Next ND Offensive Coordinator - the search

[ThePiombino]

I just realized ND didn't hire Marcus Freeman because he was the IT guy or because they thought he'd take them to the next level. He was the easiest, cheapest solution. All this makes more sense when you look at this way. Genuinely feel bad for him. He's probably just realizing this now as well.

 

[Crazy Balki]

Ok, fine. That would assume then that Freeman also never made him an offer himself or mentioned a salary to him either.

I don't think that's the case.

Or the best case scenario then was that Freeman was clueless in how offers are made, who makes them, who decides the salary, that he has an actual budget, etc. But I have a hard time believing Freeman is so naive that he thought it was as simple as finding a guy he likes, he tells Swarbrick, and then BOOM, it's done.

But sure, absolve Freeman in all this.

I won't.

I can't imagine Freeman is in a position to make a salary offer or have any authority in saying they'll pay the buyout.

He goes to Jack, and between Jack and the admin, they figure out the salary and buyout issues, and get back to Freeman on whether he can pursue Ludwig. Given the rumors that ND had the wrong numbers, it stands to reason that the admin/Jack permitted Marcus to pursue him based on the old contract numbers and then backed out when they realized the actual buyout was significantly higher.

Again, that's above Freeman. So yes, very easy to absolve Freeman from all this.

You can choose to not, but it's a pretty weak hill to die on.

 

[NDQuebec]

Wow. I think I'm going to miss Kelly and Rees.

Flame away if you want but we went from a very good head coach to a green one. Then we went from a very good OC to one that West Virginia didn't want (presuming it's Parker). And we will likely go from Heistand to Watts. All of this seems to me that ND football is going downhill fast. It's a shame.

 

[thekid33]

This is textbook setting up your inexperienced coach to fail. Of course he chose his friend. They believe in each other, there is a shared history and it keeps the culture intact. But ultimately it’s a panic hire by a 37 yo head coach, and Swarbrick (Powlus? Bot? Money man whomever) set the table and lit the candles.

The path laid out before us to maximize a young, energetic head coach was going to require financial commitment. The money people fumbled the bag. Regardless of how this works out, alumni and fans should be furious at the way the athletic department handled this.

So, I don't think Parker is being forced by Jack. But, the situation of falling back to Parker was forced by Jack kneecapping MF on the Ludwig hire.

Overall, I think the dots are connecting to paint a picture that Jack never wanted MF. I think he wanted Rees, but the timing didn't work. TR didn't have the same amount of experience as MF and the players and recruits rallies behind MF.

Jack may or may not have made Rees a condition of hiring MF.

It would appear that Jack killed the Ludwig deal, either through incompetence or arrogance and maliciousness.

I think Jack is putting MF out there with one hand tied behind his back and might even be doing it with the intention of him failing.

If MF has 3 consecutive seasons with less than 10 wins, Jack can say "we tried and I really wanted it to work, but the program has slipped."

Then, as his final action before retiring he brings in the guy he wanted from the start, Rees.

 

[Irish eyes]

I can't imagine Freeman is in a position to make a salary offer or have any authority in saying they'll pay the buyout.

He goes to Jack, and between Jack and the admin, they figure out the salary and buyout issues, and get back to Freeman on whether he can pursue Ludwig. Given the rumors that ND had the wrong numbers, it stands to reason that the admin/Jack permitted Marcus to pursue him based on the old contract numbers and then backed out when they realized the actual buyout was significantly higher.

Again, that's above Freeman. So yes, very easy to absolve Freeman from all this.

You can choose to not, but it's a pretty weak hill to die on.

Or you can pay the big money and get the right coaches and become a real power again...

 

[TNUtoNotreDame]

Parker averaged 25 points at west Virginia... Please... What are we Army!! It's a terrible hire!

But they were 25 ppg of plucky points. They tried real hard.

 

[Crazy Balki]

Sometimes I'm not sure you can help it but you are literally proving the point.

Yes, in the myriad of decisions that went into this, Freeman made 99% of them and then the admin made one. He owns this. I'm glad we're on the same page.

THE DECISION WAS LUDWIG!

The admin owns 100% of this! Period! Marcus made his decision, got him on campus, interviewed and reached the conclusion that he was the guy and got to the point where the offer was made. The admin fucked up. Either by getting the numbers of the buyout wrong or just being overall cheapskates.

