The follow post was written in the middle of the season by UHND’s own McSweeney. Originally posted on November 13, the entry ended up be prophetic as Kelly was named the head coach at Notre Dame 27 days later. Here is a run down of some impressive statistics from Kelly has amased over the past few seasons in Cincinnati.
Seven: The number of Div I-A football programs to post a 90% graduation rate in 2008, two of which were Notre Dame and the University of Cincinnati. (The Div I-A average is 55%.)
#1: The Cincinnati Bearcats’ standing in the Big East Team Academic Excellence Award, signifying the highest collective GPA among the league’s football squads
#4: The Bearcats’ overall academic ranking among the 2008 BCS final Top 25 based on the teams’ most recent federal graduation rates, the gap between the teams’ graduation rates and the overall schools’ graduation rates, and the gap between the teams’ black-white player graduation rates’ disparity and the overall schools’ disparity. (Alabama was ranked 15th, Oklahoma was ranked 20th, Florida was ranked 21st, Texas was ranked 24th.)
6-16: The Big Ten’s overall bowl record the last three seasons, including a 0-6 mark in BCS bowls.
12-4: The Big East’s overall bowl record the last three seasons, including a 2-1 mark in BCS bowls.
Six: The number of starting QBs Brian Kelly has had at Cincinnati in the last two seasons.
10: The number of starters Cincinnati lost off its defense after 2008.
22: The number of seniors Cincinnati lost after 2008.
31-0: The Cincinnati Bearcats’ record under Brian Kelly when entering the fourth quarter with a lead.
2: The Bearcats total number of lost fumbles in 2009. Prior to the WVU matchup (in which they fumbled), Cincy was the only team in Div I-A to not surrender a single fumble–a string of more than nine games and 37 quarters–all season.
0.33: The combined average number of college games coached by Gerry Faust, Bob Davie and Charlie Weis when they took the ND job.
196: The combined average number of college football games coached by Ara Parseghian, Dan Devine and Lou Holtz when they took the ND job.
231: The number of games Brian Kelly will have been a college football head coach at the end of the 2009 season.
GO IRISH!
Pathetic – the only way i can describe the current state of ND football.
Thanks Guys.
I appreciate the advice
Def enjoy Chicago on the trip. It is a fantastic town. And make sure you get to ND early. I am jealous. Have an awesome time with your baby bro.
ESPN reports that the raiders may be interested in picking Jimmy Clausen as the first QB off the board next year due to his touch on the deep ball.
This may be good news for us. If Jimmy knows anything about the Raiders, he will want to come back to ND for one more year.
ESPN will try as hard as possible to convince Jimmy to go pro. They love ND sucking more than anyone.
We do have a good hoops team to cheer on this year so all is not lost. Wish they were in the Big Ten and not the Big East. I would rather face Mich St and Purdue each year instead of UConn, Louisville, Nova, Pitt, etc… Harangody looked sharp the other night.
On the football front I see a big win this week against UConn and then a tight one against Stanford.
Go Irish!!!!
Perhaps you could have said “Remind the Irish that this is their last home game so make it a good one”
But that’s not your style, is it?
Hey, there is only 2 games left anyway, why change now.
Uh, okay. Good one.
Bill:
In South Bend I would def go visit the College Football Hall of Fame. Tour the ND campus. I’d try and stay at the downtown Marriot for hotel and its pretty nice place. Its close to campus. Good places to eat. Pizza go to Rocco’s. Its right off campus and is very pro ND crowd. Great Pizza.
Come on Bleed – I would defintiely recommend Brunos! Roccos is however a close 2nd! Great ZA anyway you slice it in South Bend!
srsly.
Slightly off topic.
So, I’m getting to attend my First ND game in South Bend this weekend. And I need to pick up my little brother at the airport in Chicago Friday Evening. Neither of us has ever been to Chicago. Any ideas for places to eat in/around Chicago, and places to make sure we stop by in South Bend? (Worth noting: my brother’s 18, so I can’t take him to any 21+ bars)
(Also worth noting, I’m really really tempted to stop by Kitty O’Shea’s and ask for the ‘Heddinger Special’)
Also, words cannot express how much I’m looking forward to Saturday.
Enjoy your trip. Not sure which airport you are picking your brother up at (O’Hare or Midway), but there is a nice Irish Pub I take my kids to not far from the expressway in either case that is called the Kerry Piper. It is in Willowbrook right off of I55 and Route 83. Shepard’s Pie is pretty outstanding as well as the Fish & Chips.
You are in for a special trip. Get to the campus early so you can take a full walk around the place. Make sure to go to the grotto by the water. It is pretty cool to see. Tailgating is off the charts there. In Chicago I would hit Harry Caray’s Restaurant. It has a cool pub vibe. Your brother could get in because it is a restaurant. The Blackhawk lounge is pretty cool as well. Make sure to head to Wrigley. The outside of the stadium is cool to see as it is an era of the past that you do not see anymore. The hood around it is cool. Have fun. You are in for a treat.
Definitely tour the campus. Sacred Heart and the Grotto are a must. The interior of the admin building is amazing since the refurb. The Lakes, the Log Cabin…maybe the Rock. Then walk through LaFortune and pass the Peace Memorial ( Stonehenge ).
Off campus? Hacienda is good. Bleed’s suggestion for Rocco’s is an excellent one.
One cool thing is the whitewater raceway. South Bend would have been part of the Olympics had Chicago gotten it. There are a few nice resturants along that area too.
Bill,
This will be Uconn’s first trip to ND as well. Make sure you remind them all day long
of who they’re playing, and where they are playing at.
GO IRISH!
Also remind UConn that they’re supposed to lose this game. Apparently Syracuse and Navy never got the memo.
Bill – Be sure to stop in at Corbys and have a few! Great bar – thats where they also filmed a portion of Rudy. We stop first thing every time we travel to South Bend –
Somebody corrected me recently. I thought all those bars in that intersection got shut down in the 80s.
Different location – the triangle that was a standard for most of us in the 70’s (Bridget McGuire’s Filling Station, Nickies and Corby’s) are all closed down or moved to different locations. Fond memories indeed.
Thanks Doc,
I thought that was the deal. Seemed like they closed everything in the 80’s. The purge by the South Bend police seemed to hit it’s peak in 86′ Basically Senior Bar or a Old Swill run to the store was your choice.
I think now South Bend has finally realized ND is why it still exists. And with the new Nanotechnology grant a really good relationship should help the student / towns people get along.
Update this friggin blog already – I am stewed with stewed!!!!
In the end, we will get a marquee coach like Kelly, Meyer or Stoops. ND will be back on top very soon with the talent we have. The prestige and competitive salary will get quality here. We will be like USC was 10 years ago. You just need the right coach in these programs which is what USC, Oklahoma and Texas learned. We will have a nice time with the ND Haters like the Anal Eagle.
USC sold out. Carroll was a mediocre pro coach and he dominates for 10 years? He has freshman who dominate? Something fishy when that happens. Especially when it’s not copied until Sarkisian at Washington this year. ( given Carroll’s new found mortality as a coach perhaps it was Sarkisian and his currnet staff that were the brains of the outfit ).
Regarding Texas and Oklahoma, what controls on study time versus practice and informal practice time do they have.
USC has blatantly flaunted that their players engage in football activities not school work. Leinert was the public test and when the NCAA didn’t slap them with sanctions based on his statements in an interview with Pat Haden before the Bush Push game, SC knew it had the green light. It helps to recruit knowing the NCAA will look the other way for you, but not other programs, ( aka U of M ).
My list:
1) Meyer
2) Stoops
3) Kelly
Reviving ND is a huge feather in a marquee coach’s cap. They would be they most honored college coach of all time. look at Bill Parcells’s Career as he never settled after success in NY (2 super bowls in 7 years). He wanted to show it was him more than the team. Where did he end up in the end but with the most storied NFL program, the Cowboys. This was after coaching at the Giants, the Jets and the Patriots. All great franchise but Parcels wanted to top off his career at the Cowboys because they are the legendary team like the Yankees in baseball, the Univ of Kentucky in College Basketball, the Montreal Canadians of Hockey and the Fighting Irish of ND in college football. He was already a legend but if he could take a legend and bring them back to greatness it would put him on another level in the all time great coach comparisons. Any time a coach took this job and revived the program, their success was beyond belief. Do you think Lou Holtz would have has the speaking career he has had without ND. Do you think Ara would have been on TV as long as he was without ND. The
I also heard a great analysis on the next coach at ND. We must give Charlie some credit in that his recruiting and his ability to excite the polls with the limited success he has had has made this a very desirable job again. thus Stoops, Meyer, Kelly, etc… have interest. There is no denying the interest based on their media comments. That is a good thing obviously. The bad thing is that the university needs to realize that they still have this opportunity and must change their standards. They need to take an open arms Lou Holtz approach as opposed to a “this is how we always have done it” approach. Those who do not change will fail is the mantra that they need to adhere to. I think all of the potential coaches mentioned will succeed but none of them will come until we determine if we want to be a university that competes with other powerhouses on the same levels. ND still has the name but my fear is that if the brain trust at ND does not change their ways, we can become the giants of yesterday who are left behind as the new chapter continues.
Joe Dub is correct. The comments are interesting in that they are typical of what is said before someone is interested in a position that is not open yet. Thin Joe Girardi before Joe Torre was fired. Almost identical comments. Here is the exact comment from Stoops:
“That’s ridiculous, though, some confidant, huh,” Stoops asked? “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Notre Dame doesn’t have a job, and I haven’t spoke to any confidants about anything outside of trying to beat Texas Tech, so, you guys, you know, that’s some guy making something up. I’m not answering stuff like that. There’s not even a job at Notre Dame, so that’s ridiculous. I don’t know. You guys believe [there’s a] confidant. What’s that?”
