Tony Alford

[BoredIrish]

Looking at it from ND's perspective, the beat goes on. Plenty of other coaches out there that can be just as good of a coach and quite frankly, better then Tony. Remove recruiting from the equation and ask yourself, have any RBs during his tenure really stepped up the way that Ezekiel Elliott has? No. It has been a dogfight with the RB group.

I agree with this. As a rb coach, I think Alford has underperformed somewhat. The issue is that CEO BK has delegated recruiting to him and is too hands off at this stage... The issue is that BK was too busy attending super bowl sand skiing and now his prized deputy is gone.

 

[johnnycando]

Translation, it's happening but let's wait til it's finalized.

I agree here with the Koon.

 

[NDinL.A.]

For the record I was being facetious.

Embarrassing then bc Denbrock is a helluva recruiter.

 

[Grahambo]

I agree with this. As a rb coach, I think Alford has underperformed somewhat. The issue is that CEO BK has delegated recruiting to him and is too hands off at this stage... The issue is that BK was too busy attending super bowl sand skiing and now his prized deputy is gone.

False.

It was already proven that BK was contractually obligated to attend via ND's deal with NBC.

 

[koonja]

Does it suck,certainly for us fans we lost a great ambassador to the university and top recruiter....but get a f#cking grip on life and reality that this changes how you view him....we have NO clue as to what is going on behind the scenes...and for the moral superiors...maybe he feels he can bring some to Osu

It's no like rb position has been great over the years...so maybe we somehow get better production...change of scenery happens at all the TOP schools

Embarrassing then bc Denbrock is a helluva recruiter.

+1. How can you blame a guy that's been a positions coach for 6 years? It's not on Alford's character at all. If he doesn't see ND giving him at least co-OC, then it's time to find a place that will.

And no, Denbrock is not a hell of a recruiter. Good guy, sure. Great recruiter? No.

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

Losing two assistants to lateral moves is not a good look for ND.

 

[johnnycando]

I'll wish Alford good luck.

He certainly deserves the credit for winning many recruiting battles.

He is a great guy and the kids love him.

But it's time for the next man in.

And I promise you, there will be a next man in.

 

[johnnycando]

Losing two assistants to lateral moves is not a good look for ND.

It might be a barometer. I think it has less to do with Kelly and more with ND's administration come paycheck.

Nonetheless, no one can argue that.

This is the third coach if it happens, that Urban has taken from Notre Dame.

 

[TheChosen1]

Losing two assistants to lateral moves is not a good look for ND.

The university will never pay coaches as they should. JS and the administration has always made that clear. The only way to do it is give teachers huge pay raises so they can bump up coaches salaries, and that won't happen.

 

[koonja]

I agree with people that Alford isn't a great coach and the RB production has been sub par considering the talent.

But this isn't the NFL and recruiting is simply more important than a position coach. Alford's impact in Florida is going to be huge. Dexter's HC was taking calls from Miami two weeks ago, and said "I'm protecting Dexter for ND because Alford is my dude".

I'm thankful this happened after NSD so we didn't lose Coney and Dexter Williams.

 

[irishff1014]

Embarrassing then bc Denbrock is a helluva recruiter.

Good recruiter not helluva recruiter

 

[Grahambo]

Embarrassing then bc Denbrock is a helluva recruiter.

Taking it a step further, him and BK get along quite well. The coaching staff didn't seem to gel the last few years and the time is now for BK to act and make changes. There's still a few coaches out there that could make up for this. See: Hoke, Brady)

 

[NDRock]

Looking at it from ND's perspective, the beat goes on. Plenty of other coaches out there that can be just as good of a coach and quite frankly, better then Tony. Remove recruiting from the equation and ask yourself, have any RBs during his tenure really stepped up the way that Ezekiel Elliott has? No. It has been a dogfight with the RB group.

Honestly, I think Alford has done a great job coaching. ND's RBs have done a great job with ball security during his time here and the RBs have put up some very good numbers. Since 2010 (when Kelly got here) the ypc for ND's RBs are as follows:

Jonas Gray
2010 - 5.0
2011 - 6.9

Cierre Wood
2010 - 5.1
2011 - 5.1
2012 - 6.5

Theo Riddick
2012 - 4.8

Atkinson III
2012- 7.1
2013 - 6.0

Cam Mcdaniel
2012 - 5.4
2013 - 4.6
2014 - 3.6

Tarean Folson
2013 - 5.3
2014 - 5.1

Greg Bryant
2014 - 5.4

 

[johnnycando]

The years of relationships that Alford has established in Florida, etc is what will be tough to overcome.

