Mike Elko - Defensive Coordinator

[Luckylucci]

Which has me wondering, if this did indeed go down that fast, did he even give Swarbrick and Company the opportunity to put together an offer?

Sure sounds like ND could've been blindsided by this.

 

[KizerWilhelm]

One Very good thing that may come from this will be an case for a more manageable schedule.

That's, uh, certainly looking on the bright side. "Maybe we'll do so poorly they'll just start making the games easier."

 

[IrishFanForever23]

Which has me wondering, if this did indeed go down that fast, did he even give Swarbrick and Company the opportunity to put together an offer?

Sure sounds like ND could've been blindsided by this.

It was stated on another board ND countered, but not nearly with what A&M was offering. It was also stated by Eric Hansen I think that the contract he just signed with ND would have made him the highest paid assistant at ND ever.

 

[IrishLax]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">SOURCES: Alex Grinch turned down multiple offers from big schools that would've meant more money so he could work with Urban Meyer and be at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OhioState?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OhioState</a>.</p>— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) <a href="https://twitter.com/BruceFeldmanCFB/status/949050643062370307?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The difference between Notre Dame and Ohio State right now.

 

[Luckylucci]

It was stated on another board ND countered, but not nearly with what A&M was offering. It was also stated by Eric Hansen I think that the contract he just signed with ND would have made him the highest paid assistant at ND ever.

Which board? I'd like to follow up on that in a bit.

 

[IrishFanForever23]

Which board? I'd like to follow up on that in a bit.

Rivals. I believe it was Driskell that mentioned it. Good luck finding the thread, there's so many about Elko going on over there.

 

[Ndaccountant]

Used to be that CFB blue bloods rarely had to worry about coaches leaving for greener pastures. Now there seems to be a small group of football factories willing to spend anything to get the coaches they want. That group will now enjoy the personnel advantage formerly shared by the blue bloods, and we're not in it.

The thing is, and this is what I talked about in other threads last month, the foundational support at schools like Clemson, aTm, Bama, UGA, etc is drastically changing this. The amount of money these schools spend on their off the field positions is enormous. What Bama spends relative to everyone else is disturbing. It's so much more than HC or OC/DC salary.

This all happened with the media rights grab in the last 10 years or so. The problem is, that money may not be around forever and even if it is, the amount of money floating around becomes a political football with state budgets being what they are. (Yes i know majority of AD are held uniquely out of general funds)

So what I wonder is if we are witnessing the bubble, so to speak? Because as it is today...and it pains me to no end to write this...but Josh Rosen was 100% correct in his commentary on the state of CFB.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

The difference between Notre Dame and Ohio State right now.

Yup. Setting aside Elko's individual quality, this is a big deal because it indicates the balance of power in CFB has shifted significantly. OSU is a destination job, so you won't see its coaches making lateral moves. aTm is trying to spend their way into a similar position. For better or for worse, ND has refused to follow suit, and it's creating real problems for us when it comes to attracting and retaining talent.

 

[jmurphy75]

Clark Lea, for DC!

 

[Ndaccountant]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">SOURCES: Alex Grinch turned down multiple offers from big schools that would've meant more money so he could work with Urban Meyer and be at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OhioState?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OhioState</a>.</p>— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) <a href="https://twitter.com/BruceFeldmanCFB/status/949050643062370307?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The difference between Notre Dame and Ohio State right now.

Ehh..Grinch is from Grove City I believe, and played cfb in Alliance Ohio. Hometown discount and all.

On a related note, Alford still not a HC..........

 

[Whiskeyjack]

So what I wonder is if we are witnessing the bubble, so to speak? Because as it is today...and it pains me to no end to write this...but Josh Rosen was 100% correct in his commentary on the state of CFB.

Agreed. And I also think the BoT is correct that while ND could certainly afford to do so, blowing the top off our athletic budget would result in some very negative cultural changes at ND. We can't pussyfoot in the middle anymore. We've either got to go all in on the CFB funding arms race, or opt out of it and try to convince like-minded schools to come with us. It looks like we're taking the latter option, and I don't think most of our fanbase has reckoned with what that's going to look like.

 

[Irish YJ]

The mystery of ND is gone. The day when all Catholics wanted to play or coach at ND is gone. ND hasn't won a NC in 30 years. Academia has taken over. It's a different world. Today, money talks. ND can do two things to make coaching at ND more attractive. Tweak the schedule, and pay more. If they don't, winning just isn't that important. We need to stop telling ourselves lies and/or buying into the ND is special to everyone. It's special to us, that's it.