My interpretation is that I can not comment on that until after the season but I am looking to make a move.
wow i cant type i meant say not saw** haha
i meant say not btw**
since that joe from dublin wants to bring in a former nfl coach, i saw we should look at mike shanahan. he coached at florida and minnesota and worked at oklahoma. i know the bills are looking at him but its just a thought. heck we should see if tony dungy wants to coach. whats the worst that could happen from asking?
People,
I just came across this:
http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2009/11/18/steelers-fan-claims-he-was-poisoned-blinded-in-chicago-bar/?ncid=txtlnkusspor00000002&xid=si_nfl
Apparently, some Bears fans poisoned this poor guys drink.
Maybe, one of us should invite Anus Eagle to a bar next year and buy him a drink.
On the house, Anus, cheers!
(BTW: This is a joke, sick perhaps, or in poor taste, but a joke. I find the whole episode repreheinsible, and not just because I’m a Stillers fan. I’d be equally outraged if the shoe were on the other foot. Maybe having fans like this explains why the Cubs haven’t won a WS title in over 100 years!)
That’s pretty awful.
Story creeps me out.
Who does that? Who says to themselves “Hey, you know what sounds like a great idea, let’s poison someone!”? And how does someone else not talk them out of it?
Also worth noting: This is why you should NEVER take a drink from a stranger when you didn’t see them pour it.
Finally, how have they not caught anyone yet? It’s pretty simple: You take the bar manager from that night, and you bring them in for questioning. Either they get it pinned on them, or they give you the bartender who poured the drink. And you work your way towards the contamination. I have a hard time believing that a group of Bears fans had Antifreeze, or bleach or whatever they poisoned him with on hand. It’s clearly something a bartender had to help them with.
Giving anti-freeze to AE?
Isn’t that cruelty to animals?
Poor goob-goob is half tarded with turrets who is just learning to make on the paper.
All he wants for Christmas is a “Bookie College(BC)Snuggie.
Oh how I hate to say this but…….
ND would be better off with an ESPN contract. Better treatment among
broadcasters. ESPN would at times be able to influence officiating.
ESPN would help develop a good schedule. ND wouldn’t need this stupid
7-4-1 thing because ESPN would always have ND on. And you’d see more highlights because they’d own the reels.
I’d hate giving in to the cartel, but who else is there?
One thing’s for sure is there’d be less negative coverage. Look at other programs who have hit on hard times. Nothing of the negative coverage that ND endures has hit them. And each one of them has been up there along with ND. USC was never talked about in this way when they sucked for 20 years. Nebraska is mostly ignored. Michigan has nowhere near the negative coverage. Why, because ESPN already owns those teams. We get the bad press because they want us so bad it hurts. So like d-bag eagle, they obsess with Notre Dame. NBC barely gives us the time of day and no one watches NBC 5 mins before or after an ND game. So let the cartel put us on TV, if it helps the program, what’s the difference?
when you say d-bag eagle, do you mean Goober?
Come on Goober, Come here. Come on.
Yep, he’s the one. I bet in real life if we saw him, we’d just give him a swirly. That’s probably part of his ax to grind.
I for one am willing to endure
the Bad press. It comes with the territory.
It comes our way because after 125 plus years of college football, there is one University who stands head and shoulders above the rest. Nobody, and I mean nobody, can match our rich tradition, our world famous history, and a mystical like legacy. The coaches, Players, Throphy winners, National Championship teams, and folk hero’s. it’s all here.It’s unpresidented and unmatched.
It’s our heart and soul, and that is certainly something not worth selling to the devil.
But that’s just me and my take.
I love what you are saying about ND, but I have to ask, is one network really any better than another. NBC is about as craven as the rest.
Personally,my ideal would be that ND take about 15 to 20 schools and add themselves to the Ivy League in sports. I’d still root like crazy and I bet the stadium would still sell out and the TV interest would be fine.
I respect schools with both top athletics AND academics. Afterall, you can’t feed a nation on sports. Other than manufacturing and agriculture, nothing generates wealth. So, sports is good for balance but not the primary purpose of attending a university. Achieving that balance shown us by the ancient Greeks put this entire country back on track to succeed.
If we become addicted to sports the way it’s done in the SEC, ACC, Big-12, Ohio St, and Tate ( Marinovich ) Forcier; then China will eat us for lunch and we’ll be a 3rd world country.
Winning the USC way or the Florida or Alabama way, or even the BC or Miami way is meaningless.
Winning the traditional ND way matters. It’s why it’s important for ND to get to the top again soon.
You’re going to have to clarify this ‘Ivy League’ statement.
If you’re saying ND should drop D-IA athletics and step down: 1. You’re nuts. 2. You’re friggin nuts. 3. If you’re not winning tradition can only hold a fanbase for so long. (Just ask SMU)
I think that you are correct about this. But, one reason Notre Dame is able to have balance is that it plays in the Big East for other sports and plays as an independent in college football. It doesn’t do Thursday night games. This limits travel — both during the week in other sports and on the weekends for football.
Bill,
what I’m saying is if Notre Dame took enough teams with us, we wouldn’t be stepping down. We’d expose the SEC and similar programs for what they are…..exploiters of kids.
Once upon a time, college athletes weren’t very different from the rest of us. Somewhere along the way, the notion developed that colleges were doing kids a favor by admitting them to play sports and they’d get a quality education in return. But basically the majority of schools don’t provide a real education. They let these kids doodle. Parents obsess with developing their kid for the “free ride”. It’s slavery and it’s a trajedy. These kids don’t get educated. So they are worthless to society unless they make the pros.
And that’s the real trajedy. The very few that make the pros come from a much larger pool of D-1, D-1A, and some D-2 athletes. 99% are cast off, and better have been educated. Not degreed, but educated. And from this larger group is a very large group of highschool kids. Maybe 1% of those get the scholarship. But everyone thinks it will be them or their kid. Winning the lottery has a greater chance of payoff.
And of the pros almost 50% are bankrupt by age 40.
So you say nuts to walk away from that program? No I say Notre Dame has an obligation to redefine it.
Some of you should go to ND’s website and search for Play Like A Champion Today. It’s a program sponsored by ND to place sports in their proper balance. Yes play to win and at the highest competitive level possible. but do it right and realize that sports are only part of it.
ND can take several highly competitive programs who also want to run clean and correct.
Would you want your kids within 100 feet of a Michael Vick, Plaxico Burress, or Michael Irvin? Then why would you waste time caring if they and the team of gang bangers they played for won or lost?
C-Dog,
In your post you used the sentence “ESPN already owns those teams” . That sent shivers down my spine. To me nothing would be worst than to be thrown in the ESPN toybox like all the other puppets.
Who wants them in a position to be able to pull our strings?
I don’t want ND to be just like everyone else.
We are not. Never have been, and with the Grace of God, we never will be.
Yeah, I have to put up with NBC and broadcasting by Ren and Stimpy, but at least I get to see my beloved Irish each weekend. I don’t live in ND country anymore. I now live in the South. ESPN plays a regional games here each week.
I would get stuck with Wake Forest or Clemson each week. YIKES!
Knowing the evil empire, they would probably want to charge me to watch my team, and then have to listen to Brent Shitburger call the game. What a nightmare.
You make a great point about the proper balance in college sports.
Tennessee just booted some kids for armed robbery. ARMED ROBBERY for christ sake!
Each week I see, or read about cheating, eye goughing, punching, kicking, smack talking run rampant,coaches who force their kids to play injured, and teams that run up the score agianst obviously infearior opponents for no good reason.
If you had told our University’s founders way back in the 1800’s when they were trying to decide if adding sports would be good for the develoupment of their students, how things would evolve into a cheating, disrespectfull,win at all cost, and to hell with basic values sideshow, I bet they would have decided to scrap the whole idea.
Perhaps one day people will wake up to the downward spirial of some of these programs and become feed up with the continuing degridation of fairness, and respect, and demand that class and team pride be reinstalled for the sake of our young men and woman and the future of the sport.
Perhaps then people will look for a university who has stood the test of time, held tightly to their values
and not compromised themselves as an example.
Are we perfect? Absolutly Not.
Are we under investigation or have players in jail???
Shazamrock,
Yeah part of me cringes at the prospect too. But Holtz himself believes the NBC contract cost Notre Dame the 1993 National Championship. Consider that Oklahoma about 10 years later lost their last game, the Big 12 Championship ( by a large margin if memory serves ) and still got to play for the BCS championship.
Personally, I can’t stand ESPN or FOX. They’ve turned sport from an honorable fun passtime, to play and to watch , into some extension of gangland America. The music is offensive, the advertisign is offensive, and the analysts are now punky boyz who have no idea what playing like men and acting like men is about.
But ND is shut out of a lot because of the unique contract.
What I really think is that something or someone needs to stand college sports on their collective head.
Perhaps the lack of money in our economy will bring it all back to earth. That is if it doesn’t bury the country first.
C-Dog,
Funny you mention winning the Florida or Alabama way.
The mighty gators face off this week agianst Florida International,
While the big bad crimson tide take on Chattanooga.
The BSC computers should deduct points for these fatasses who fill up on too many sweets (cupcakes).
Could you imagine the media backlash if the Irish scheduled such a farce of competion?
Florida will probably score 60 then pat themself’s on the back for a job well done.
Notre Dame. Rarely do two words mean so much. I will wait for another national championship as long as it’s done the right way…the Notre Dame way. GO IRISH!
Yeah it’s hard to find people of true character in the world- always is.
And you can use the Carrie Underwood line anytime you want. Just make sure to footnote…haha
JDH:
“I’d also like to take Carrie Underwood camping, while we’re at it. : )”
Funny as heck! Great line!!! Can I steal it sometime?!
Yet, I know of a case where I work were that happened. It wasn’t made public so I won’t divulge the details. Something that was public was several years ago the president of U. of N. FL awarded all executive bonuses and raises to the school’s lowest paid employees. Just recently there was that bank CEO here in Miami who gave his annual salary to his employees or something like that (he was at one of Pres. Obama’s first speeches to Congress and was signaled out by the president).
