ND Coaching Search Megathread

[chisea03]

is Shephard to Washington a thing or no?

Coach Shepard and UW were working on numbers last week and the weekend but apparently, ND is his preference.

 

[arrowryan]

1400 hundred followers. Is this dude legit?

I think I’m legit

 

[arrowryan]

[TWEET]https://twitter.com/victorylapirish/status/1480587032841928708?s=21[/TWEET]

@ Arrrow?

I received a text a short while ago.

 

[Free Manera]

I received a text a short while ago.

Does that mean he did interview already? Loy had him scheduled to interview tomorrow.

 

[Rockin’Irish]

Hope it’s true, expect Shepard to do great things in South Bend!

 

[BleedingGold]

For those playing ND: The Home game, does that just leave the DC position open?

 

[TNUtoNotreDame]

I think I’m legit

Lol.. Cool.

 

[StPaul_Irish]

For those playing ND: The Home game, does that just leave the DC position open?

DC/LB if they go that route.

I am guessing that means Nick L is the odd man out again?

 

[NDIrish88]

Interesting name for DC if not mentioned is Doug Belk from Houston

 

[dublinirish]

[TWEET]https://twitter.com/CFBWatcher/status/1480607990650654726?s=20[/TWEET]

 

[bkess8]

[TWEET]https://twitter.com/CFBWatcher/status/1480607990650654726?s=20[/TWEET]

I like Tressel or Mason. Not too informed on the others but hope MFMF makes the right decision for him and the team!

 

[dublinirish]

Prister on II podcast today said there is a third name in the mix for the WR coach job but declined to name them yet

 

[dublinirish]

I like Tressel or Mason. Not too informed on the others but hope MFMF makes the right decision for him and the team!

Bates is a Detroit guy, CMU alum and has been around the B1G and Cincy (but no overlap with Freeman)

 

[BleedBlueGold]

I like Tressel or Mason. Not too informed on the others but hope MFMF makes the right decision for him and the team!

It's obviously not the whole picture, but just a quick glance at defensive stats, Cincy is by far the best defense among those teams. Houston had a good defense as well. Worth considering their competition I suppose. BC and Auburn weren't terrible, with Auburn being top 40 in scoring defense. Tennessee, however, is bottom of the pack.

I still think MF needs a heavy hand in game planning and even calling plays for the defense. That's his best asset besides recruiting. Why sacrifice that?

 

[chicago51]

Everyone here likes Mason but he's a 2 gap guy on d-line. Either he adapts and let's our d-line play aggressive 1 gap, (not just tie up the o-line like you do with 2 gap) or it's a very hard pass for me.

I can't see Marcus Freeman doing 2 gap either.

 

[NDohio]

Don't know if he is ready to tackle the job of DC at ND but Aazaar Abdul-Rahim is a crazy good recruiter - especially in the DC area.

 

[Henges24]

I like Mason only because he has the HC experience. I think it would put some water on the uncertainty flame.

 

[Rogue219]

I'd take Doug Belk in a second.

The rest of the list is fine sans Mason. Keep him. Not interested.

 

[NDFAN2008]

I’d take Doug Belk young good defensive coordinator who has ties to the state of Georgia and was at Bama for 3 years

 

[Irish#1]

Does that mean he did interview already? Loy had him scheduled to interview tomorrow.

247 said both candidates hadn't interviewed but were expected to this week. Thought they were waiting from the CG to interview afterward. Maybe Shepard just did and dazzled MF[SUP]2[/SUP]?

They also reported that Tressel wasn't interested earlier, but is now back in play.

 

[Dale]

Everyone here likes Mason but he's a 2 gap guy on d-line. Either he adapts and let's our d-line play aggressive 1 gap, (not just tie up the o-line like you do with 2 gap) or it's a very hard pass for me.

I can't see Marcus Freeman doing 2 gap either.

Did he this year? I know he adjusted formation wise but didn’t have that close of eyes. They had a NT but he wasn’t a starter and they only deployed against a few teams

 

[chicago51]

Don't know if he is ready to tackle the job of DC at ND but Aazaar Abdul-Rahim is a crazy good recruiter - especially in the DC area.