 

[Ndaccountant]

Agreed. And I also think the BoT is correct that while ND could certainly afford to do so, blowing the top off our athletic budget would result in some very negative cultural changes at ND. We can't pussyfoot in the middle anymore. We've either got to go all in on CFB funding arms race, or opt out of it and try to convince like-minded schools to come with us. It looks like we're taking the latter option, and I don't think most of our fanbase has reckoned with what that's going to look like.

I think the conference should be called 9teen80 - Inaugural schools are: Texas, ND, Michigan, Nebraska, Colorado. BC will try to get in, but will tell'em to stuff it.

 

[Luckylucci]

Agreed. And I also think the BoT is correct that while ND could certainly afford to do so, blowing the top off our athletic budget would result in some very negative cultural changes at ND. We can't pussyfoot in the middle anymore. We've either got to go all in on CFB funding arms race, or opt out of it and try to convince like-minded schools to come with us. It looks like we're taking the latter option, and I don't think most of our fanbase has reckoned with what that's going to look like.

While I agree, does offering your DC 1.5-1.8MM really do that?

I guess I just don't think this was the time to "put our foot down", and put a stop to this. Oregon just gave Leavitt 1.7MM. Don't you think we could've at least offered something close to that. Not that Oregon is an equal program in respect to what you are talking about but we wouldn't be the ones setting the new pay scale, so to speak.

 

[Domina Nostra]

Just keep in mind that the HC that hired him away, Jimbo Fisher, was hired away from a school where he won a NC within the last 5 years, FSU!

You can right the obituary on ND football, but it hit that football factory just as hard.

ND is not going to be trend setters when it comes to paying astronomical salaries, but I believe they will eventually adjust.

And for those who don't think its a big deal, it really is wild to pay two assistant coaches more than double a school's wildly over-payed president. That's what this boils down too. It may not sound like a big chunk of money based on football revenues, but it really, really hits some people the wrong way.

 

[Ndaccountant]

While I agree, does offering your DC 1.5-1.8MM really do that?

I guess I just don't think this was the time to "put our foot down", and put a stop to this. Oregon just gave Leavitt 1.7MM. Don't you think we could've at least offered something close to that. Not that Oregon is an equal program in respect to what you are talking about but we wouldn't be the ones setting the new pay scale, so to speak.

Not if said people already think what else is going on in college athletics is antithetical to the mission of university.

 

[Luckylucci]

Just keep in mind that the HC that hired him away, Jimbo Fisher, was hired away from a school where he won a NC within the last 5 years, FSU!

You can right the obituary on ND football, but it hit that football factory just as hard.

ND is not going to be trend setters when it comes to paying astronomical salaries, but I believe they will eventually adjust.

And for those who don't think its a big deal, it really is wild to pay two assistant coaches more than double a school's wildly over-payed president. That's what this boils down too. It may not sound like a big chunk of money based on football revenues, but it really, really hits some people the wrong way.

That was much much more mutual than this is. There was already a fairly large audience that wanted Jimbo out.

 

[IrishTusker]

Agreed. And I also think the BoT is correct that while ND could certainly afford to do so, blowing the top off our athletic budget would result in some very negative cultural changes at ND. We can't pussyfoot in the middle anymore. We've either got to go all in on the CFB funding arms race, or opt out of it and try to convince like-minded schools to come with us. It looks like we're taking the latter option, and I don't think most of our fanbase has reckoned with what that's going to look like.

Is it going to look like lower ticket prices? Because in my opinion our ticket prices do not look like those one would expect of a school that is trying to become an Ivy League/FCS type program.

It looks to me as if ND expects its fans to pay top dollar for tickets and merchandise but refuses to pay top dollar for coaches.

 

[T Town Tommy]

It should be pretty clear at this point that ND going all in for an elite football program just isn't going to happen. While I don't like seeing these astronomical contracts getting thrown out there, it would pain me to know that the school I cheered for and invested in is content with being average.

 

[Ndaccountant]

Just to rehash what Jack said nearly 3 years ago....

https://www.cbssports.com/college-f...-vision-of-two-college-athletic-associations/

“Most athletic budgets are somewhere around the 3-8 percent range” of the total university budget, according to Swarbrick. “The Stanfords of the world are not going to allow that 4 percent business unit [to] take them places they don’t want to be.”

Think, then, of two college sports associations. One that includes the likes of Notre Dame, Duke, Stanford, Wake Forest, Cal, Northwestern and TCU. And another that includes most of the major-college land-grant schools.