By guaging some reactions on this board, JDH, not you, of course, you’d think doing the right thing had gone out of style. Call me old fashion, but I still believe in personal ethics. I just guess mine are different than others. So be it. We live in a free country.
Erik,
I agree! However, be a Steelers’ fan I’d hate to see a CW-B. Quinn connection. But it would be ideal for the Brownies, Quinn, Cleveland.
Man I felt sorry for Brady the other night. He made some bad decisions, but he was usually under pressure right away. God they suck…
I felt bad for Brady because of the plays that were called. Jon Gruden was basically screaming for the Browns to let him throw down field, but they kept calling screens, slants, quick outs, etc. He completed 13 passes for 98 yds…that’s only 7.5 yds per completion! There are QB’s that avg 7.5 yds that per attempt! I agree that he didn’t have much time, but the Browns didn’t even try to see if he could throw down field.
You know I was excited to watch Brady play on Monday Night Football and throw the ball around some, but I guess I’ll have to wait because he wasn’t allowed to throw the ball around. It’s a shame that the Browns are in such disfunction.
Erik,
You are right on with the Cleveland Browns. They DESPERATELY need a OC and what would that do for Brady to be back with Charlie.
I think it’s a match made in heaven. Charlie leaves ND, we get a big time coach, and our beloved Brady Quinn might look like an NFL Quarterback. It’s got to be the OC, because Brady and Anderson are not as bad as they look. Charlie would fit in well with the Browns.
As long as someone else develops an offensive line.
Apparently Mangini’s given up on making decisions altogether. This week to figure out who’s going to start at QB, he’s just going to have Anderson and Quinn start at opposite goal lines and race for a football at midfield. You know, like they used to do in the XFL to determine who got the ball at the beginning of a game.
12-10
24-21
28-24
28-24
47-45
Those are the scores from UCONN’s losses this season. They came agianst
North Carolina, Pitt, West Virgina, Rutgers, & Cincinnati. Those are some pretty good teams. Their Offense is ranked 38th, the D, 68th. It would seem that they are better than their record indicates.
The final home game of the season is always a tricky one. I have seen good teams get over emotional and not play very well. I hope that’s not the case come this Saturday. Perhaps the team will pull together, circle the wagons if you will. Maybe we will get something that we haven’t had all season. A full team effort.
Shaz,
Great analysis! A full team effort is precisely what in my opinion, with all due respect to Teo and some other CW admirers here, has been missing throughout the CW era. With the exception of a few games his first season (notably Pitt, Mich., USC) ND has not had a full team effort. But you correct me if I’m wrong.
SFR,
Here are a few add-on’s
Block Lindsey Witten. The UConn defensive end is up to 10 sacks this year.
Run the ball. When ND fails to rush for over 100 yards they normally Lose. Last week Floyd and Tate each had over 100 yards recieving. We rushed
for like 70 yards. And lost.
Stop the run. UConn likes to run. Make them beat you with the pass.
It’s November. We haven’t done well in November. Time to start turning that around.
Run the ball and the passing game will follow. Stop the run, and you’re gonna win.
Last home game, Remember the unsung. If the game is in the bag try getting James Aldridge in the endzone. It woud be the first ND touchdown of his career.
OK…been reading you guys thoughts on Chuck’s contract….i agree that it would be awesome for the man to forego some of the bailout $, but he’s not obligated to and ND can’t expect him to do it……plus, pretty sure CW’s ego and self assurance will tell him he’s being wronged. That he just needs more time….that he’s still the man for the job. So I doubt he’s gonna be overly loyal and choose to forego millions.
That said, and I know there is still a lot of question about the amount of the buyout (seems $18 million is getting the most media play but I read an article the other day that said $4 million, though they weren’t specific as to whether that was the total or a per year remaining deal) but I have one big question. I hope to God ND’s counsel was smart enough to include an off set if CW is hired by someone else. I seem to remeber a story a year or so ago about Chuch Amato. He was fired by NC State, got a big buyout, there was an offset for any salary he got from a new employer during the term of the contract. He took a grad assistant position (almost a volunteer deal) with Florida State and coached for them for pennies cause he still was getting paid by NC State. Thought that was ingeniusly shitty.
But, if we have such a clause with CW, then we may save some significant moolah. CW will likely be back in the NFL, making some (million or so) cash as a coordinator. So, if we use the $18 mil figure, thats $ 3 mil a year for the remaining 6 years. Reduced by the likely $1 mil from NFL. Even a BC math professor can see we save $6 mil. More than enough to induce a big name to suit up in the blue and gold.
I just hope to God we put something like that in the contract.
Judging by how Kevin White handled his job as AD, I doubt we put anything in the contract that would amount to an offset. It probably contained mutual buy-out language.
Besides, as Amato showed, offsets only achieve certain objectives if the ex-coach acts appropriately.
And, there is no guarantee that CW will get hired as a coordinator in the NFL. Sure, he may, but look at how things have gone at Notre Dame. There are only 30 NFL teams. I don’t see Weis working in the NFL next year.
you know what I would think would be funny that he would become the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns…. If ND would let him go…
Very interesting commentary from Mr Bob Stoops today my Fighting Irish brethren. He said he would not be able to comment on the Notre Dame “there is not even a job available yet”. In my many years following this fine sport, this is always the comment from someone very interested in a position that is about to open up. I wonder what the diabolical Mr Angry Eagle has to say to that. Mr Shazamrock opened my eyes to your scoundrel ways Mr Eagle. Thank you Mr Shazam. Mr Stoops sounds like he is sure on his way here.
joe, can you provide a link to this article?
all i can find is this question and quote:
Media: What are your thoughts on your name being linked to Notre Dame?
Bob Stoops: There’s really nothing to talk about. Notre Dame has a coach and I have a great job. People just make stuff up and I don’t need to comment on that. If there is any basis to anything, I will gladly comment on it. When it’s just some guy that makes something up, I don’t need to comment on that.
nothing interesting there.
Joe Dub is correct. The comments are interesting in that they are typical of what is said before someone is interested in a position that is not open yet. Thin Joe Girardi before Joe Torre was fired. Almost identical comments. Here is the exact comment from Stoops:
“That’s ridiculous, though, some confidant, huh,” Stoops asked? “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Notre Dame doesn’t have a job, and I haven’t spoke to any confidants about anything outside of trying to beat Texas Tech, so, you guys, you know, that’s some guy making something up. I’m not answering stuff like that. There’s not even a job at Notre Dame, so that’s ridiculous. I don’t know. You guys believe [there’s a] confidant. What’s that?”
My interpretation is that I can not comment on that until after the season but I am looking to make a move.
Nepachris
I am surprised that you say nothing. I say Stoops is coming, coward!!! You are big talk!!!! Do you hate ND for reaching out to him because you are a BC fan like Angy Eagle. I can not wait for us to bring in the big coach and shut down guys like you and your buddy Eagle!!! You guys are going so down. The BC games are going to become our future Navy games. People will ask us in 20 years about how long or winning streak will keep going against BC. You guys should not even blog on this site if you are fans of other teams. Bastards!!!!
360 is way too many comments to keep track of, but after a quick perusal i spotted an argument that cw should resign and relieve nd of their obligations under the k.
this is ludicrous
is cw supposed to feel bad for nd with their purported 7 billion endowment?
freedom of contract!!!! that was the risk nd took when they hired cw.
even if this was some kind of noble thing to do, it would be forgotten by the next news cycle…ie 24 hours
Ted,
You’re probably right. That speaks volumes of where we are as a society when doing the right thing is forgotten but breaking the law makes you famous and gets you on TV!
Notre Dame, Our Mother, Pray for us!
Not to beat a dead horse, but SFR your reasoning is flawed.
Notre Dame freely contracted with Charlie Weis. To entice Weis to stay at Notre Dame, it apparently included a large buyout clause (i.e. If coach voluntarily leaves, we get $x,000,000; if we terminate coach, we pay coach $x,000,000).
There is nothing wrong — morally or otherwise — with Weis expecting his buyout package. He’s entitled to it. Nor is there anything unethical with Weis demanding the buyout clause. Again, no one held a gun to the Kevin White’s head. There was good faith all around. The simple fact is that Weis hasn’t won enough games to justify retaining him as coach. As a result, we have to pay the buyout.
Jeeez, is SFR still on that?
Teo and Joe,
I dropped it. Teo brought it back. I insist that what’s legal is not always what’s moral or ethical. I don’t know what performance clauses were in CW’s contract. Neither does Teo. The right thing to do (in my opinion) is to forgo any buyout IF YOU MEAN WHAT YOU SAY WHEN YOU SAY YOU LOVE ND. Please note what I’m saying instead of what you think I’m saying, Teo. I’m not debating contract law with anybody. My point is simply about someone who hasn’t remotely lived up to his end of a deal and should acknowledge that with just more than words (which are cheap). Teo,Joe, or anybody else will not convince me otherwise, anymore than I wish to force anyone to my point of view.
Bill,
I hear you! Perhaps I jinxed both our teams when I predicted a Cowboys-Steelers SB this season.
I was watching the Stillers game on Sun. with 2 ND grads. Imagine that these guys are diehard Stillers fans from the ‘Burgh. Big game against Cinci. Yet we’re talking ND football! Perhaps we should’ve paid more attention to the Stillers game.
I don’t think CW will do anything remotely like what I suggested, so it’s probably a mute point. Nice to think about, though.
If by Goober you mean Anus Eagle, I wish he’d just leave our board. I can get angry with other ND fans and disagree but at least I know that we all want the same thing, even if can’t agree how to get it all the time. This a-whole Eagle comes on our site and just wants to trash ND. Like I said, given how much he seems to invest emotionally in ND football, he better hope ND stays relevant. If not, then what would happen to Anus Eagle’s world? He’d have to actually care about BC football more than trashing ND. Perhaps id ND football falters, Anus’ wife would move higher up his “favorites list.”