Not saying this will be the hire BUT

The more I think about it I think Marcus Freeman is going to hire someone who hasn’t been a DC before. I think he’s going to go the Nick Saban route and hire an ascending position coach that he feels has the chops to be a good DC to come in and run HIS defense . Mark Dantonio, Kirby Smart, Will Muschamp, among others were not big names before Saban hired them but had success afterwards. Saban and now Kirby Smart are both obsessed with their scheme. They almost always seem to hire or promote position coaches and stay heavily involved; especially Kirby now and younger Saban. I think Marcus Freeman is going to go this route.

 

[chicago51]

Did he this year? I know he adjusted formation wise but didn’t have that close of eyes. They had a NT but he wasn’t a starter and they only deployed against a few teams

I have not watched a lot of Auburn. I know at Stanford he was a 2 gap 3-4 like ND in the Diaco days.

 

[NDohio]

Not saying this will be the hire BUT

The more I think about it I think Marcus Freeman is going to hire someone who hasn’t been a DC before. I think he’s going to go the Nick Saban route and hire an ascending position coach that he feels has the chops to be a good DC to come in and run HIS defense . Mark Dantonio, Kirby Smart, Will Muschamp, among others were not big names before Saban hired them but had success afterwards. Saban and now Kirby Smart are both obsessed with their scheme. They almost always seem to hire or promote position coaches and stay heavily involved; especially Kirby now and younger Saban. I think Marcus Freeman is going to go this route.

Even though Aazaar is not the DC currently, he does have one year of DC experience at UMASS prior to going to Boston College. I agree with your overall thought process though.

 

[AlaskanIrish]

I like Mason only because he has the HC experience. I think it would put some water on the uncertainty flame.

I agree. I think Freeman's best asset is his ability to manage egos and let the best ideas rise to the top. Mason wouldn't have worked under BK, with all due respect to him.

 

[Calabrese's People]

[TWEET]https://twitter.com/VictoryLapIrish/status/1480587032841928708[/TWEET]

Jumping the gun a bit...

 

[Calabrese's People]

Belk would be an amazing hire. Don't see how he turns down Houston (who are doubling his salary, and where he has complete control of the defensive side) to go to a staff already in place under an ex-DC.

 

[Rogue219]

Not saying this will be the hire BUT

The more I think about it I think Marcus Freeman is going to hire someone who hasn’t been a DC before. I think he’s going to go the Nick Saban route and hire an ascending position coach that he feels has the chops to be a good DC to come in and run HIS defense . Mark Dantonio, Kirby Smart, Will Muschamp, among others were not big names before Saban hired them but had success afterwards. Saban and now Kirby Smart are both obsessed with their scheme. They almost always seem to hire or promote position coaches and stay heavily involved; especially Kirby now and younger Saban. I think Marcus Freeman is going to go this route.

The BC guy is listed as a Co DC and everyone else on that list is already a DC currently.

So if that list of candidates are interviewing this week, it goes against your theory. Not that I necessarily disagree with your theory, it just goes against all the names listed above in the thread.

My ears perked up when I saw Belk on there. Freeman and Belk together would be a fantastic combo in so many ways. A lot of recruits will want to play for those two guys, plus you have Elston in the mix as well.

 

[Rogue219]

Belk would be an amazing hire. Don't see how he turns down Houston (who are doubling his salary, and where he has complete control of the defensive side) to go to a staff already in place under an ex-DC.

He'd be an incredible hire.

UH doubled his salary to $1M a year. ND should be able to beat that in terms of money.

UH to ND is not a lateral move, and it doesn't matter that Marcus Freeman was an ex DC nor should it. Derek Mason used to be a head coach not long ago and he's 52 years old. So the flipside is why would he come work for Freeman when Freeman was in diapers when Mason was in high school?

Few coordinators actually have "full control" of anything. These coaching staffs have varying dynamics. In most, the head coach is going to override things day to day, week to week and in game.

 

[chicago51]

Belk is a pretty close fit scheme wise.