To say that Freeman made 99% of the decisions is asinine. He had his guys picked and the admin fucked up. Not to mention how late in the process this search already was. You look at virtually every other legitimate name that was thrown out there. They all had legitimate question marks, to the point where I can understand going with the familiarity and reliability of Parker, a guy you know, over an unknown, especially after getting screwed over by your bosses.

 

[irishff1014]

I

Why do you think they didn't have conversations with Moorhead, Lewis, Candle, etc?

Lewis just took a job and his offense isn't what Freeman wants to run.

Candle and Moorhead are head coaches. Candle already turned down Miami twice. Maybe he's not overly interested in taking an OC job. Same with Moorhead.

It's definitely not as simple as you are assuming it is. It sounds like Freeman has had discussions and has vetted guys like the ones you mentioned. But he ultimately felt Parker had the most familiarity with what he wants offensively. There's a reason why Ludwig was the guy, because his offense best matched what Freeman has said he wants. The other guys, easily could've been not a good fit or lack of interest, given their situations. Need to also remember that Parker was a legitimate name being mentioned throughout the process.

This proves ND isn’t respected anymore. When you can’t hire an experienced OC with a top Qb, oline and running backs then you have a major problem. So all the paid sites have been proven wrong.

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

So, I don't think Parker is being forced by Jack. But, the situation of falling back to Parker was forced by Jack kneecapping MF on the Ludwig hire.

Overall, I think the dots are connecting to paint a picture that Jack never wanted MF. I think he wanted Rees, but the timing didn't work. TR didn't have the same amount of experience as MF and the players and recruits rallies behind MF.

Jack may or may not have made Rees a condition of hiring MF.

It would appear that Jack killed the Ludwig deal, either through incompetence or arrogance and maliciousness.

I think Jack is putting MF out there with one hand tied behind his back and might even be doing it with the intention of him failing.

If MF has 3 consecutive seasons with less than 10 wins, Jack can say "we tried and I really wanted it to work, but the program has slipped."

Then, as his final action before retiring he brings in the guy he wanted from the start, Rees.

I don't think the AD hired Freeman to be Beast Rabban to Tommy's Feyd Rautha.

I think it's as simple as ND is pulling back from the explosion in spending in college sports.

Which will probably accelerate the move to the B1G for that sweet cash.

 

[Giddyup]

MF has to own these hires ultimately. So ND turned down one coach. Doesn’t mean you hire a bunch of buddies then.

 

[brewdog_14527]

Or maybe we could actually give the guy a chance. None of you were called to be the OC nor consulted about it. Maybe working with better talent, he will be much better than he was at West Virginia. They only thing that really matter is what the players think. Not what arm chair QB's think.

 

[pumpdog20]

Loy says he doesn't think it is, which means he will probably be named head coach in waiting by tomorrow.

We need to stop quoting these guys for a while. lol

 

[TNUtoNotreDame]

I don't think the AD hired Freeman to be Beast Rabban to Tommy's Feyd Rautha.

I think it's as simple as ND is pulling back from the explosion in spending in college sports.

Which will probably accelerate the move to the B1G for that sweet cash.

They showed that outcry will not stop them, I can see this happen. The money excuse.

 

[sfk324]

I don't think it's Freeman's fault. Going from Ludwig to Parker, is Freeman's fault. That's the point. The admin took a singular candidate off the table and now the world has burned and Freeman is being forced to hire his buddy. That makes zero fucking sense.

I think characterizing it as Ludwig to Parker is inaccurate. Ludwig, the guy he wanted, had a buyout that a donor was willing to pay. Cost to ND: $0. The message received by MF when they won't allow the Ludwig hire even when it won't cost them a nickel is that Ludwig and similarly situated coaches are not viable options. So why continue down that path just to be told no over and over because of some perceived slight? The administration should be there to support MF, not throw up additional roadblocks in addition to the ones everyone is already aware of. But that's not how ND works--at least, that's not how Jack works.

As po'ed as the fanbase is, it's far worse for MF to have to endure the very public show of being undercut by an administration that is not interested in supporting him. That's not helpful if his goal is to try succeed in spite of it.

 

[MacIrish75]

They showed that outcry will not stop them, I can see this happen. The money excuse.

If moving to the B1G allows us to hire actual, legit, experienced coaches in the future then sign me the hell up.

