Matt Balis Resigns as Notre Dame Director of Football Performance

Veritate Duce Progredi

Veritate Duce Progredi

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It's well established Reaper is truly a guy who lives a life that has him well prepared to dismantle most of us. I don't think anyone really questions that. Sometimes we question his tact or how much we'd actually enjoy having a scotch with him but his 'real life' badassery likely gives credit to his story on the S&C stuff. I'm guess there are some channels between MMA S&C communities and college athletics as they swim in similar waters, if not identical.

I'm just really hoping we make a big time hire. The recruits we're after really care about this and we need to show we'll develop them as well/better than anyone else. I really want Freeman to nail this one after last year's hiring debacle.
 
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FDNYIrish1

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Veritate Duce Progredi said:
It's well established Reaper is truly a guy who lives a life that has him well prepared to dismantle most of us. I don't think anyone really questions that. Sometimes we question his tact or how much we'd actually enjoy having a scotch with him but his 'real life' badassery likely gives credit to his story on the S&C stuff. I'm guess there are some channels between MMA S&C communities and college athletics as they swim in similar waters, if not identical.

I'm just really hoping we make a big time hire. The recruits we're after really care about this and we need to show we'll develop them as well/better than anyone else. I really want Freeman to nail this one after last year's hiring debacle.
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Don’t try to get yourself off the hit list pal. Too little too late. And if I’m ever in Indy I’m hitting my man up for a roll followed by some scotch and that pizza you guys all talk about. Gotta be a Saturday though.
 
NDdomer2

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Also feels like arguing semantics. Someone stepping down because they want to maintain their work life balance and their ability to perform the job at their own standard not fall into "personal reasons"?
 
SeekNDestroy

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FDNYIrish1 said:
Don’t try to get yourself off the hit list pal. Too little too late. And if I’m ever in Indy I’m hitting my man up for a roll followed by some scotch and that pizza you guys all talk about. Gotta be a Saturday though.
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Make sure to swing by the Irsay Y when you’re in town. You know when.
 
stlnd01

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I admittedly don't know a ton about this world but it seems like there might be some pretty significant differences in approach/structure/goals between an NFL S&C program and a college S&C program, no?
 
Irish#1

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Also worked privately with Peyton Manning, mcCaffery and a few others. Manning wouldn’t work with him if he didn’t think the guy was good.
 
IrishLax

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Seems like a terrible hire. S&C in the NFL is completely different than college, and he does not have great track record. Really feel like Freeman is twisting in the wind on this one.
 
IrishLax

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I mean seriously he has ZERO collegiate experience. His only time in football was a failure for an NFL team. The S&C coach -- above all else -- is a tone setter / culture leader. This dude ain't it, I don't care who he has trained. ND is going from one of the best in the business to someone who has worse credentials than Longo. The "science" aspect is, frankly, bullshit when it comes to running college S&C besides the nutrition angle. Pick up heavy weights and put them down. The much harder part is the special sauce that goes into making a team "tough."
 
Katzenboyer

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NDFAN2008 said:
Some of you need to take a chill pill he’s worked with some of the top football players ever and many Olympic athletes
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The difference in needs between those athletes and collegiate football players is about as stark as you can get.

This is a Weis-level hire. It's that bad.
 
Katzenboyer

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IrishLax said:
I mean seriously he has ZERO collegiate experience. His only time in football was a failure for an NFL team. The S&C coach -- above all else -- is a tone setter / culture leader. This dude ain't it, I don't care who he has trained. ND is going from one of the best in the business to someone who has worse credentials than Longo. The "science" aspect is, frankly, bullshit when it comes to running college S&C besides the nutrition angle. Pick up heavy weights and put them down. The much harder part is the special sauce that goes into making a team "tough."
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I mean, I'm just shaking my head.

I've said it 1000 times: I really, really like Freeman, and hope he gets it done at ND, but some of his decisions are absolutely keeping the program from moving up a level.

The Parker hiring (and retention) was one. This is another.
 
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NDFAN2008

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Katzenboyer said:
I mean, I'm just shaking my head.

I've said it 1000 times: I really, really like Freeman, and hope he gets it done at ND, but some of his decisions are absolutely keeping the program from moving up a level.

The Parker hiring (and retention) was one. This is another.
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Katzenboyer said:
The difference in needs between those athletes and collegiate football players is about as stark as you can get.

This is a Weis-level hire. It's that bad.
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Not really what’s the difference? He also specializes in ACL prevention which is a plus.
 
Katzenboyer

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NDFAN2008 said:
Not really what’s the difference?
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The differences are too significant to list out individually, but NFL S&C coaches are dealing with players who are already physically developed to the max, and often times have their own S&C coaches independent of the team program. The goal is predominantly injury prevention.

In college, the S&C coach is responsible for that physical development. And a LAX mentioned, it's not just getting these guys to be conditioned while adding 30+ pounds of muscle during their time on campus; they are a culture-setter and can often times be the emotional anchor to a well-coached football team.

He also specializes in ACL prevention which is a plus.
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Great. When we collapse in the fourth quarter, at least we know the players' ACLs will be ok!
 
stlnd01

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NDFAN2008 said:
Some of you need to take a chill pill he’s worked with some of the top football players ever and many Olympic athletes
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I think, to Lax' point, the concern is not so much about the physical parts of the job - and certainly not about being a personal individual trainer for elite athletes - as it is about the role S&C coaches play in building culture and mental toughness among a modern college football team. Which is not something this guy has ever been a part of before.
 
IrishLax

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Katzenboyer said:
The differences are too significant to list out individually, but NFL S&C coaches are dealing with players who are already physically developed to the max, and often times have their own S&C coaches independent of the team program. The goal is predominantly injury prevention.

In college, the S&C coach is responsible for that physical development. And a LAX mentioned, it's not just getting these guys to be conditioned while adding 30+ pounds of muscle during their time on campus; they are a culture-setter and can often times be the emotional anchor to a well-coached football team.



Great. When we collapse in the fourth quarter, at least we know the players' ACLs will be ok!
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Exactly. Every guy in the NFL already has private training tailored to them. The main job of the S&C guy isn’t physically developing 100 guys. It’s basically to monitor who is in shape / out of shape and work with the trainers & GM to have a healthy team. Guys are professionals who are responsible for being in peak physical condition and if they aren’t they get cut (or get less money on their contracts). NFL S&C is basically baby shitting.

College S&C is incredibly demanding and important. That’s why they make way more money than NFL guys. We are hiring a dude who has basically never left the state of Colorado and has zero experience running a S&C program to be “the man” at a top 10 school. Insane hire that makes me think either Freeman didn’t have a lot of options or he doesn’t know what he’s doing.
 
zbikowski88

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Freeman wants science backed while keeping up with new trends. Landow is that. I’m sure he’s good at his job but I’m not overly impressed if he’s the hire.
 
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