Which means the only likely replacement would have to be from a team deep rooted in those same areas to be effective, IMO.

 

[Grahambo]

Honestly, I think Alford has done a great job coaching. ND's RBs have done a great job with ball security during his time here and the RBs have put up some very good numbers. Since 2010 (when Kelly got here) the ypc for ND's RBs are as follows:

Jonas Gray
2010 - 5.0
2011 - 6.9

Cierre Wood
2010 - 5.1
2011 - 5.1
2012 - 6.5

Theo Riddick
2012 - 4.8

Atkinson III
2012- 7.1
2013 - 6.0

Cam Mcdaniel
2012 - 5.4
2013 - 4.6
2014 - 3.6

Tarean Folson
2013 - 5.3
2014 - 5.1

Greg Bryant
2014 - 5.4

Can we agree that YPC is not the end all, be all? I mean, who has really elevated their game to that next level. Its been a dogfight his entire tenure.

But if we are just looking at YPC, Ezekial Elliott rushed for 6.9, Melvin Gordon rushed for 7.5, Perine rushed for 6.5 and Duke Johnson rushed for 6.8. This year, Folston was at 5.1 and we know the kind of talent he has.

Would I like Alford to stay? Yes but thats more for the recruiting aspect then his coaching aspect. We have all complained how ND has underperformed mostly outside of 2012 and coaching changes were necessary. How many times did we hear from BK how a RB like Folston and Greg Bryant were not ready for action when Cam McDaniel (bless his heart) was getting most of the carries. Some of that is coaching and some of that falls on Alford. No, he is not the worst coach in the world but he's also not the best and before we cast judgment, wait to see what BK has in store for the staff.

Again, there could be changes on the horizon that make up for it.

Patience.

 

[koonja]

That CSU head coaching job is sounding pretty good right now, lol.

 

[Grahambo]

The years of relationships that Alford has established in Florida, etc is what will be tough to overcome.

Which means the only likely replacement would have to be from a team deep rooted in those same areas to be effective, IMO.

Which, when all things considered, points to Autry Denson (kudos to the poster who mentioned his name earlier). He's from Florida, played professionally down in Fla. Was a HC of a high school in Florida. Has obvious tires to ND. Could be another Todd Lyght type of hire. Someone who can go into homes and speak from first hand experience what it takes to succeed at ND.

Denson spent the past three seasons as the running backs coach at Bethune-Cookman. In 2013 B-CU’s running backs totaled 2,179 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns on 401 attempts (5.4 ypc). The Wildcats would finish the year with a 10-3 record, which included a trip to the NCAA playoffs.

Last season he was at Miami of Ohio but they sucked overall. Now he's at South Florida.

 

[Grahambo]

That CSU head coaching job is sounding pretty good right now, lol.

Perhaps that was his eye opener. Maybe it taught him that he needed to break away from ND and get more done.

 

[NDinL.A.]

+1. How can you blame a guy that's been a positions coach for 6 years? It's not on Alford's character at all. If he doesn't see ND giving him at least co-OC, then it's time to find a place that will.

And no, Denbrock is not a hell of a recruiter. Good guy, sure. Great recruiter? No.

Wrong again. Probably should go back to freaking out like you did last night LOL.

If you want to be a prisoner of the moment, be my guest. This past year he didn't recruit much because of his cancer. But previous from that he was a great recruiter. People inside the program know this.

 

[koonja]

Wrong again. Probably should go back to freaking out like you did last night LOL.

Go awayyy. Always trying to start things with me, smh.

Denbrock is not a great recruiter. He's decent. If we have different definitions of what's ok, good, great, that's fine. But nobody's kicking down ND's doors to get to him because of his recruiting abilities, we all know that.

 

[PANDFAN]

I hear Todd McNair is available-semi serious

 

[NDinL.A.]

Go awayyy. Always trying to start things with me, smh.

Denbrock is not a great recruiter. He's decent. If we have different definitions of what's ok, good, great, that's fine. But nobody's kicking down ND's doors to get to him because of his recruiting abilities, we all know that.

Nope, not going away. If you can post 50 times a day about shit you admittedly know absolutely nothing about, then I can post my 3 times a day on things I absolutely know about.

Not stirring shit up with you either. You say stupid things...I respond. Last night you wanted to fire or demote arguably our best position coach and our OC, so I responded. Now you're saying Denbrock, I guy I know for a fact is highly regarded in recruiting circles is only a decent recruiter. When you sign pros and future pros like Niklas, Russell, Stanley, EV, even GAIII, etc etc etc, you're much more than 'decent'.