Yes I was refering to AE. I’m trying to see if I can get that name to stick.
1. You’re assuming he has a wife. (Not going to go into why that’s a bad assumption)
2. Yes, life generally is pleasant when he isn’t here. But then again, he generally isn’t hear unless life’s unpleasant.
3. If He’s going to be here when life’s unpleasant, I’m going to make the best of the cute little goober. Hell, I’d like him to stick around while it’s unpleasant. Takes my mind off the troubles, makes me laugh, makes me feel smart.
4. He’s such a cute little goober. Come on little goober.
Bill,
Someone on this blog found his BC football web page. He has personal details. Like he’s in his 40s and is married, believe it or not. I prefer to ignore him. But your position is just as valid. Keep up the good work!
Don’t forget, his favorite movie is the sound of music.
His favorite music are the fight songs of the ACC.
He puts BC football BEFORE his wife and kids(His wife is actually a 1982 blow up doll that is covered in tire patches and his kids are the 50 cats that share his trailer)
Really? Oh do share! : )
angryeagle.blogspot.com/
His personal profile section
is a real laugher!
The dude really is a d-bag!
Bill,
After Sun. I can’t say I disagree with you about the Stillers. They looked worse than ND did on that same field!
Rob,
I’m a cowboys fan. I think I felt a very similar heartbreak. I was in quite the funk.
Thankfully goober’s gotten me out of it.
Come here boy, come on. Where’d the little Goober go?
Bill,
Do you really believe CW reads this blog?! If he did, which I doubt, do you really believe any of our opinions would matter to him?! No one is publicly asking CW to do anything like I said. Not you. Not me. Not anyone. I’m just saying that if he did do it, and it would be his own doing, mind you, that would be the right thing to do. It would send a great message to his family and our society about personal integrity.
No I don’t think he reads this blog. But it’s still public. and I was saying that we as a fan base shouldn’t even ask for it. It just seems like something an Auburn fan would do. We’re not Auburn. (I have no idea why I chose to pick on Auburn)
If it weren’t public….
Who let goober in?
The ND administration should not ask CW for a single cent. That would be wrong. Agreed! CW should show us the quality of his character on the way out by simply acknowledging he’s failed to live up to his end of the contract and simply leave with what he’s made until then. That would be honorable. He’d be remembered as the man who so loved his alma mater that he turned aside a ton of cash to do the right thing. That would be a great story! Will it happen? Probably not. Should it happen? Others have had the courage of their convictions. CW says he loves ND. Like the old saying goes: talk is cheap. There’s another old saying: money talks. What a statement it would make to his own son about the power of personal integrity of CW’s talk about his love for ND was matched by such an action as leaving money on the table for his beloved alm mater. And, Joe, Bill, Teo, I apologize for offending you. I was simply trying to make an argument for someone having it within their power to do the right thing.
SteelFan,
You can disregard my prior comments. I see here that everybody is on the same page.
Interesting discussion though…
Where’d Goober go?
Ever since yesterday afternoon we haven’t heard a peep.
I think that “peckerless Ken doll” remark might have struck a nerve.
That, or he is running around the neighborhood sniffing ass again.
Bad dog, very bad!
Ole yeller got rabies and had to be put down.
Ole Goober got pretty worked up yesterday, one could almost imagine him foaming at the mouth!
I guess you could put up a few “Missing dog” posters.
Guys,
I don’t think Charlie Weis needs to be burned in effigy or ridiculed. It just hasn’t worked out. Poor defense, lack of emotion, November swoons,
no running game, finesse versus toughness. It just adds up to a smart guy who is still figuring it out. Notre Dame is not a good place for that. Not unless the expectation were set upon arrival.
So Charlie is most likely gone. Tenuta and Brown certainly are gone.
I’d keep the defensive line coach and move Bryant Young up to assistant coach. I’d keep Verducci if he’d stay, but also bring in Aaron Taylor.
Finally, the new head coach meeds to be a motivator. That team is exposed to an Ivy League like campus and atmosphere. Someone needs to turn them away from that to the football mudpit during practices. A competent play caller who can adjust during the game. But most of all a leader who delegates to coaches, and who motivates the players like a father figure.
No Names, but that’s your guy.
Well said. We have the kids. Charlie gave us great recruiting classes. We just need someone to come in and motivate these guys, get them to understand that winning the war that takes place between the tackles is critical. If we can’t do that, Michael Floyds catch enough passes for us to win.
Edit: If we can’t do that, Michael Floyds cannot catch enough passes for us to win.
CW said “9-3 is not good enough!” The Bible says (sorry, JDH) “let your yes be yes, and your no be no.” This simply means keep your word and do the right thing, then you won’t have to hide behind an oath or a swear (verbal contracts in the ancient world). Thus by his own words CW hasn’t lived to his promises; his yes is a no, and his no a yes! Now, he’s just hiding behind the expediency of a contract that he’s not lived up to in the least (see above). The reason he was hired was to restore ND football, which he said he’d do. He hasn’t! He’s failed miserably! He should therefore not expect to receive anymore blood money from ND for his failure to perform and keep his word. It’s one thing to make excuses for this man as a coach, as many here seem won’t to do. It’s another thing to excuse his lack of integrity on this account (whatever else he does that may be right notwithstanding in this regard.) I’ve heard the crooks at ENRON were all good church men, too. I hope none of you would make excuses for them. CW has ripped ND off. Bottom line. You want to not see that, or make apologies for CW, so be it!
If you’re going to compare CW to a criminal then there’s really nothing left to say, is there?
So you’re saying that when Charlie said “9-3 is not good enough,” he was altering the terms of a written contract he had with the University? Good one.
Charlie didn’t rip anyone off. If anything, he allowed Notre Dame to benefit greatly by playing tight games all season long — keeping TV ratings up pretty high. he just cannot win close games against good opponents.
We got the wrong guy. It happens all the time in college football — and at Notre Dame.
Teo,
Do you have a copy of his written contract in front of you? Are you CW’s attorney? (That would explain a lot by the way.) You don’t know what the terms of the contract were. But I can assure you that he’s not lived up to the spirit of the law regardless of what the letter of the law on his contract states. That’s why he’s going to get FIRED! READ AGAIN FIRED! AS IN NOT PERFORMING PER EXPECTATIONS! I know you have some kind of emotional attachment to this man, but he’s failed to live up to what he promised to do.
What the Bible says couldn’t have any less to do with this situation or his contract though SteelFan. First you said he should step down and give up his remaining $. Now I think this is a legitimate ethical argument- it can’t be proved either way but makes for an interesting discussion. Now you’re saying he should be fired. I agree either way- he should step down or be fired. I just think again it’s a real slippery slope here to start mixing Christian principles w/ contract law.
Per your admission and my prior comments, none of us know what his contract says.
Don’t take my comments the wrong way. I’m just discussing…
JDH,
Good points, bro! Perhaps had I not added “Christian” some here would be less offended. But I think Christians should live by principles that are at least ethical. At least you understand where it is I’m coming from, unlike Teo and others. I’m not making a legal argument about contract law. I was simply making an ethical point. I’m just disturbed that the ethics of CW’s situation seems a non-point to some. But that’s up to them. I won’t force anyone to agree with me on this, since like you say, there’s legitimate room for disagreement. Not that those who’ve attacked me would seem to agree with that.
I hear ya man, I hear ya. To be clear, please know that in no way am I offended by your comments. Just having a discussion on ethics/morals vs. the law with you guys.
I think it would be very cool if CW did step down or would give up his remaining contract, even though I know this is a dream.
I’d also like to take Carrie Underwood camping, while we’re at it. : )
Teo,
First off, you don’t know what I do for a living. Don’t overstep your bounds! I provide for myself and those who depend on me well enough!
Second, apparently you have no honor! CW has not lived up to his end of the contract in any measurable way. This makes me sick!
A decent human being (let me know if you personally know one in your Machiavellian world, Teo) wouldn’t hide behind a contract. He would do the right thing and quit. It happens all the time in the real world,people doing the right thing. Giving money back, telling the truth, keeping promises, etc. Perhaps you’d know that if you lived in the real world, which I sometimes wonder if you reside in, given your endlessly unrealistic views of the state of ND football and CW as a coach!
I think you have it backwards. In the real world, people expect counterparties to contracts to perform their end of the bargain. No one forced or somehow tricked UND into giving CW the 10-year deal. CW had no contractual obligation to win a specific number of games per season or else terminate the contract. CW had a contractual obligation to coach the team, which he has done. That the performance of the team has not been what everyone (including CW) had hoped does not mean that CW breached the contract or must “give money back” to UND. In fantasyland, perhaps CW walks away from the remaining years on his contract and even offers to pay UND for what he was really worth to the school. There’s a greater chance of having a unicorn start at free safety next season. The buyout is irrelevant to the decision to part ways with CW, so let’s hope that this time around a better choice is made.
Apparently you live in a world free of newspapers. People do noble things all the time. Perhaps mammon worshipers can’t understand that. I can tell you of an exec were i work who in fact acknowledged he/she had not lived up to expectations and left without his/her remaining monies, bonuses, Golden Parachute. That may be a fantasy to you, but unlike CW every winning a big game at ND, it happens in the real world. Perhaps your own fantasies prevent you from distinguishing right from wrong!
Perhaps your head has been permanently lodged in your own read end, you holier than thou nincompoop!!
Rob, you’re missing the point.
No matter how YOU personally look at it, someone else can see it differently. We get it, you want him out of there. We do too. But we gave him that contract. Why even offer a buyout if we’re not going to honor it?
Let me ask you this: If Weis had been hired away after say Year 2, would you sit there and say ‘Well he shouldn’t have to pay back the university for leaving because obviously we don’t deserve him as a coach’?
No. That would be crazy. The school would be entitled to that compensation.