 

[BoredIrish]

Ehh..Grinch is from Grove City I believe, and played cfb in Alliance Ohio. Hometown discount and all.

On a related note, Alford still not a HC..........

Grinch appearantly went to OSU because his mom is sick and lives 15 minutes from there.

 

[Brown]

Is it going to look like lower ticket prices? Because in my opinion our ticket prices do not look like those one would expect of a school that is trying to become an Ivy League/FCS type program.

It looks to me as if ND expects its fans to pay top dollar for tickets and merchandise but refuses to pay top dollar for talent.

fixed.

 

[Irish2155]

FAHQ!!! Late to the party I am - this is not good.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

While I agree, does offering your DC 1.5-1.8MM really do that?

I guess I just don't think this was the time to "put our foot down", and put a stop to this. Oregon just gave Leavitt 1.7MM. Don't you think we could've at least offered something close to that. Not that Oregon is an equal program in respect to what you are talking about but we wouldn't be the ones setting the new pay scale, so to speak.

Maybe not. But watching a crucial coordinator make a lateral move over money certainly feels like a turning point for us.

You can right the obituary on ND football, but it hit that football factory just as hard.

We certainly won't be the only ones to get burned by this trend. And we'll at least be bowing out voluntarily. Most others are simply going to get priced out, regarding of what they want to do. And as Ndaccountant mentioned earlier, this is probably a bubble that will pop at some point. But how long will that take to happen? People have been saying the same thing about student loans for years and now, and while it's still likely true (and driven by many of the same underlying factors), that's cold comfort if you're a recent high school grad that needs a decent paying job but can't get one without taking on an outrageous amount of debt.

Is it going to look like lower ticket prices? Because in my opinion our ticket prices do not look like those one would expect of a school that is trying to become an Ivy League/FCS type program.

It looks to me as if ND expects its fans to pay top dollar for tickets and merchandise but refuses to pay top dollar for coaches.

Yes. The current admin has been happy to cash in on the strength of our brand, regardless of the fact that the trends have not been favorable toward ND's long-term competitiveness for decades now. They may have to make some difficult decisions soon.

It should be pretty clear at this point that ND going all in for an elite football program just isn't going to happen. While I don't like seeing these astronomical contracts getting thrown out there, it would pain me to know that the school I cheered for and invested in is content with being average.

That's where I'm at. I just don't want to see ND struggle to compete due to self-imposed restrictions. If we refuse to pay the outrageous salaries that top coaches are currently commanding, that's fine. But don't tell me "we're still competing for NCs" then. Convince Stanford, Duke, UVA, the Academies, etc. to form a league of like-minded schools and compete there.

 

[BobbyMac]

If he moves Elston up to DC and looses Lea.

How bout hiring Dave Cohen from Wake for DL and Brad Sherrod at LB. that's the cheapest possible way to keep this going if they lose Elko and Lea.

Otherwise, offer Pete Kwiatkowski and see if he'd give Swarbrick the Dream School discount.

(He won't)

 

[UPMich_NDfan]

Is it going to look like lower ticket prices? Because in my opinion our ticket prices do not look like those one would expect of a school that is trying to become an Ivy League/FCS type program.

It looks to me as if ND expects its fans to pay top dollar for tickets and merchandise but refuses to pay top dollar for coaches.

I feel this is a legit gripe for ND fans. I can barely afford to take my family of four to a game in south bend but they can continue to let ticket prices skyrocket and refuse to put restrictions on season ticket holders selling their tickets to the highest bidder (aka other teams fans).

 

[Blaise]

I know we are freaking but I’m staying calm until I see who they hire. Get a great recruiter who busts his ass.

 

[stlnd01]

From what I have read if he doesn’t get the DC spot he is probably gone.

So, who do we hire for DC? Is Lea ready for the job? We’ve just re-tooled our personnel and recruited for Elko’s (rather unique) system. I’m guessing Lea would run it too. There’s an argument to be made for continuity.

 

[Luckylucci]

I know we are freaking but I’m staying calm until I see who they hire. Get a great recruiter who busts his ass.

Like the one we just had?

 

[Whiskeyjack]

I know we are freaking but I’m staying calm until I see who they hire. Get a great recruiter who busts his ass.

We've had three DCs under Kelly, and the only one that fits that bill just left for aTm. Diaco refused to put in the effort, and BvG was just an all-around disaster.

That's why Jimbo threw so much money at him. DCs like Elko don't exactly grow on trees. And since it's clear that we've refused to shop down that aisle, we're either going to have to promote internally or find an up-an-comer. Both of which are serious gambles.