Anyway, let's keep the personal stuff out of it. Just discussing the issues here, "we" all dont "know that". You, away from the program, believe that. I can tell you with 100% certainty that people in the program, recruits, and hs coaches in CA absolutely disagree with you. But if people want to believe you lol, god bless 'em.

 

[TheTurningPoint]

I dont have a side either way. But if someone says Denbrock isnt a good recruiter then what makes Alford a good recruiter?

Alford has pulled some big names, but at the sametime he has pulled 3 kids in two years. Corey Holmes, Tevon Coney and Dexter Williams. Good pulls, but there also isnt a lot of numbers.

Alford is good at recruiting, dont get me wrong. It would be a loss to have him go to osu, but I think a lot of the fanbase is overreacting. Assistant coaches and running back coaches are out there. It would be nice for Alford to stay to have stability.

However, I wont think less of Alford as a man if he does go to osu and you all know that I do not like the osu program. Its similar to LeBron leaving Cleveland. Right now, osu is a better job and he would have a chance to improve his resume. Both BK and Urban have a great coaching tree, but at ND Alford hasnt been getting promotions for OC jobs at ND or elsewhere, and he might benefit from another teacher to bolster his weaknesses. LeBron benefited from learning from Pat Riley, Eric Spolstera and D-wade bc they had experience in Championship basketball and gave him different perspective on the game.

Its always a risk to change jobs and sometimes you have to take one you dont like to get where you want to go. I dont know there Alford ideally sees himself in the college football world, but he probably doesnt want to be a running back/recruiting coordinator for the rest of his coaching career.

He also has the chance to leverage ND a bit. By his name coming up, if ND wants to keep him, then they could sweeten the pot. I think as fans of ND, we sometimes lose focus on the career/business aspect of football. He isnt doing any of his recruits dirty if he leaves. The job came open after signing day.

Go Irish.

 

[NDohio]

It seems like each time BK has to replace a coach, he upgrades. This would have to be a terrific hire to upgrade from a recruiting standpoint, but I would like to see an upgrade in the RB coaching department.

Not happy about this, but it'll be OK.

 

[Nick Setta]

So are we in dumpster fire mode yet? Who are we gonna hire at Rb coach insiders?

 

[koonja]

Nope, not going away. If you can post 50 times a day about shit you admittedly know absolutely nothing about, then I can post my 3 times a day on things I absolutely know about.

Not stirring shit up with you either. You say stupid things...I respond. Last night you wanted to fire or demote arguably our best position coach and our OC, so I responded. Now you're saying Denbrock, I guy I know for a fact is highly regarded in recruiting circles is only a decent recruiter. When you sign pros and future pros like Niklas, Russell, Stanley, EV, even GAIII, etc etc etc, you're much more than 'decent'.

Anyway, let's keep the personal stuff out of it. Just discussing the issues here, "we" all dont "know that". You, away from the program, believe that. I can tell you with 100% certainty that people in the program, recruits, and hs coaches in CA absolutely disagree with you. But if people want to believe you lol, god bless 'em.

Admittedly know nothing about? What are you even talking about

There's nothing personal here. I don't start stuff with you. I rarely read your posts. It's all you and your obsession with me. You take a subjective topic and start your 'nope, wrong, you know nothing' antics and continue throwing shit at every wall to see where it sticks.

You think Denbrock is a GREAT recruiter. I don't and a lot of others don't as well. We have different expectations and definitions of decent, good, great. I look at it from a national perspective - who's kicking down the door to get to Denbrock because of his recruiting skills? No one. You look at it as a local perspective, that's cool. Move on.

 

[ThePiombino]

Losing two assistants to lateral moves is not a good look for ND.

Agreed. And to make matters worse, he's staying in our recruiting backyard. We now have to recruit AGAINST Tony Alford who now represents a defending national champ. lol remember when Wiltfong said ND could land the #1 class this year?

 

[IRISHFAN76]

So has anyone seen the article on 24/7 Says weber and hs coach felt misled by Meyer and osu Said if new RBI coach was leaving he would of went to Michigan. Talked to urban Meyer night before nsd Hopefully Alford realizes the lack of integrity at buckeye nation and Meyer keeps burning bridges

 

[Corry]

If he has a chance to make more money then good for him. If he leaves for the same job with the same pay. I don't understand it.

 

[BeauBenken]

This year's coaching clinic is going to be worth the money for sure.