Now, we’re in the polar opposite, where he’s trying (he’s failing yes, but it’s not for lack of effort) but it’s just not working out. Now you want him to basically give up and walk away. Oh and to just not take the money that the school said he deserved.
I think You’re looking at it wrong. The second we agreed to that buyout, that money was gone. It doesn’t exist. Never will again. It’s not ND’s. We are not entitled to it. Should he decide to donate it back to the university, that’s awesome. But who are we to sit here and say what he should do with his money. We shouldn’t. That’s Greedy.
Should Swarbick talk to him about it? No. Swarbick might talk to him about stepping him down gracefully, but by asking for the money, I feel he’s declaring we don’t deserve it.
Let’s go back to a time when ND’s word meant something. We’re setting a precedent of giving a coach 5 years to prove themselves, now let’s show some good faith and live up to contracts we signed without question.
Rob,
Your point are LEGALLY valid. I understand what you’re saying. But I’m not speaking from a LEGAL position. I know CW is LEGALLY entitled to every penny of his contract. MY argument is about PERSONAL ETHICS. The ETHICAL thing to do (and it happens all the time, whether you want to believe it or not) is for CW to resign, effectively freeing the university of what it owes him. That would be the RIGHT or ETHICAL thing to do. Would I do it? I’d like to believe I would. But who knows if my own failings would prevent it. Does that make me a hypocrite or just simply honest? What I’m not, Joe, is self-righteous. I know my own faults as a person. Has CW ripped ND off? YES! HIS OWN WORDS CONDEMN HIM!!! Is his larceny on par with the crooks at ENRON? No. But a petty theif is still a thief. To me CW sold us a bill of goods. He lied about or greatly overstated his own abilities. The ETHICAL (not LEGALLY required) thing for him to do would be to acknowledge as much and save his “beloved ND” a ton of money. There’s right and there’s wrong in this world. If that makes me holier than thou, then so be it.
I don’t know why it says “Rob” when I was replying to Bill.
Rob,
Right, but what you’re missing is that if we’re asking for it we don’t deserve it. Do good people do good things because it’s asked for/demanded by other people? No. If they do, are they doing good things? No.
I’m not saying whether he should or should not do it. I’m saying we shouldn’t ask for it or demand it. We don’t deserve it and/or we shouldn’t expect it.
—
On a side note, Just want to make sure you understand that this isn’t a personal attack on you.
—
This is: Steelers Suck.
(I kid, I kid)
Rob and Bill, you just nailed it here w/ your last comments. Big difference between what one thinks is ethical/moral (personal code and varies widely between individuals) and what is legal (which applies to everyone and does not, or at least should not, deviate).
I can see where you’re coming from with your comments- totally. But I just think it’s a reaaal slippery slope to call someone a ‘bad Christian’ etc. for not ‘honoring their contract’. We don’t know exactly what his contract says therefore we can’t comment on whether or not he’s honored it.
Again, I hear what you’re saying, but ethical/moral and legal are very different things. I think it probably would be the “ethical” and “honorable” thing for him to walk away and that would cause me to gain respect for the man. Ain’t gonna happen though.
A decent human being! Charlie gave everything he had for this job. He probably hasn’t slept for more than a few hours in five months. The day after the Christmas Eve bowl, he was on the road. Yes, Christmas Day. He’s given everything he had in these last five years. Admittedly, it hasn’t worked out. He cannot win the big game. Such is life. But, it doesn’t mean that the University can walk away from its commitment.
This was his job. He did it. The university has to pay him for doing it. And, yes, the university has to pay him his buyout clause unless he agrees otherwise. What kind of honor do you have — to encourage the school to reneg on a deal it made with Weis to keep Weis at Notre Dame?
No one forced Notre Dame to negotiate this contract. And certainly no one forced Notre Dame to negotiate the deal at the height of Weis’ popularity and success. The university did it on its own. Now, it’s time to pay up if they want him gone.
It’s simple people, if the Irish had a defense in the top 30 in the Nation we would not be talking about CW needing to leave and having to start looking for a new coach.
Tenuta seemed like he should have been the answer. He had Georgia Tech’s defense amped up and wrecking havoc on offenses while coaching there. His schemes are either getting vetoed, or he doesn’t have the athletes that he can use for his aggresive stlye of defense.
What ever the case may be, our Defense and Special Teams are an absalute JOKE! Our Offense is one of the top in country, until the Defense can play at high level, you can expect to lose many more games.
My bottom line is if Charlie is really a Christian, an honorable man, and a loyal son of ND, he’d resign and save the university millions. That’s what a Christian, honorable man, and loyal son of ND would do. As far as I’m concerned he’s already stolen millions from his alma mater. Will he steal even more?! All his good works, like his foundation, will be “like filthy rags” (to quote the Bible) if he does not do the right thing by ND and resign, thus forfeiting his bailout. DO THE RIGHT THING, CW!
Yeah, I’m not going to play the Christian card on a guy with a special needs daughter who is at the head of a foundation supporting other special needs families.
The Christian thing to do would be to fire him and consider the buyout a donation to his charitable works.
See what I did there with that logics yo. (bad grammar intended)
Point is, when someone doesn’t do what you want them to do, it doesn’t make them a bad Christian. It makes them ‘Not You’.
So you’re telling me every penny CW makes goes to charity?! Absurd logic, friend. People who feel they haven’t lived up to their end of the bargain have been known to do the right thing and resign, which effectively breaks the contract. It happens all the time. If you read the newspaper, you’d see that it’s happened a lot on Wall Street lately with execs who have steeped down and not accepted Golden Parachutes. These are all honorable men. The crooks going on stealing from investors, tax payers, knowing they will always have the world system to make excuses for them. Again, if CW were honorable and had the courage of his beliefs, he’d quit and save ND millions, which the university can then invest any way it wants, including charity.
There two sides to every coin.
The administration has to acknowledge (fomally) that they are looking to replace him. They have not. Charlie is under contract and he will honor is part the best that he can. That’s what CW does.
Stolen is an awefully strong word. Perhaps better suited for a coach who works for a well known University just north of South Bend that faces much more than a disapointing season.
The guy isn’t but a few plays and a couple of questionable calls from a pretty decent record. He has on of the top offences in the country and a pretty exciting passing game when it’s clicking. Don’t tell me that you didn’t come out of your chair more than a few times this year with some of the plays to Tate, Floyd, & Rudolph. I know I did. And for that he gets my respect.
SteelFanRob
Apparently, you’ve never worked for someone. If someone wants to give me millions of dollars to do something, I will take the millions of dollars and try my best to do it.
The university knew the deal they were negotiating. They had a lawyer. Charlie had a lawyer. And, they struck a deal. And, anyone who doesn’t anticipate what could go wrong with such a deal is an idiot.
CW should get his buyout. Sure, he hasn’t won enough football games. It’s unfortunate. But, he’s not a bad guy for taking what the university agreed to pay him.
This is similar to Bobby Higginson’s contract with the Detroit Tigers and Joe Mays’ contract with the Minnesota Twis. Fortunately, we have an out clause.
I do hope, though, that Weis is actually bright enough to recognize that there are better men for the job. He should allow the university to find these better guys by agreeing to take a negotiated buy-out.
The administration — and ex a.d. Kevin White — has been so very inept in dealing with the Irish football program. It only follows that Weis would have a large buyout clause, negotiated at the height of Weis’ rocky tenure.
Is there any chance that Charlie Weis would publicly support a negotiated buy-out? It’s tough stuff because he has recruited kids and sold kids on playing for the Super Bowl ring-owning head coach. To leave without some sort of amicable relationship would likely cause a number of the recruits to abandon their intentions to play for Notre Dame. At the same time, we aren’t waiting until January to have a head coach for next year. And, it seems pretty difficult to imagine CW coming back next year.
So, if UND and Charlie could come to an understanding, this would be a lot cleaner than the wait-and-see approach. We’ve waited. We’ve seen. Even I am pretty much on board with this approach.
As I have argued elsewhere, the Notre Dame job is a really difficult one to fill. Urban went to Florida for a reason. But, Weis is Faust. Perhaps, like Faust, he will publicly indicate his intention to NOT coach in 2010, thereby formally freeing us to find our next Lou.
According to an interview he gave, Chuck doesnt think his future at ND has been decided. The man is dumber than i originally thought.
Hey Chuck,
THEY TURNED TRACKING OFF ON THEIR PLANE. PACK YOUR BAGS FAT BOY.
With love,
David
Five years into this and you’re still on him about being fat? Really, who cares?
Please allow me to translate this most recent pile of Jiberish
“I have nothing to say”(what else is new) but he will anyway.
Harmless team. check
Navy / Syracuse. check
Just you wait. check
Rest of the world. check
Willingham. check
Back on top. check
BC still sucks. check
They allways will. check
BC will never play for the NC.CHECK, AND DOUBLE CHECK.
I say the same things over and over. check
I like my ripple warm. check
I think I’ll watch the sound of Music tonight. check
Knuckleheads make fun of me. check
I think we have hit on all his strong points, agian …. for like the hundredth time.
You forgot:
Criticize ND’s SoS. check
Thank you Bill. My bad.
You forgot delusional fans, program is dead, coaching carousel, No. 1 in selling commercials, etc. Wow, maybe I am making some headway with you guys, my hard work is paying off.
I’ll give you BC will never really compete for an NC, though they were No. 2 in 2007 and finished in the Top 10, but that was aberrational. But BC sucks? 12 straight bowls, a slew of Top 25 finishes? If that’s the case, where does that leave ND, which has had an awful hard time beating them this decade.
More BostonBonejiberish to english translation.
His BC coach got fired so
now they are stuck with some lame back up.check
Selling stuff. check
BC never competes.check
I live in a slough. check
I once huffed 12 straight
dirty toilet bowls at ND stadium. check
BC sucks.(we already went over this but O.K) check.
