a few days of a recruiting trip.

Yep, it wasn't his.

 

[ulukinatme]

I hope Jack is pleased that he bowed to player pressure.

Well, there was this...it was the Tweet that Kelly "accidentally" shared. I'm not throwing in the towel, just saw people sharing it tonight of course.

 

[Irish#1]

Swarbrick has presided over ripping out the grass, jock jams, vivid seats, crappy under armour deal, Brian Kelly shenanigans, and now handcuffing Freeman with Rees. He is clueless and incapable of actually delivering the best resources and coaches to ND student athletes across the board. Can we hire Gene Smith please.

Swarbrick has been outstanding overall. Not sure Smith would do any better as he’d be operating under the same restraints.

 

[TNUtoNotreDame]

Swarbrick has been outstanding overall. Not sure Smith would do any better as he’d be operating under the same restraints.

In what way has he been outstanding. The Indy deal with the ACC is awful, and he made two lazy HC hires. I really am curious what his plus column is. Real question, because I am wondering what has he done that any other AD couldn't have ddone. I am happy to be wrong on this if I am. The field and the other items Pigtown named are just a couple of the negatives.

 

[stlnd01]

In what way has he been outstanding. The Indy deal with the ACC is awful, and he made two lazy HC hires. I really am curious what his plus column is. Real question, because I am wondering what has he done that any other AD couldn't have ddone. I am happy to be wrong on this if I am. The field and the other items Pigtown named are just a couple of the negatives.

?
He has navigated all sorts of realignment and maintained our independence and relevance. That's no small thing.
I don't know in what way BK was a "lazy" hire - he was the best/hottest coach on the market at the time. We went and got him.
Then Swarbrick made the wise decision to stick with him in 2016, while pressing some changes in how Kelly built his staff. The result was the best five-year stretch of Notre Dame football since the early 90s.
Freeman was a gamble on continuity and then potential to build on what Kelly had established, rather than hitting reset. Despite his first three games it feels a little early to judge that one yet.
What earthly difference does the playing surface make?

 

[MacIrish75]

In what way has he been outstanding. The Indy deal with the ACC is awful, and he made two lazy HC hires. I really am curious what his plus column is. Real question, because I am wondering what has he done that any other AD couldn't have ddone. I am happy to be wrong on this if I am. The field and the other items Pigtown named are just a couple of the negatives.

All due respect but you’re fucking nuts if you actually believe this.

 

[TNUtoNotreDame]

?
He has navigated all sorts of realignment and maintained our independence and relevance. That's no small thing.
I don't know in what way BK was a "lazy" hire - he was the best/hottest coach on the market at the time. We went and got him.
Then Swarbrick made the wise decision to stick with him in 2016, while pressing some changes in how Kelly built his staff. The result was the best five-year stretch of Notre Dame football since the early 90s.
Freeman was a gamble on continuity and then potential to build on what Kelly had established, rather than hitting reset. Despite his first three games it feels a little early to judge that one yet.
What earthly difference does the playing surface make?

Injuries, many players hate turf. I won't argue over Jack, he has some positives, but a lot of negatives also.

 

[TNUtoNotreDame]

All due respect but you’re fucking nuts if you actually believe this.

All do respect, you are nuts if you believe there is not a conversation to be had on this issue. Many respected people question him. With all due respect of course.

 

[stlnd01]

Injuries, many players hate turf. I won't argue over Jack, he has some positives, but a lot of negatives also.

Fair. And that is certainly an issue in soccer. But there are injury issues with beat-up grass too. Most college football teams play on turf now. I don’t think it’s much of a differentiator.

 

[irishff1014]

The program will be set back at least 3 years. He should probably start getting his paperwork in order.

 

[PigtownIrish]

The program will be set back at least 3 years. He should probably start getting his paperwork in order.

We can only hope

 

[FOTY977]

Swarbrick has presided over ripping out the grass, jock jams, vivid seats, crappy under armour deal, Brian Kelly shenanigans, and now handcuffing Freeman with Rees. He is clueless and incapable of actually delivering the best resources and coaches to ND student athletes across the board. Can we hire Gene Smith please.

Do we know how he is evaluated? I agree there have been some things that piss me off, but I’m loathe to label him incompetent. Is it more likely his goal posts for success are different than what you want to see from him? I’m on your side in thinking some of those moves above are awful from a fan perspective btw. It’s obvious to me fans are NOT the key stakeholder for this entire organization.

 

[IrishTusker]

Swarbrick needs to publicly answer questions about the state of the program. Ultimately, he is responsible for its condition.

The press needs to demand accountability from ND's higher-ups, which they rarely appear to do. If they do not, fans must do so.

 

[BilboBaggins]

Swarbrick needs to publicly answer questions about the state of the program. Ultimately, he is responsible for its condition.

The press needs to demand accountability from ND's higher-ups, which they rarely appear to do. If they do not, fans must do so.

I'll take "Bullshit Moves To Undermine Recruiting for $800, Alex."

Your AD should very rarely be speaking to the media about a team's performance. They speak after a change of leadership has been made.

 

[CanadalovesND]

Swarbrick needs to publicly answer questions about the state of the program. Ultimately, he is responsible for its condition.

The press needs to demand accountability from ND's higher-ups, which they rarely appear to do. If they do not, fans must do so.

The team is 3-3.

 

[ColinKSU]

Swarbrick needs to publicly answer questions about the state of the program. Ultimately, he is responsible for its condition.

The press needs to demand accountability from ND's higher-ups, which they rarely appear to do. If they do not, fans must do so.

ND media doesn’t demand accountability from anyone. Too busy carrying water and telling the readers they’re idiots for seeing what’s literally right in front of their eyes.

*Stares a hole through Sampson and the Irish Illustrated guys*

 

[IrishTusker]

Swarbrick is the one who hired Rees, so yeah, I think it's reasonable for him to answer questions about Rees and the offense.

 

[BilboBaggins]

Swarbrick is the one who hired Rees, so yeah, I think it's reasonable for him to answer questions about Rees and the offense.

And you are wrong.