Replacing Diaco

[kmoose]

Sure hope that does not backfire. I see the "value" in doing that, but to get to the next level, it would be important to get a proven guy. Am I missing something in thinking that way?

Every "proven guy" was a relatively unheralded assistant, at one time....

 

[stlnd01]

I think it's simpler than that. He was just saying that Tosh is a great recruiter because he gets the best Jimmys and Joes. Hence, he out-Jimmys-and-Joes other recruiters. And it can't hurt to have a guy like that on your staff.

Not at all. Doesn't mean he should be the DC, though. Either way, seems highly unlikely. Cooks is the logical choice. Maybe promote Elston to "co-DC" (whatever that means) to keep him in the fold.

 

[stlnd01]

"An alum I know" is not a credible source. I'm an alum and I don't know jack shit (except for ND basketball, where I do actually have sources).

I was about to say the same thing, minus the basketball sources.

 

[Pa Golden Tate Fan]

Don't mean to pick on you because a lot of people say this, but "An alum I know" is not a credible source. I'm an alum and I don't know jack shit (except for ND basketball, where I do actually have sources).

I understand I should have rephrased that.

 

[IrishLion]

Not at all. Doesn't mean he should be the DC, though. Either way, seems highly unlikely. Cooks is the logical choice. Maybe promote Elston to "co-DC" (whatever that means) to keep him in the fold.

Oh I'm not saying he should be DC, I was just trying to explain the "Out-Jimmys-and-Joes" quote. He out-recruits other recruiters. And then I added that it's always great to have a good recruiter on your staff, which is what the original quote was referring to.

 

[stlnd01]

Oh I'm not saying he should be DC, I was just trying to explain the "Out-Jimmys-and-Joes" quote. He out-recruits other recruiters. And then I added that it's always great to have a good recruiter on your staff, which is what the original quote was referring to.

Fair enough. He is clearly a great recruiter. We've got one in Alford. Two would be awesome. I just think he'd a tough pull out of the Pac-12 (unless of course some conference clause in his contract is an obstacle out there, in which case...)

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Diaco to today:

One of Brian Kelly's greatest strengths is evaluating and developing talent :
A) He was strong with qb's before he got in to such a major program with its many additional demands.
B) What has brought the Irish program back is not just signing top five star talent. It is picking the five stars with a "team first" attitude, (eg, Jaylon Smith.) And his ability to pick diamonds in the rough, under-rated talent and develop it into productive performers. This includes assistants, too. (People look at Tommy Reese wrong; he is a clear example of supercharging less that required talent for a tough position. What other programs in the country could have gotten as much out of this kid?)
C) Brian had great chemistry on his staff; last season. Some things change with time. Everything I heard is there was a time when everything changed. Around the NC game, after the great Freddy Kruger incident, with the recruiting of AA, and the renegotiating of Kelly and other assistants packages.
D) Keeping Mike, Kerry, and Bobby is the most important goal. DC is a touch less significant in itself. Maybe third; ND needs a "Mike Elston" for linebackers. Mike came in and built the productivity of the defensive front. He took a lot of rough talent and molded them. At this juncture, I believe that there is a significant opportunity to do that with the linebackers.
E) I wish Bob Diaco the best. He did outgrow his assistant status. He needs the opportunity for a head job. If he succeeds he may be back at ND. Who knows. But I do feel, from what I saw he has a few blind spots. The more the insider, the more these seem evident. IrishTP (I like the name change,) talked about the inconsistencies, or the lack of development in certain areas.

A small example was Bob's handling of the media just before Brian banished him from the reporters lists. Bob said that all that went on in the locker room was private with the team, and should be off limit to everyone that wasn't a team member. Good luck with that as a head coach!

 

[gkIrish]

Does this mean BobD has to change his username?

 

[stlnd01]

A small example was Bob's handling of the media just before Brian banished him from the reporters lists. Bob said that all that went on in the locker room was private with the team, and should be off limit to everyone that wasn't a team member. Good luck with that as a head coach!