ND beat us .check
They whipped our little school
girl asses. check
I’m a poor looser. check
I’m also a regular loser. check
I, Angry Eagle, am too stupid to realize that real football fans don’t respect anything I say, and just make fun of me.
(potshots) CHECK
Such bravado from a fan of a program widely ridiculed! Hilarious! Davie, O’Leary, Willingham, Weis and now Coach X, all in a psan of what, 7 years? Wow, Shake Down the Thundrer!
The only thing funnier than what has transpired is what will transpire…the coaching targets preemptively saying thanks but no thanks, then the message boards lighting up with “we’re back!” following the presser from the fool who stepped into the coach’s graveyard.
The only thing ridiculed around here is you!
But I like the “Message boards lighting up” remark.
This from a peckerless Ken doll who had his own BC web-site that no one ever visited or left any remarks.
Angry Eagle,
You can try to package it anyway you want. but your mere presence here confirms your own personal sad life story of failure. Forget BC. Forget ND. You, Angry Eagle, have a serious personal problem.
Angry Eagle, have you noticed you are about the only non Notre Dame fan here?
Why don’t you walk into a biker bar and tell them they are all sissies. You are doing the same stupid thing.
Better yet, tell us where you live. Then we can meet in person and see what an amazing person you are. Maybe a Domer will let you do odd jobs for them and pay you in Ripple. You’d like that, eh?
“Your Welcom? Your Welcome?? That’s it?
Go ahead and pull that fresh ripple out of the brown bag. It’s ok, It’s almost noon.
Nothing else to say, I bring up valid football points and you knuckleheads counter with non-football potshots. You have a harmless little football program. It will be that way forever. I get great enjoyment out of ND losing to the likes of Navy and Syracuse every year, and then calling for the coach’s head. Newsflash: it’s not the coach, it’s the program. You’ll find out again in a couple of years, when the new coach is losing to the same caliber middling to bad programs, and you’ll be calling for that coach’s head as well.
Looking back, it was really funny how excited you all were when Ty Willingham was hired, and then how excited you were when Soundbite Charlie took the job. It’ll be funny when the next guy gets hired and you all get excited again. The rest of the world will be smiling knowingly, “poor Notre Dame, they really really think they can get back on top.”
Anus, where were your “valid football points” when faced with USC’s mediocre record for the 20 years predating Carrol’s hire? Nothing but radio silence. Was the problem there also the “program”? Apparently not. There’s no valid reason to suggest that with the right coach, Notre Dame can’t be a top 10 team every year, and I don’t want to hear the lame arguments from Notre Dame’s haters that we can’t recruit top talent for whatever reason, be it academic standards or location. That’s absolute nonsense. Holtz found a way, and the terrain hasn’t changed to the point where the right coach can’t do the same.
USC plays in a conference. USC has relaxed academic standards for it’s football players. USC plays in a far more inviting climate. With that backdrop, USC was ready to rebound. ND, no way.
Oh yeah, and USC did not lose to Syracuse and the Naval Academy in three successive years.
Radio silence? Did not even notice you posted that garbage. Most of USC’s problems were pre-conference re-alignment, pre scholarship reduction. They know how to play in the modern era.
Now go take your cuddly little football team and join the Big Least so you can feel like you’re dominating something again. You know you;re headed there.
did’nt the harmless little football team play BC this year?
I’m amazed that people on this board are still paying attention to AE. I’m amazed that he thinks anyone owes him answers to his questions that he asks over and over, and that there are those who still oblige him.
Please folks, dig deep and IGNORE! You are rolling a boulder uphill and it is not going to change anything, certainly not his opinions.
Hell, I stopped giving answers
weeks ago, and have absoulutly
no desire in changing his opinions or even conversing with him.
We just like making fun of him. On Tuesday night after work I stop off at the pub for a cold one. My buddies and I log on at the bar and read what people say about him and have some laughs.
I have to tell ya, that C-Dog is tops with us. He drills AE
like a free clinic dentist.
butbutbut… I just… I couldn’t resist. I mean it’s soooooooooo easy. And he’s right there. He’s like our loyal retarded autistic dog with turrets.
He keeps coming back, which is cute. He’s not that bright, which is even cuter. He’s stuck inside his own little world which, though sad, is cute. And He throws these cute little uncontrollable fits of barking.
At least he doesn’t bite.
So, until the owners of this site, and thereby the dog, decide to put him down; I’m just going to have a little fun with the poor little goober every once in a while.
Here, here Bill.
You know he is not going to quit. He is only here to agitate. Life is too short to be irritated by such a dweeb.
I try to have at least a few laughs every day. (The Tarded dog with turrets is just priceless!) I’m laughing right now. Who ever said that laugher is the best medicne certainly knew what they were talking about. I reccomend it for anyone who feels stressed.
Go ahead, take a few shots, you will feel better.
Besides, no one is holding a gun to his head and forcing him to come here…. except maybe his crazy aunt!
JDH,
Go ahead and give it a try.
I think this goober might stress you a bit.
Call his momma a ho, or his daddy a pimp. Or call his daddy a ho and his momma a pimp.
Have a laugh.
It’s not like you are lying or just making this stuff up.
I know- I hear ya Bill. It is hard and I was guilty of it too. But I’ve moved on….:)
He has become an integral part of my grieving process. Sad? maybe. Enjoyable? oh Yeah.
I’m sure I’ll move on eventually. But for right now, it’s just too entertaining.
Who’s my little goober? Yes you are. Yes you are. Does goober want a treat. Awe… that’s too bad.
When my buds start reading some of this tonight at the pub they are going to
laugh their asses off!
“Does goober want a treat, Awe…that’s too bad”
Hillarious!!!
Yeah, I couldn’t resist. The guy is just such a dumb-fu*& and it’s fun to dish with drunken BC fans.
They’re just such fools.
you’re welcome
I can not take it anymore… I want to preface everything that follows as game management, this is NOT about the players, but CW. I am a CW supporter, but he has to GO>>>>>>>>>>> After the PITT game he is saying “WE were being conservative on offense due to the HOSTILE environment”, WHAT? This is college football and potent offensive teams (which we really aren’t, we are Potentially POTENT) score 40-50 points at home and on the road… That is anywhere from 6-7 touchdowns a game, and to do that in a 60 minute game, you can’t be conservative. I think that everyone is missing the point. I am tired of hearing that it is the dismal defense that puts ND into tough spots. It is NOT THE DEFENSE (though they could be better, i.e. Michigan and USC). Yes, I know Defenses when Championships, but that is true only to a point (In the Pro’s yes, NOT so much in College, they are two different games). I have never seen a college team with a great defense when a national title, if they couldn’t score in the Red Zone. You don’t need a great defense to when big games, you need a good defense (allows you to win 10 games)and opportunistic defense (allows you to win the other 3). NO COMMENT ON THE KICKING GAME!!! ND does not score in the first 2 1/2 quarters of their football games, and leaves the defense out on the field when it is NOT moving the football. When it does move the ball down the field and get in REDZONE (this is when I cringe) they DO NOT SCORE TD’s often enough (all of there games in 2009). Everyone in the stadium (players and fans) and everyone at home knows that 2 of the 4 downs will be jumpball fades. 1 of the 4 downs will either be a run up the middle or a trick play of some sort, and then on fourth down he can’t make a decision and has to call a timeout. I support all that CW does in the community and his charity work for Hannah’s House and I am sure that he does many more good things that I can’t even imagine. I love that he is able to recruit and the kids that come seem to love it, and for the most part stay out of trouble (don’t under estimate these kids, they all could have gone to many of the top 10 programs in the country, but they chose ND, mostly do to how CW sells ND). HIS PLAYERS GRADUATE (enough said)!!!! He has NOT wrecked this program, he just has NOT performed to the standards of ND (and if you think that this is wrong, check out program destroyers Dennis Erickson (aka – win with the previous coaches players and leave your program on probation) and Rick Neuheisel (aka – ohhh PROBATION, who me? Sorry Colorado, Sorry Udub). The next coach will probably be Highly successful if they can call plays that work in the RED ZONE, and in post game after each victory, he (NEW COACH ?) should end the post-game press conference with THANK YOU CHARLIE WEIS (at least for 3 years), because CW is the one that laid the foundation to make this NEW Coaches life full of JOY and Adulation (for at least 3 years)!
Yeah,
Weis needs to learn that sometimes a simple, ” We just didn’t get the job done” will suffice. None of his predacessors had as many news conferences. And even though Lou has developed some kind of slur, at least he gets a good point across. Charlie seems to stumble and bumble on. It’s too bad because he is smart. But it shows he’s in over his head and deep down he’s not sure of himself.
NFL players want a manager coach. A peer leader, whom they accept as the head guy.
College players need a father figure.
I’d boil down the biggest failure not to X’s and O’s, but to getting the kids to truly believe. When Sergio Brown makes a fake attempt at tackling Pitt’s running back because he’s fed up, there’s no belief. When that infects most of the defense and they pull up short on a play or quit fighting in the trenches, it’s becuase they don’t beleive. When the offensive line doesn’t try to move their feet quickly, it’s lack of belief. Watch the finesse practices on und.com and you’ll see it. Still too mechanical. Lou burned a boat once to get the players fired up and beleiving. Charlie has them punching a time clock.
Notre Dame is about Belief.
Lou’s practices were grulling.
He made it as hard as he possiably could on his players. The game was a walk in the park in comparision.
Ever notice CW giving a press conference. Slouched back in his custom made office chair.
Wearing a sweat shirt, sipping on a bottle of water, taking it easy.
And that’s what his team does. They slouch back and take it easy.
Maybe if he dressed for success, sat up strieght, and spoke with conviction, he might be taken more seriously.
Buy and his team. Put up a few 10 win season’s. Chalange for the national title once in a while. Beat some top team. Then wear what you want and and slouch all you want,
“Dress for Success” – Well said Mr Shazam. Well said indeed. We should not condone slouches or lazy bottle sippers. I think Mr Kelly will be the man that is “dressed for success”. Let’s get him.
