Mike Mickens ND CB’s Coach

DONTH8

DONTH8

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My only concern if we were to lose Valai is whether the delay is tied to uncertainty about Freeman’s long term commitment. We’re very close to being an Alabama-type destination where elite coaches actively want to be here, but stability at the HC position is critical for that. It would be difficult for any assistant to fully commit, especially when it involves relocating their family, without confidence that the head coach will be in place for the long haul. If there’s even a perception of uncertainty there, I don’t think it’s unreasonable for a coach to hesitate.
 
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arrowryan

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DONTH8 said:
My only concern if we were to lose Valai is whether the delay is tied to uncertainty about Freeman’s long term commitment. We’re very close to being an Alabama-type destination where elite coaches actively want to be here, but stability at the HC position is critical for that. It would be difficult for any assistant to fully commit, especially when it involves relocating their family, without confidence that the head coach will be in place for the long haul. If there’s even a perception of uncertainty there, I don’t think it’s unreasonable for a coach to hesitate.
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I think you’re reading a little too much into it.

Wouldn’t the NFL’s interest in Freeman be attractive to assistant coaches? If the assistant coach performs well enough at NFL, Freeman could be interested in taking them with him if he got an NFL job.
 
Dale

Dale

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DONTH8 said:
My only concern if we were to lose Valai is whether the delay is tied to uncertainty about Freeman’s long term commitment. We’re very close to being an Alabama-type destination where elite coaches actively want to be here, but stability at the HC position is critical for that. It would be difficult for any assistant to fully commit, especially when it involves relocating their family, without confidence that the head coach will be in place for the long haul. If there’s even a perception of uncertainty there, I don’t think it’s unreasonable for a coach to hesitate.
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If Prister’s report is correct, it would imply we told Valai no.
 
Te'o4Heisman

Te'o4Heisman

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DONTH8 said:
My only concern if we were to lose Valai is whether the delay is tied to uncertainty about Freeman’s long term commitment. We’re very close to being an Alabama-type destination where elite coaches actively want to be here, but stability at the HC position is critical for that. It would be difficult for any assistant to fully commit, especially when it involves relocating their family, without confidence that the head coach will be in place for the long haul. If there’s even a perception of uncertainty there, I don’t think it’s unreasonable for a coach to hesitate.
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You cant lose something you never had, but also agree this seems like reading a little too far into something/manufacturing shit to worry about.,?
 
SoIll

SoIll

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Illinois fans are rejoicing. They absolutely hate him. He was damn near fired in the middle of the season.
 
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SoIll

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Look at the replies from that tweet lol. They are happy as hell he’s gone.
 
hungryhippo

hungryhippo

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SoIll said:
This is bad. Illinois fans are rejoicing. They absolutely hate him. He was damn near fired in the middle of the season.
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For someone who knows nothing about the guy and doesn’t follow Illinois football, what’s the book on him?
 
Cpnd1

Cpnd1

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Sounds like he struggled as their DC, but when he was exclusively DBs coach he was good.
 
NDhoosier

NDhoosier

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GrangerIrish24 said:
I think he will be an upgrade over Mickens. This is based on nothing and some of you are annoyingly fucking negative.
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Agreed, SoIII is not gonna to be my barometer on whether I like a coach or not. Nor will jaded fans on X talking about a coach who went to a better program.
 
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IrishInOntario

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Mickens was not the first choice of hires for most ND fans and he wound up being the best secondary coach in the country. That doesn't mean we'll see that happen again, but we might... Who knows?

Experience as a DC, but he won't have play calling responsibilities at ND. He'll be back to coaching DBs and contributing to the game plan, which appears to be his strong suit.

In 4 years at Illinois he produced 4 All Americans in the secondary...

Devon Witherspoon (1st team)
Sydney Brown (2nd team)
Kerby Joseph (2nd team)
Xavier Scott (Honorable Mention)

The following were also drafted in the NFL Draft...

Devin Witherspoon (1st round)
Jartavius Martin (2nd round)
Sydney Brown (3rd round)
Kerby Joseph (3rd round)

That's, objectively, a lot of individual production at a place like Illinois, where they're not exactly getting top talent. With an upgrade in talent, the likes of which exists in the ND defensive back room, he should continue / improve that success. Time will tell if he can have his group put it all together and play with cohesion the way Mickens was able to.

Staff cohesion is also a factor here. Henry played for Ash at Rutgers so there is a working relationship there. Freeman is big on that cohesion and bringing in guys that enjoy working with each other.
 
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IrishInOntario

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SoIll said:
This is bad. Illinois fans are rejoicing. They absolutely hate him. He was damn near fired in the middle of the season.
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They loved him as a secondary coach when he arrived in 2021 through 2022. They seem to have started cooling on him in 2023 when he was promoted to DC and the hate came to a head this year when their defense took a significant step back after consecutive years of improving in the ppg totals.
 
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