Tony Alford

[NDohio]

What position is he taking?


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Assistant Offensive Coordinator and RB coach.

Assistant HEAD coach and RB

 

[TheSunIsRising]

It's just depressing how much we suck compared to before I was born (94).Seriously.

So, you're saying it's YOUR fault??

 

[johnnycando]

^

Wow.

He just got paid.

 

[Crazy Balki]

Not really a promotion. So it all comes down to cash money?


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Wow, and I thought we were bloated with 3 OC's (Kelly, Quinn and Denbrock). O$U now has FOUR OC's (Meyer, Warinner, Beck and Alford). Again, I think we'll be fine, but this move makes very little sense for Alford in terms of career progressions.

 

[Grahambo]

The program has a challenge and that is two seasons of underperformance. Losing to bad teams and this certainly doesn't help.

And BK shakes up the coaching tree like he should. Production from the very talented RB corps has produced mixed results; average to slightly above average at best.

This has less to do with ND then it does Alford trying to re-energize his career. He tried for CSU and lost out due to job title so now he goes for the title. If its true and he couldn't wait for BK to return his phone call then he was more or less looking for a reason to leave and not a reason to stay.

Staff shakeups are not the worst in the world and as has been said, the team has underperformed lately. Allow BK to finish making the changes. There's still some work to be done.

 

[ndftbl]

Wow, and I thought we were bloated with 3 OC's (Kelly, Quinn and Denbrock). O$U now has FOUR OC's (Meyer, Warinner, Beck and Alford). Again, I think we'll be fine, but this move makes very little sense for Alford in terms of career progressions.

Kelly was all over the coaches after the USC game and leading up to the LSU game, and they didn't like it.

Add to this that Kelly passed over Alford for OC last year in favor of Denbrock, and you have your answers.

It's not about money.

 

[ndftbl]

Seriously, right now you'd be happy with 8-9 wins with this team. The most talent we've had in a long long time and that would make you satisfied?

I wish you were my boss

I agree. 10 wins should be the minimum.

But you don't get rid of Kelly, unless you have a better option.

 

[Kingbish01]

Honest question as I'm sitting at the bar talking with a few buddies about this situation....Has TA ever had a 1000 yard back? And of all his best recruits (since he is our best recruiter) who are his top 3 recruits? I know he pulled GB and TF but it's not like he has been bringing in backs and coaching them up like say Bama has had over the last 5 years.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Myer is a piece of work is he not-so glad he never had his wishes granted to coach at Notre Dame. His 3 guys every year no questions asked would have ended up embarrassing Notre Dame.

I don't think ND was ever his dream job...tOSU is his dream job. ND may have been his dream school to attend or to play sports, but he knows he's not bigger than ND unlike the factories that don't have any restrictions. He had his shot in 2004 when I thought it'd be a slam dunk. He was given a choice & after looking at the two rosters at ND & UF respectively, he went for the least path of resistance. Even if he did ask for 3 guys every year no questions asked, I doubt he thought ND would really say 'yes' to that. Stoops did the same thing & he stayed put, too. I can't speak to his ethics, but he's a helluva coach. He & Saban are 1a & 1b in the nation IMO.

 

[phork]

My feeling is that Kelly is gone after this season regardless of what happens.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Honest question as I'm sitting at the bar talking with a few buddies about this situation....Has TA ever had a 1000 yard back? And of all his best recruits (since he is our best recruiter) who are his top 3 recruits? I know he pulled GB and TF but it's not like he has been bringing in backs and coaching them up like say Bama has had over the last 5 years.

Cierre had 1103 in 2011.

 

[yankeeND]

Again, congratulations coach Alford and thank you for everything you have done for ND!

So, with that out of the way, are we looking at replacing these guys with Quinn (BK's right hand), Lyght (former top 5 NFL pick), and possibly Autrey Denson (all-time ND rushing leader)? If this is so, I am pleased. Hate to see Alford go, but it was bound to happen sooner or later, so why not when you could add a guy like Denson? Would be incredible!

 

[Crazy Balki]

Kelly was all over the coaches after the USC game and leading up to the LSU game, and they didn't like it.

Add to this that Kelly passed over Alford for OC last year in favor of Denbrock, and you have your answers.

It's not about money.

And he should have gotten on his staff. That display was pathetic beyond measure, and I'd say the reaming worked, since they looked completely different against LSU.

I never said it was about the money, but still even for career progression, O$U doesn't make any sense. Alford is still behind 2 guys at OC right now with Warinner the main OC, and Beck the co-OC (not to mention Meyer pretty much runs the offense anyways).