It's funny. He made a joke to that effect at his press conference yesterday when someone asked what he said to the UConn players at his first meeting. His response was "Well if I wanted you to know that I would have invited you in there." Then a sort of "Just kidding!" and half-explanation of his conversation with them. But, not really kidding.

Of course, he's learned message control at the knee of Kelly, without Kelly's natural skills working a crowd. It'll be interesting to watch how he grows over there. Or crashes.

 

[WakeUpEchoes]

Yeah, I see your point. But I guess that you (we all are) making the assumption that someone on the current staff has the ability to take on those responsibilities. Again, someone with no experience could be potentially disastrous (or could be great as well). Larger risk.

Overall, it's not a larger risk. Kirby Smart had one year of DC experience before taking on the job at Bama - at Valdosta State.

And I'm pretty sure he's not an outlier.

 

[OCIrish]

Overall, it's not a larger risk. Kirby Smart had one year of DC experience before taking on the job at Bama - at Valdosta State.

And I'm pretty sure he's not an outlier.

Yeah......and Kirby Smart routinely has about 6-7 first rounders starting on his defense at any given time.......makes for a nice luxery that many others simply do not have......

 

[WakeUpEchoes]

Yeah......and Kirby Smart routinely has about 6-7 first rounders starting on his defense at any given time.......makes for a nice luxery that many others simply do not have......

Their recruiting classes were in the top 15 all three years prior - not that much different from ours of past three years. I realize that is a generalization, but all DC's have to start somewhere, and most are promoted from within. I personally think it's more of a risk going with an outside hire, thus not a "larger" risk.

 

[IrishLax]

Retreads/outside hires always have a much larger risk than a promotion from within. When you promote from within, you already have a great idea of what you're going to be getting from that coach and how they work with the current players.

 

[OCIrish]

Their recruiting classes were in the top 15 all three years prior - not that much different from ours of past three years. I realize that is a generalization, but all DC's have to start somewhere, and most are promoted from within. I personally think it's more of a risk going with an outside hire, thus not a "larger" risk.

Not disagreeing with you whatsoever.......just kina playing devils advocate somewhat.....

 

[Irish#1]

Diaco to today:

One of Brian Kelly's greatest strengths is evaluating and developing talent :
A) He was strong with qb's before he got in to such a major program with its many additional demands.
B) What has brought the Irish program back is not just signing top five star talent. It is picking the five stars with a "team first" attitude, (eg, Jaylon Smith.) And his ability to pick diamonds in the rough, under-rated talent and develop it into productive performers. This includes assistants, too. (People look at Tommy Reese wrong; he is a clear example of supercharging less that required talent for a tough position. What other programs in the country could have gotten as much out of this kid?)
C) Brian had great chemistry on his staff; last season. Some things change with time. Everything I heard is there was a time when everything changed. Around the NC game, after the great Freddy Kruger incident, with the recruiting of AA, and the renegotiating of Kelly and other assistants packages.
D) Keeping Mike, Kerry, and Bobby is the most important goal. DC is a touch less significant in itself. Maybe third; ND needs a "Mike Elston" for linebackers. Mike came in and built the productivity of the defensive front. He took a lot of rough talent and molded them. At this juncture, I believe that there is a significant opportunity to do that with the linebackers.
E) I wish Bob Diaco the best. He did outgrow his assistant status. He needs the opportunity for a head job. If he succeeds he may be back at ND. Who knows. But I do feel, from what I saw he has a few blind spots. The more the insider, the more these seem evident. IrishTP (I like the name change,) talked about the inconsistencies, or the lack of development in certain areas.

A small example was Bob's handling of the media just before Brian banished him from the reporters lists. Bob said that all that went on in the locker room was private with the team, and should be off limit to everyone that wasn't a team member. Good luck with that as a head coach!

My own personal opinion is he's close, but not quite ready to be a HC. However, if there was a place for a guy (whose not quite ready) to get his first HC job at the D1 level, it's UConn. I wish him nothing but the best and hope he proves me wrong.

 

[Buster Bluth]

My own personal opinion is he's close, but not quite ready to be a HC.

Based on?

