ND Coaching Search Megathread

[ACamp1900]

Watch Balis board a plane to LSU tomorrow lol

Im to the point all these coaches have to looked at as politicians, they say what they have to all the time and every once in a long while they actually mean it

 

[WildMan80]

All the players are tweeting pictures of themselves with Freeman & fingers crossed.. or saying “you know what to do”

That coupled with trying to keep Rees around & I’d say the contract is written up.

 

[NorthDakota]

Balis staying makes me think its Freeman. He wouldn't commit this fast unless the HC was a known quantity.

Idk...my alma mater got their strength guy from the US Olympic Center, dude is very overqualified. He's there for his 3rd straight coach because he is divorced and his ex-wife and the kids live in town. He aint leaving until they are grownup or move.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Watch Balis board a plane to LSU tomorrow lol

Im to the point all these coaches have to looked at as politicians, they say what they have to all the time and every once in a long while they actually mean it

Balis wouldnt even be needed down there.

Their current S&C coach is probably just some little nerd that walks around injecting steroids into guys butt cheeks while they lift.


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[KPENN]

It’d be fantastic if BK strikes out completely poaching from ND

 

[IrishSteelhead]

All the players are tweeting pictures of themselves with Freeman & fingers crossed.. or saying “you know what to do”

That coupled with trying to keep Rees around & I’d say the contract is written up.

Im sure at least one of those players received a C in organic chemistry, and the admin will use that as a reason to completely disregard their opinion.


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[Dale]

Balis wouldnt even be needed down there.

Their current S&C coach is probably just some little nerd that walks around injecting steroids into guys butt cheeks while they lift.


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Joking aside, their current S&C is been there since 2000 and has Assistant AD title. Sooo BK might not even have a choice here. Flint under Moffitt with an elevated title would make sense or just Moffitt continuing in his role

 

[Irish#1]

Maybe they've got something lined up. Between this and the Rees scoop from earlier you've gotta wonder why assistants would be considering staying if there wasn't an HC in place.

Yeah, I’m thinking jack told Freeman to come home to discuss a contract and informed the rest of the staff that they were working on a deal and to keep recruiting.

 

[IrishLion]

Couldn't you have said most of this about BK before he abruptly left Cinci? I just see Fickell as a BK clone. I think his style and results at ND would be extremely similar.

Ironically, most Cinci fans on /r/cfb are praying that we promote Freeman so that they can keep Fickell. That seems to be what most here want as well. Would you prefer we take Fickell so that Freeman can be HC at Cinci?

I don’t think I have a preference, they’re both good candidates for different reasons.

I think Fickell as a candidate is a better version of what BK was in ‘09, though I get why you view them as the same. The differences to me are that (1) Fickell is a better human being, which would help further elevate ND’s already-great culture imo, and (2) Fickell is also a much more willing recruiter. Even if his recruiting prowess is the same (it’s not, he’s a cooler, more relatable guy than BK, which makes him better by default), he’s an auto-improvement based on his work rate on the trail alone.

So he maintains the CEO thing that BK brought about after ‘16, or maybe even elevates based on recruiting effort and not being an out-of-touch robot when it comes to interacting with other humans.

And this isn’t meant to bash BK! He saved the program, period. But his personality traits have always held him back, and I’m sure they still do to some degree in recruiting.

Freeman is a great candidate for all the reasons we already know. He’s a young dude and an elite recruiter, which might be all ND needs to get over the hump and finally win a playoff game.

So you can swing for Fickell, and sacrifice your next 1.5 recruiting classes for a proven CEO, or you can swing for Freeman, taking a chance on someone who has NOT been a CEO. It’s a pick-your-poison of sorts if you’re only focused on the potential downfalls (or a pick-your-potion if you want to consider replacing BK with a better version of himself versus replacing him with an elite recruiter.)

 

[ACamp1900]

It’d be fantastic if BK strikes out completely poaching from ND

I never thought I’d say this,… like ever,… but I hope Saban and Kiff destroy him yearly.

what a wild 24 hours

 

[irish4ever]

Kelly started to address the team, when Marcus "addressed" Kelly.
Kelly then ran out in tears.

I hope so. The only thing that I would have liked if Freeman or one of the other assistants kicked his fuckin' ass for stabbing them in the back. I was a Kelly supporter, but now he's in the Hairbaugh, Pete "Poodle" Carroll, Dumbo Fisher, Bobby "Cry Baby" Bowden (fu<k that dead bastard), etc. category!

 

[bobbyok1]

Idk...my alma mater got their strength guy from the US Olympic Center, dude is very overqualified. He's there for his 3rd straight coach because he is divorced and his ex-wife and the kids live in town. He aint leaving until they are grownup or move.

Who's "divorced and his ex-wife and the kids live in town. He aint leaving until they are grownup or move." Balis or the guy at your alma mater?

 

[greyhammer90]

It’d be fantastic if BK strikes out completely poaching from ND

If Taylor gets offered an OC job or something there's no way to stop that, but if we could just stop anyone from moving laterally, it would be a ridiculously good face saving outcome.

 

[ACamp1900]

Couldn't you have said most of this about BK before he abruptly left Cinci? I just see Fickell as a BK clone. I think his style and results at ND would be extremely similar.