 

[IrishSteelhead]

My feeling is that Kelly is gone after this season regardless of what happens.

Choke on your words. I rue the day we try to talk ourselves into someone like Randy Edsall circa 2010 being a good replacement. That time frame was awful.

 

[STLcardz-NDirish]

My feeling is that Kelly is gone after this season regardless of what happens.

I tend to feel the same way

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Honest question as I'm sitting at the bar talking with a few buddies about this situation....Has TA ever had a 1000 yard back? And of all his best recruits (since he is our best recruiter) who are his top 3 recruits? I know he pulled GB and TF but it's not like he has been bringing in backs and coaching them up like say Bama has had over the last 5 years.

I wouldn't judge him too harshly based on the lack of 1000 yd rushers. Look at the two philosophies of Weis & Kelly. DWalk had back-to-back 1K yard seasons in Weis's first two years before Alford got there, but the talent level & experience took a sharp decline in '07. Armando couldn't stay healthy & BK only ran when his back was against the wall.

I have nothing negative to say about Alford. It's safe to say, he'll have at least one 1000 yd rusher next season. I don't see Alford being there long. I wish him the best unless we're recruiting against him or playing against him. Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program. Tony was ND's best recruiter. Now it's up to BK to replace him. I trust he will. Go hire Jeff Quinn & Autrey Denson & start kicking some ass.

 

[Kingbish01]

Cierre had 1103 in 2011.

That's right. But TA didn't recruit him. Maybe it's time for a fresh face....jury is still out on GB and TF but as of right now...it looks like his best recruit has been Nix...smh unless I've had too many beers, I'm excited about a new chapter.

 

[Armyirish47]

Haha, thanks champ! The product in the field hasn't been very good as of late so acting as if this doesn't hurt is insane. Our team just won 8 games. I'm not usually a sky is falling guy and I'm not even saying that now but to act is if this team has been productive is downright silly. I understand reasons, in fact I make them, but there are results and there is no way this makes short term results better.

Side note, you don't need to refer me as champ, if you have something to say, say it no need for condescending comments like that.

The product hasn't been great, but our recruiting classes aren't vastly different pre-Alford as recruiting coordinator or during Alford when we haven't had great product on the field. If Notre Dame wins recruiting tends to take care of itself, who is coaching the running backs at any given time isn't the difference.

Also, the narrative that has broken out in this thread about Alford's recruiting prowess, at least in regards to process, seems to be at odds with the idea that was so prevalent that the staff is lazy, and/or didn't have alternate plans for safety/running back recruiting near the end of this cycle, or does that blame lie solely with the head coach and not our recruiting coordinator?

Side note, was throwing in a paraphrased Anchorman quote to lighten the mood, next time I'll just use more Sex Panther.

 

[rtrn2glory]

good for tony.....of course bad for us.

urban is the best in the country and he knows how to pay the guys he wants on his staff.

tony will coach the best back in the country next year and knowing the type of recruiter he is i can't argue with how urban went after him.

from the get go he said is staff will be the best recruiters in the country and he hasn't disappointed.

 

[Kingbish01]

I wouldn't judge him too harshly based on the lack of 1000 yd rushers. Look at the two philosophies of Weis & Kelly. DWalk had back-to-back 1K yard seasons in Weis's first two years before Alford got there, but the talent level & experience took a sharp decline in '07. Armando couldn't stay healthy & BK only ran when his back was against the wall.

I have nothing negative to say about Alford. It's safe to say, he'll have at least one 1000 yd rusher next season. I don't see Alford being there long. I wish him the best unless we're recruiting against him or playing against him. Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program. Tony was ND's best recruiter. Now it's up to BK to replace him. I trust he will. Go hire Jeff Quinn & Autrey Denson & start kicking some ass.

We pulled up his page on Rivals and looked at the recruits...unless it's not accurate. What are we really losing? Maybe as fans we put this guy on pedestal but everyone else sees it for what it is. And that's why he's not getting a better job. He needs OSU more than ND needs him imo

 

[kmoose]

How would people feel about 9-3 and a bowl win for 10-3?

No offense, but I have always thought that asking what X-X would mean is a dumb question. I would take 10-3 and looking like we were just a step away from being great, over 11-2 and getting blown out by the best teams on our schedule while barely getting past some of the average teams on the schedule.

 

[Crazy Balki]

Honest question as I'm sitting at the bar talking with a few buddies about this situation....Has TA ever had a 1000 yard back? And of all his best recruits (since he is our best recruiter) who are his top 3 recruits? I know he pulled GB and TF but it's not like he has been bringing in backs and coaching them up like say Bama has had over the last 5 years.