 

[Bogtrotter07]

My own personal opinion is he's close, but not quite ready to be a HC. However, if there was a place for a guy (whose not quite ready) to get his first HC job at the D1 level, it's UConn. I wish him nothing but the best and hope he proves me wrong.

Just because I said he outgrew his assistant status, doesn't mean I think he was ready as a head coach. In fact, I would bet that the majority of really good coordinators don't make it as a head coach, ever.

Or another way, I wish I had a buck for every subordinate I had over the years that thought he could do my job better than me. (Two that I can remember could. One of them ended up being my bosses boss.) If I had that money we probably could get good and drunk.

Back to this :

Based on?

Opinion. Educated, but opinion. Bob Diaco is arrogant and an elitist from what I have seen. But that just cuts some options for him. Also, he appears to be naïve to the point that he has some large blind spot. His on camera temper tantrum when he got caught in a foolish lie demonstrates to me that as smart as Bob is, he lacks one of Brian's best talents; his ability to manipulate the media and appear if he is just schmoozing . . .

The standard test for me is if he even thinks of taking Mike Elston with him, he is showing a severe personal limitation. There are many reasons this would be disadvantageous. I would take this as him turning on Kelly, who really promoted Bob into the career he has. But more importantly. I want to see if Diaco can find his own talent. And develop it. Including assistant coaches.

 

[dad4aa]

Rumors at the banquest tonight are Cooks will be promoted to DC and Kelly will search for an OC.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Makes sense. There is more of a product that an established OC has to offer. And if Jones is plugged in to be a LB coach . . .

 

[bigedefense]

Well I dusted off my resume so I could send it to Coach Kelly. I get the job, IRISH ENVY will have the scoop on everything ND football!. HAHAHAHAHA!

 

[Classic Irish]

Rumors at the banquest tonight are Cooks will be promoted to DC and Kelly will search for an OC.

I wonder what bearing that will have on Elston's decision.

 

[WakeUpEchoes]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Of actual news, Mike Elston introduced as Notre Dame’s defensive line coach at The Echoes.</p>— Irish Illustrated (@NDatRivals) <a href="https://twitter.com/NDatRivals/statuses/411678467164352512">December 14, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[PANDFAN]

Rumors at the banquest tonight are Cooks will be promoted to DC and Kelly will search for an OC.

very interesting

 

[NDdomer2]

what should Elston be introduced as?

 

[WakeUpEchoes]

.

 

[Irish YJ]

very interesting

Part of me has thought he will attempt to make a splash, part of me, internal promotion. I'd really like to see him get a rock star that could help with recruiting. Someone who can start pulling in more 5star skilled O positions. We've knocked it out of the park with OL, but struggled at time closing and keeping RBs/WRs/QBs.

 

[stlnd01]

With the OC job, on one hand it would be nice to find someone with an Xs and Os guy who could help develop a discernable offensive identity, which is something we've generally lacked - beyond "take what the defense gives us" - under Kelly.
On the other hand, we've finally got a pipeline of talented QBs coming to fruition here, along with our stable of TEs and OLs and young depth at receiver, to run a sort of power spread. After several years of waiting for an offense, it feels like we're on the cusp of a great one. I'd hate to wind up with a guy whose system would lead us to hit the "reset" button on all that.
So if they go outside, I hope they don't go too far outside, if you know what I mean.

 

[irishog77]

Rumors at the banquest tonight are Cooks will be promoted to DC and Kelly will search for an OC.

Not to go all Coonja on you, but rumors from who? The wait staff? Players? Coaches? Recruits?

 

[woolybug25]

Not to go all Coonja on you, but rumors from who? The wait staff? Players? Coaches? Recruits?

I'm not saying that sounds gay. I'm just saying.

 

[Jimmy3Putt]

Rumors at the banquest tonight are Cooks will be promoted to DC and Kelly will search for an OC.

This is what I was hoping for.
This team is loaded on offense and quite frankly needs to show it on the field.
The red zone struggles and lack of creativity we've seen since Kelly took over needs to be addressed.

You can't see, but right now I'm dancing in my chair.