Mr.Joe Sir,
When I was in 3rd Grade my football coach’s name was Coach Kelly. He lead us to many great and inspiring victories. He also taught us about team work, toughness, and sportsmenship, much like this present day coach Kelly could.
When you don the sacrid and honored Notre Dame Uniform a special level of pride and honor goes with it. Much is to be exspected of those chosen few who are bestowed with this great football tradidion. A coach of such fine young men should lead by example in that reguard. Don’t you agree?
Mr Shazam:
I concur. Well said again. You hit the nail on the head. Respect. Respect. Respect. Charlie appearance send the wrong message to the kids on the team. It is about tradition and respect. I was amazed to learn that Mr Kelly was your coach early in his career as a boy before he went onto greatness at Cincinnati. I really never knew his back ground before. It makes me even more excited to get an opinion on Mr Kelly from someone who knows him personally. I am glad that he believes in toughness and sportsmanship. All core values that we need in our leaders. Let’s get him here. Are you still in contact with him?
I agree with most of what you’re saying. We just don’t seem to have the intensity at the start of football games that we need to have. And, we’re reactive. We’re not assertive. I don’t know how many of you ski, but skiing and coaching football are somewhat similar. When you’re skiing, your movements are intuitive.
Sure, you select the run. There are some technical things that you have to know, too, from chair lift exiting to developing some strength in your calves and inner thighs to keep you moving in tight spots. But, once you’re on your way, you have to anticipate and assert in quick fashion — and then you have to react once something changes.
CW doesn’t try to dictate much. He doesn’t seem to appreciate the kids he has. They can do the work. We have great athletes.
Yet, CW tries to pre-plan everything and react to nearly everything. He needs photos and more photos during a game and he has a hard time making decisions. The result is that he’s pretty predictable. That’s not a good thing. By November, everyone knows what Charlie is thinking.
Good coaches win, in part, because the opposing side doesn’t know what’s coming.
Pardon the typos – yikes. Not a great keyboard here…
All great choices my friends. I think for me it comes down to one candidate. Mr Brian Kelly. He is a chap who has been around the block a few times and scored big time on the big stage. Mr Kelly brings that raz-ma-taz like my first love Aubrey. She was a vixen and a fireball. You never knew what to expect with her just like Mr Kelly. When I watch his game, I think run and he passes. When I think a run up the middle, he bootlegs. Just like Aubrey. I could never figure either of them out. She was a heartbreaker. I do think Mr Kelly will also be a heartbreaker. However, this my friends is the key difference between them both and I say this at the top of my lungs. Unlike Aubrey, Mr Kelly will not break our hearts my cagey Notre Dame brethren. Rather, he will break the hearts of the strumpets who call themselves fans of USC, Pittsburgh (Yes Mr Mark May Pittsburgh) and the hooligans of Michigan!!!! GO IRISH!!! Give mr Kelly the honor of joining our team.
Mr. Joe – ND at this point is tailor made for Mr. Kelly or rather Mr. Kelly for ND. And gee – you an Irish coach ya just can;t beat the last name. Bill is also right – hard to make too much out of any prospects being bantered about when Weis is still the coach. I would be the house however we would see a complete 180 next year should Kelly be hired. GO IRISH!
Mr Chris:
I have to say you are my favorite poster. Your insights are brilliant. It is a lot better than that two time hussy Nana Mildred. She is now a big fan of a man I despise. Joe the Knucklehead. His insights are pedestrian to say the least. He is the Charlie Weis of posting. You my friend are like a firebrand like Mr Kelly. I see a lot of great things in our future with Mr Kelly. He reminds me of a young Mr Knute Rockne, the inventor of the forward pass for you too young to remember. Speaking of passes, I think it is disgusting how Millie has been throwing herself at Mr Knucklehead. He is a heathen and she will soon find out. Much like the Trojans of USC will find out about the carnage that MR KELLY WILL BRING UPON THEM NEXT YEAR!!!! GO IRISH!!!!
I’m with JDH. Anus Eagle is sick. No one likes him. He’s ignored by his own kind. He wouldn’t know a fact if it bit him in the ass. So just ignore him. Experts say never make eye contact with the deranged. So let’s let Anus Eagle rant mindlessly and do what the BC fans do with his lame blog, ignore it!
OK, Rob, ignore me, and ignore the reality that is ND football.
Last week I asked where all these supposed Top 10 Recruiting Class recruits are, no one could give me an answer. So the silence is the answer. Here’s another question for you…all I ever hear about from you blowhards is how ND has all this class and integrity. Well, where is the integrity when you are accepting a bowl invitation you don’t deserve, just because the ND Brand is so compelling? Do you ever think about the domino effect that has on other teams? In other words, say ND manages to get to 7-5 with its creampuff schedule. The Gator Bowl would eagerly invite them to get hammered by some ACC team that actually deserves to be there (which is the reason for the long bowl losing streak, but that is a story for another day). But what about the team that ND bumped out of the Gator Bowl and into a lesser bowl? And what about the team that that team bumped into a lesser bowl? And, down the line, what about the team that eventually got bumped out of a bowls altogether? Because ND is “popular,” and don;t play by the same rules as everyone else, they ultimately adversely affect 2-3 football teams every year they are bowl eligible. Yet no one on the ND message boards ever talks about that. Where’s the integrity you folks like to think ND has?
This year’s team will definitely bump a few teams into lesser bowls than they deserve, just because ND is so good at selling commercials and filling seats. Is there any guilt in that? What kind of Catholics are you?
I don’t expect a candid answer to this one any more than I expected with the recruit question.
First on all it’s football dope. What’s the difference if ND get’s a bowl or not.
Second, before you talk anymore about ND football. Tell all of us in this ND blog site, I repeat ND blog site, why you aren’t on a BC blog site. This ND message board is for ND fans, not BC fans. You lose any credibility for argument just by being here. Go convince you own. You can’t convince us of anything other than your psychotic obsession with something you lost when ND turned down your application.
Duly noted that this does not respond to the question.
Yes, I forgot. College football has so much integrity it allows teams with 40% graduation rates to play in national championship games.
Please. If the Gator Bowl is willing to pick our weak 7-5 team, we’re more than happy to accept. Doing so benefits our kids, our recruits and our school — not to mention that the Gator Bowl appearance more than pays for itself.
When college football cleans up its act, we’ll start turning down bowl invitations.
OK, they don’t have integrity so it’s OK for you to not have integrity. Nice.
It’s okay for us to play by the rules, AE. The rules allow us to go to the Gator Bowl. So, we’ll go if we’re invited. And, besides, the Gator Bowl would be lucky to have a school with the prestige and following like Notre Dame. We act with integrity as well and we follow college football’s rules.
BC, after all, knows a thing or two about rules, doesn’t it? http://www.boston.com/sports/articles/2008/06/26/probation_for_cherilus_tribble/
I’m sorry AE.
I figured with all your angry rant negative posts I should just ignore you for a while.
First Question: Recruits –
Chris Martin, Christian Lombard, chris badger, Lo wood, Andrew Hendrix, Blake leudars, Tai-ler Jones and Alex Welch just to name guys on the top of my head. I’d say those are a good group of guys to build a top 10 recruiting class around.
Second Question: Bowl Eligibility – You suppose that ND going to the Gator bowl is putting someone out. Sad thing is, You’re right.
Because of Bowl Tie ins, ND gets an Auto BCS bid with a top 8 spot (we’re not taking that one) or is eligible for an at large bid with a top 14 spot. Just to use your sacred ACC as a shining example from 2002-2008 The ACC has sent 3 (THREE) teams to BCS bowls that ended the year with 4 (FOUR) losses. That’s BEFORE THE BOWLS WERE PLAYED. So… really, it’s the ACC that’s taking bowls it doesn’t deserve. But sorry, back onto ND taking spots. So, the Gator Bowl has the CHOICE to take ND or a Big East team, that’s the contract THEY SIGNED because they were having issues fulfilling bowl obligations. They have 7 Tie-ins (counting 2 that they share with ND). There’s 8 teams in the Big east. Assuming ND takes one of the two tie-in spots from a big east team, as long as one team in the big east isn’t bowl eligible, ND didn’t steal a bid from anyone. But aside from that fact, let’s assume there is some shuffling all caused by ND and someone misses a bowl because ND takes it. How do we feel about that? Well, when I look at teams like say, Michigan who, should they beat Ohio State, get their sixth win and in theory become bowl eligible. I look at their schedule, I see 5 wins against D-IA opponents. When all the teams other teams have 6 wins against D-IA opponents and ND’s getting a bowl bid at 6 wins forces someone else to stay home, then you can come cry on my doorstep about it not being fair. But until you schedule D-IA teams, I just don’t have any pity for your plight.
ggn00bthxfp
I’m not talking about incoming recruits, everyone except ND knows that your recruits are as overhyped as your team. Once it leaks out a kid is geting recruited by ND, the recruiting services bump the kid up a star or two. That’s my point. Your players are nowehere near as good as you all think they are or should be. Sure, you have a couple of studs, but a lot of middle of the pack programs have a couple of studs. Your players are by and large average D1 players. That’s not an opinion, that’s a fact, that’s why a guy like Darius Walker is treated like a god when he’s at ND and NBC is promoting him, but when he enters the draft, he goes undrafted.
The bowl situation is this. ND, beacuase of its marketing appeal, always gets invited to a higher bowl. That’s why you had that long bowl losing streak – ND always faced a team that got there on merit, and then got waxed because they were NOT there on merit. I don’t know how you can dispute that. All the other teams play in a conference, and can;t hide from conference opponents. Sure, occasionnally the conference will be down, but these teams can’t lace their schedule with the creampuffs ND does every year. Yes, ND does not schedule 1-AA teams, but they do schedule bottom feeder BCS conference champs and service academies and non-BCS teams like Nevada and Sand Diego State. What’s the difference? a cupcake schedule is a cupcake schedule. But if ND wins the games, they get to a BCS bowl without earning it through the rigors of a conference slate. And when they do, they bump more deserving teams. Shameless.
who’s a little cutey?