Ironically, most Cinci fans on /r/cfb are praying that we promote Freeman so that they can keep Fickell. That seems to be what most here want as well. Would you prefer we take Fickell so that Freeman can be HC at Cinci?

my emotions!!!!

lol

in the moment I want Freeman NOW… but putting down the bons bons for a moment idk man. Who do we honestly think can put this thing together well enough to play with tOSU next year and go beyond that positively??? Freeman is such a wildcard that I think we are all projecting his unknowns in the greatest possible light

 

[ACamp1900]

So we should create a poll,… what’s the next twist here… I have to expect more bad news before everything comes together,… it’s what I do.

 

[irish4ever]

my emotions!!!!

lol

in the moment I want Freeman NOW… but putting down the bons bons for a moment idk man. Who do we honestly think can put this thing together well enough to play with tOSU next year and go beyond that positively??? Freeman is such a wildcard that I think we are all projecting his unknowns in the greatest possible light

Yeah, my thoughts also. As much as want to see Freeman as the HC, is it the right time? IF dumbfuck would have stuck around for another couple years and Freeman had more time to get acquainted with the ND "system", that would have been ideal. Of fu<kin' well ... it is what it is!

 

[NDMatt91]

I never thought I’d say this,… like ever,… but I hope Saban and Kiff destroy him yearly.

what a wild 24 hours

Can't speak for Kiffin, because who knows how long he'll stay there, but Saban definitely will and I have a feeling Jimbo might as well, particularly if he can keep pulling in classes like he is right now.

 

[Kingbish01]

So we should create a poll,… what’s the next twist here… I have to expect more bad news before everything comes together,… it’s what I do.

I heard they are turning Touchdown Jesus into missed field goal Jesus... Which sucks

 

[irishff1014]

[TWEET]https://twitter.com/NDFootball/status/1465814903906869256[/TWEET]

That’s awesome

 

[BoredIrish]

It’d be fantastic if BK strikes out completely poaching from ND

It would be even more fantastic if the only guy he took was Quinn.

Hire Watt and bring back Hiestand in the Online equivalent of Kerry Cooks.

 

[GoldenAura]

BK tried to get Tony Alford and failed lol

 

[Irish#1]

I don't think Rees would stick around to be Freeman's #2 but who knows. Would think Fickell would be more likely in that case.

Why not? Tommy is just getting his coaching chops. He knows he still has a lot to learn. ND gives him an opportunity to be an OC at his age. I think he’s smart enough to know where he’s at in his career and that most of it is still ahead of him.

 

[NewBrunswickIrish]

Who's "divorced and his ex-wife and the kids live in town. He aint leaving until they are grownup or move." Balis or the guy at your alma mater?

I think he was talking about the S&C guy at North Dakota but I think the ND guys on Assaf’s Twitter thing also mentioned that Balis is from Chicago and has a kid in SB so he’s not leaving.

 

[Te'o4Heisman]

my emotions!!!!

lol

in the moment I want Freeman NOW… but putting down the bons bons for a moment idk man. Who do we honestly think can put this thing together well enough to play with tOSU next year and go beyond that positively??? Freeman is such a wildcard that I think we are all projecting his unknowns in the greatest possible light

Think of it this way...especially in college where not all athletes are created equal or close to it like they are once they reach the professional level....it is much more common and realistic for incredible athletes and top end recruits to make an average coach look great than it is for a top end coach to make average recruits look great. If you put Saban in charge at SMU right now, and Franklin in charge at Alabama, who wins that game....9 times of out 10 its still Bama.

, like many others, truly believe Freeman is an absolutely superstar in the making, but recruiting is the lifeline of every college football team with championship aspirations, and while some may be unsure about his ability to to manage a program like ND at this moment in time, NOBODY doubts he would immediately improve the quality of recruits we are signing year in and year out and demand the same recruiting effort from his assistants. Even if if took him 2-3 years to work out some of the kinks and that meant a couple 9-3 seasons along the way, imagine what the talent level on this team looks like 3 years down the road. Look at what he has done in 12 months here already.

I think most of us view this as such: Yes there is some risk and the floor might be a little lower, but the ceiling has no limits and I for one dont want to see him killing it on someone elses sidelines 3 years from now with a roster littered with 4 and 5 star recruits. If he truly becomes the star many feel he will, the guy is 35 years old. Lock him up now and start building a dynasty.

 

[NDPhilly]

Sampson reporting that BK struck out on trying to get Tony Alford to LSU.

Feels like our luck has turned a corner in the last hour or 2 after a rough first 18.

 

[Huntr]

The BK is not a good recruiter narrative is going to be tested if he’s getting Top 5 classes year in and year out at LSU

Sampson and Fortuna have said more than once on their pod that he's amazing when he chooses to throw himself into recruiting. The problem, they have maintained, is that he hasn't always chosen to do so.

 

[ACamp1900]

I still can’t believe how mercenary this all was,… top class incoming, program rolling, decent chance at a playoff spot… just wow.

I guess this really shows that BK did not believe this team could win two more games… I can’t wrap my mind around this if he thought there was any legit chance at all

 

[IrishLax]

Sampson and Fortuna have said more than once on their pod that he's amazing when he chooses to throw himself into recruiting. The problem, they have maintained, is that he hasn't always chosen to do so.

This is pretty much spot on. He inserted himself a lot his first three classes and then basically decided until 2016 that he couldn’t be bothered to do it anymore. Has been more involved as of late. Good salesman. I expect him to sell well at LSU because he’s going to have a lot to prove.

 

[Free Manera]

There are some rumors on other boards of an $80 million update to the Gug as part of a deal…. We did it boys.

 

[NDPhilly]

There are some rumors on other boards of an $80 million update to the Gug as part of a deal…. We did it boys.

Link? Would be massive.