1 year, Wood had 1100 yards and Gray should have eclipsed 1000 if he didn't get hurt.

As for recruits, good question. From what I gathered....Aaron Lynch, Davonte Neal (co-recruited with Cooks), his biggest impact was recruiting Bryant and Folston. So...yeah, kinda underwhelming given the big fuss we're making over him. Don't get me wrong, that's still rather impressive (though 2 of those guys never really made a big impact at ND). Overall, a big loss, but the significance is being inflated to epic proportions (mainly because he jumped to O$U). I can easily see an Autry Denson-type stepping in and keeping the doors Alford left open. Add that Jeff Quinn will presumably do SOMETHING in recruiting rather than LeFleur, and I'd say we're better for it.

 

[NDdomer2]

Looks like I owe a billion to koon.

If we win recruiting goes well, its when we go 8-5 that a guy like Tony is missed.

 

[Crazy Balki]

We pulled up his page on Rivals and looked at the recruits...unless it's not accurate. What are we really losing? Maybe as fans we put this guy on pedestal but everyone else sees it for what it is. And that's why he's not getting a better job. He needs OSU more than ND needs him imo

I have to agree on that one. Alford did a wonderful job opening up opportunities in the sunshine state, but if we hire Denson, I think the opportunities in Fla will only increase. I'm sure he's built several relationships down there, played pro-ball down there, and is actually FROM there.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Seriously, right now you'd be happy with 8-9 wins with this team. The most talent we've had in a long long time and that would make you satisfied?

No, I'd be frustrated w/ 8-9 wins, especially if included losses to inferior teams like Tulsa, Navy, USF, Air Force, Northwestern, Louisville, Pitt, etc. That has to stop. 2013 should've been a 10-win season. No excuse to lose to a 6-6 Pitt. 2014 should've been a 10-win season. No excuse to lose to Northwestern & Louisville....that's not even taking into account the embarrassing blow out loss to an SCum team w/ a more depleted roster than ND.

I try to look at it as gradual improvement. While BK's teams have underachieved, he's also got them on an upward (albeit stagnant) trend. The 3 coaches who preceded him turned in losing or .500 seasons. BK has avoided less than 8 wins. BK has also avoided the embarrassing blowouts (2014 SCum debacle aside) that were consistent w/ Willingham and Weis (& Davie in bowl games). While I was expecting more dominating wins over the boys of Troy during their sanctions, BK has at least beaten them 3 out of 5 times during his tenure. That's better than the 41 pt blowout losses that TY averaged & the five straight losses under Weis.

ND has another tough schedule this season. That being said, I believe BK is the better HC than guys like Charlie Strong, Dabo Swinney, David Shaw & Steve Sarkisian. It's time for him to prove it.

 

[kmoose]

Cierre had 1103 in 2011.

Alford was the WRs coach in 2010 and 2011.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

That's right. But TA didn't recruit him. Maybe it's time for a fresh face....jury is still out on GB and TF but as of right now...it looks like his best recruit has been Nix...smh unless I've had too many beers, I'm excited about a new chapter.

TJ Jones, Nix, Aaron Lynch, Golson, Davonte Neal, Bryant, Folston, and Heuermann are some of his highlights.

And we've had pretty shared loads in the backfield. It's been hard for a back to get 1000 given the shared responsibilities.

But I see your point.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Alford was the WRs coach in 2010 and 2011.

Good point. I forgot that he was moved around.

 

[kmoose]

And we've had pretty shared loads in the backfield. It's been hard for a back to get 1000 given the shared responsibilities.

But I see your point.

I think that they have had shared responsibilities because no one of them established himself as that stud tailback.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

We pulled up his page on Rivals and looked at the recruits...unless it's not accurate. What are we really losing? Maybe as fans we put this guy on pedestal but everyone else sees it for what it is. And that's why he's not getting a better job. He needs OSU more than ND needs him imo

I agree. No one is irreplaceable. He made the right move for his career & I'm confident he did it in a thoughtful fashion...it wasn't easy for him. I would've done the same thing if Iwere in his shoes. That being said, I"d be perfectly happy w/ Autrey Denson filling the void. He's a Florida native & an ND reccord-setting RB who played in the NFL. What more could you ask for from a candidate at this point in the year? His lack of coaching experience can be buffered w/ the hiring of Jeff Quinn who has run offenses w/ BK for most of his career. If this is the worst news we get regarding ND football this offseason, it'll be one of the more quiet offseasons we've had in some time.