 

[Giddyup]

Ludwig was a smokescreen after MF told Brick he wanted all internal hires. Take the heat off MF

 

[Irishdrunk]

“… I can get behind Parker…

Love this ridiculous phrase. Swarbrick loves these types of fans!

 

[Giddyup]

Watt hire would piss me off. How lazy can this “search” be?

 

[TNUtoNotreDame]

If moving to the B1G allows us to hire actual, legit, experienced coaches in the future then sign me the hell up.

AT this point, what do we have left? We have gone full lazy, just cash the check and try to back into the playoff.

 

[Dale]

Given the rumors that ND had the wrong numbers, it stands to reason that the admin/Jack permitted Marcus to pursue him based on the old contract numbers and then backed out when they realized the actual buyout was significantly higher.

I don’t think you can say anything stands to reason when you’re jumping off point is a lawyer and one of the most powerful ADs in the country worked off an old contract.

I still think there is next to 0% chance oh they just had the old contract is true. Did they do their exploration on Ludwig somehow prior to Feb 1st? Did Ludwig not inform them he signed a new contract? Is the old contract thing false and they expected to negotiate? Other?

 

[Irishnuke]

I don’t know exactly who is to blame or where to point fingers but this is a lazy, uninspired, and embarrassing fucking hire.

 

[Crazy Balki]

I don’t think you can say anything stands to reason when you’re jumping off point is a lawyer and one of the most powerful ADs in the country worked off an old contract.

Well, somebody at ND above Freeman's paygrade had to give him the greenlight to allow things to go as far as they did with Ludwig.

Otherwise, what is the point of bringing him out to interview in the first place?

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

I don’t think you can say anything stands to reason when you’re jumping off point is a lawyer and one of the most powerful ADs in the country worked off an old contract.

I still think there is next to 0% chance oh they just had the old contract is true. Did they do their exploration on Ludwig somehow prior to Feb 1st? Did Ludwig not inform them he signed a new contract? Is the old contract thing false and they expected to negotiate? Other?

That's where my money is. It's a 14 day old contract and if Utah wanted to stand their ground on the dollars then they would have to be willing to take back a guy who wanted to leave. So ND probably figured they would be amenable to a smaller amount. Maybe Jack scuttled it because he thought they were being unreasonable and he didn't want to reward them for it. IDK.

 

[MacIrish75]

FootballScoop was fed this story to test the waters on how the fanbase would react to the Parker hire and now they know we’ll be fine with literally any other candidate.

MF out here playing 4D chess.

 

[TNUtoNotreDame]

FootballScoop was fed this story to test the waters on how the fanbase would react to the Parker hire and now they know we’ll be fine with literally any other candidate.

MF out here playing 4D chess.

Literally, I was begging for Chip Long to come back.

 

[stlnd01]

I can see the decision to not invest that kind of money in buying out Ludwig. Especially if you’re also thinking about raises to fend off competition for guys like Mickens and Stuckey, as was floated yesterday. It’s a huge check to hire a coordinator..

But then just giving up and pivoting to Parker, and THEN hiring Watt, just feels like giving up. (Guidugli is fine as a QB coach).

Maybe it’ll work out on the field this fall but I don’t know how you’re supposed to recruit with any credibility when that’s your move. No matter what you thought of Rees this is a massive downgrade.

 

[IrishLion]

I would like to reiterate, as someone familiar with UC, that Gino is a decent hire as a QB coach/recruiter. He’s a players’ coach, just like MFMF.

He gets a lot of credit for Ridder’s development at UC. That scrawny athlete with a live arm turned into a legitimately good pocket QB, that just so happened to be faster than most DB’s when plays broke down.

@Dale questioned Ben Bryant’s development at UC… Bryant actually operated relatively well last year, but the gameplanning/playcalling was questionable at times, hence my opposition to Gino as OC. He was okay at times, but sporadic. Would have looked a lot better if Bryant were a bit more accurate on dee throws. Probably missed 5 or 6 deep TD’s against man coverage to Tyler Scott by a combined 5 yards.

 

[Irish4life]

Again, not Freeman's fault this is the end result.

It's on the admin.

No, it's Freeman's fault that he settled for Gerad Parker

 

[Grahambo]

I don’t know exactly who is to blame or where to point fingers but this is a lazy, uninspired, and embarrassing fucking hire.

The timing of Rees leaving is to blame.

 

[Irish eyes]

Why Chris Watt... ? Not bothering to look at anyone else? Really..