Yes you are. Yes you are. Good Dog. Sit. Stay. Down.
I’m sorry I didn’t realize you wanted me to list current players. Ethan Johnson, Jimmy Clausen, Golden Tate, Michael Floyd, Manti Teo, Kyle Rudolph, Kaprol Lewis Moore just to name a couple. Also, I laugh at your bloated stars comment. I laugh because on more than one occasion (a good example would be Cierre Wood) after committing to ND players have had stars dropped from them. I’m not saying that it’s a bias, I’d say it goes both ways. You also seem to be completely unaware that oftentimes after a kid commits to a school the scouts will take a second look. What has happened more than once is Weis and his scouts have found a good player who didn’t have much attention, recruited him, and then he was actually scouted by the sites. So, when you see Hendrix go from a 3 star to a top 10 QB, it’s because A: he’s in the middle of a strong senior year and B: the sites previously did not give him a thorough appraisal.
Now back to the bowls. Your autism is kicking in. You completely ignore the fact that ND has bowl tie ins involved with the big east. Teams aren’t being kicked out of bowls when ND goes, Teams are being given a chance they don’t normally have when ND doesn’t. You’re cute though, completely ignoring the fact that your Amazing conference of superior teams is an embarrassment to the BCS as a whole. And the BCS itself is an embarrassment (another topic for another time). But what do you have to say to the teams that 4 loss Va Tech, or 4 Loss FSU keeps from going to the BCS? You don’t have anything to say. Because you’ve got no ground to stand on. You’re wrong, so you’ll get all autistic and go back to your little world where ND is evil and oppressing deserving teams. Teams like Nevada, which you criticize ND for putting on the schedule. I’m sorry cutey, but putting D-IA teams on the schedule, even if a couple of them are from non BCS conferences is still putting 12 D-IA teams on the schedule. Come the end of the year, ND will have played 2 maybe 3 teams that were in the Top 15 at the time of the game. How many has BC played? I’ll give you a clue: BC has one game against a team that was in the top 25 at the time of the game this year. Oh, and I’ll take ND’s roster of Nevada, Washington and Washington State and put them against BC’s Non Conference games of Kent State, Northeastern and Central Michigan any year. at BEST Central Michigan stacks up with Nevada. But then you’ve got 2 (TWO) D-IAA teams on the docket.
Better Question: You’re at 7-3. 2 wins over D-IAA teams. You going to make it to 6 wins over D-IA teams? You’re at 5 little goober. You’ve got UNC and Maryland. Do you deserve to go bowling? You gonna give up your spot to a team with 6 wins over D-IA opponents? Didn’t think so.
Finally: I love, and I mean LOVE, how you say “but they do schedule bottom feeder BCS conference champs”. Do realize the ACC is THE Bottom Feeder.
—
To everyone else:
I’m really sorry. I can’t resist playing with the poor little goober. Really he’s like the ultimate pick-me-up for my week. I was feeling all sad an sullen, but then AE came and he’s just a huge boost to my ego.
Let’s make some predictions:
He’s going to A: not respond (unlikely) B: Respond, but try and rip ND for scheduling bottom feeders, C: change the topic to how ND is stupid and has a bias for it, D: reference how 1 player had to take the year off to fight cancer as a reason for why we should feel bad for beating them.
Since you address me personally, Anus, I’ll reply just to you one last time. I think if you read these posts, you’d see that I know exactly where ND stands. And it’s pathetic! Unlike some here, I don’t see the ND football universe with rose-colored glasses. I see it for what it has largely become, mediocre. But it’s not dead or irrelevant yet, Anus. BTW: Given that your sad lonely existence seems to revolve around ND football, you better hope it never becomes irrelevant like your life is, Anus. So, you see, Anus, I don’t need you to tell me that ND is in a sad state, kind of like your love life.
The above post is meant for Anus Eagle, lest anyone think I’m referring to somebody else!
I don’t know why it got posted after Bill’s comments.
This weekend I felt like I was at a funeral watching that game. About 10 seconds before Tate’s PR I fired a text off to one of my closest friends stating that regardless of outcome I was done with Weis. I am done with him, I’m ready to move forward.
Looking at the candidates (pretty much in order of preference):
Gruden – I’d look at this as this year’s Lane Kiffin hire. I used to hate him, but when he went to the booth I got to see a different side of him. He’s on top of my list. He can wear thin on his players after 4-5 years, but I mean… players should only be at ND for 4-5 years. I also think he still has a passion for coaching, but I don’t think he wants to go back to the NFL.
Stoops – So, there’s a joke about this guy that scares the crap out of me: Why does Stoops eat his cereal off of a plate? Because if it were in a bowl he’d lose it. Aside from the bowls and not looking out for the best interest of his players (see bradford), I love the offense he runs, and he recruits Defensive players. I’d be ecstatic if we got him. I just don’t think we can get him, but I’d love to be wrong.
Ferentz – Ok, this makes me laugh because I work in Iowa City. Oh man, I cannot tell you how hilarious I would find this hire. I love the Defense he runs, but I hate his decision making. Anyone see the end of the Iowa game this weekend? I got into an argument with an Iowa fan (at the bar of course) because I said that with a minute to go Iowa should at least try to drive for a FG/TD. The guy’s argument was that an interception would be bad. I tried explaining you can still be intercepted in OT. Needless to say, I hate coaches who don’t have the testicular fortitude to win the game. It’s one thing to kick an extra point and go for OT. It’s a whole different story to not try to win the game when you’re already tied.
Kelly – Two words that make me cry: Option Read. Not to say he’s a bad coach, but I don’t think he’s an ND coach. He rates on my scale just above Leach. I hate texas tech. Also, Picking a guy because he’s Irish catholic isn’t exactly a good reason. Not a reason not to pick him, just I don’t think it should factor.
Harbaugh – No. Anyone else remember the last time we hired a guy from stanford on the basis of “well he has that program heading in the right direction”? (if not, see: Willingham)
Rich Rod – I just didn’t feel like putting harbaugh on the bottom of my list. Pay no mind to him, he’s just here to make me giggle at Michigan.
Bill –
Have you ever honestly watched Kelly on the sidelines? I am telling you the stars are lined up perfectly to get this guy. He would be perfect for ND and not only in a sense that he is Irish Catholic although that does not hurt. I have said it before but will say it again – in 3 years he has totally turned that program in Cincy around and is currently 10-0 and ranked 5th in the country. His teams play all game and he is playing w/ a buch of unknown football players. He obviously can not only develop talent – he gets it to deliver on the field. The guy is never happy on the sidelines – constantly scheming. Unlike ND who honestly looked scared at Pitt – he will take advantage of every opportunity to put points on the board regardless of being up in the game. He pushes his players and demands their best efforts.
Pike a pretty much an unknown was in the Heisman talk prior to re-injuring his non throwing arm. Pike’s backup comes in and picks up right where Cincy leaves off. The guy is consistant and in my mind ripe to assume the ND head coach position. He is also the kind of personality that could get Clausen and Floyd to stay for 2010 providing Swarbrick doesnt piss around at the end of the season. If he is hired – ND will definitely be in the hunt for a national championship next year. 1-2 games and we will wonder why Charlie wasn’t let go after 2008.
Chris,
Yes. I have seen a couple of Cincinnati games the past couple of years. I also, for this very reason, made a point to watch the Cincy game this past friday.
Previous to watching this game I was pretty high up on him as a coach. I did just a touch on him friday afternoon, and I’m not here to doubt him as a good coach. I will admit that comparing him to the classless that is a tech coach/student/fan was probably over the line. Ok, it was a lot over the line. Honestly, going into watching the game I was a lot more upbeat about the possibility of getting him as a coach. If he’s hired, I think he will be a fine coach. I’d be more than happy with any of the top 4 on my list. But that said, I’m not going to hinge all of my hopes and dreams on a guy that’s not even our coach. I think it’s a bad idea to do more than just draw up a list of guys we should consider and why. For one, I’m not privy to what’s going on behind the scenes. Hell, we haven’t even fired Weis yet. But absolutely, your point that he wins is totally valid. I’m not here to throw doubt on him, I just am not a fan of option read offenses.
—
Also, I forgot a guy that’s definitely on my list. And I’d love to have . Peterson. He’s a 4th year coach with 4 losses. He doesn’t even have access to near the talent he would at ND. Kellen Moore is what everyone seems to think Tony Pike was (a great QB with a solid resume and absolutely zero respect). I’m absolutely unwilling to accept the ‘they play a weak schedule’ argument, If you’ve watched his teams you know that they’ll play with ANYONE ANYWHERE ANYTIME. Just ask Stoops. He’s not on top of my list, but he’s right there with Ferentz and Kelly. Luckily for the people who doubt him, we have exactly ZERO chance (in my bad opinion) of getting him out of Boise. He saw what happened to hawkins and he’s a family man who seems to love Boise.
I think out of that pool of coaches, Kelly is clearly the best choice. I am not a fan of Harbaugh. It was just last year that we were ripping on him for comments made after the Stanford/ND game.
I like Gruden, but anyone from the NFL scares me. Anyone blame me here? Calculated risks. There are no easy answers…
JDH,
I do believe Gruden has some college coaching experience.
I think he would do a heck of a job, but he just signed an extension with Monday Night Football.
Harbaugh is a Michigan man.
Nuff said right there.
Philip Fulmer is out there, but he had problems keeping his players out of trouble, and was losing out on the recruiting trail.
I like Tommy Tubberville, but he too struggled in recruiting. Butis a stand up guy.
I really like Tony Dungy. Not sure if he would even be interested. Lots of stress with this job.
I also like Steve Mariucci. He has college experience with
USC and Cal. He is still fairly young. Would he even be interested?
Perhaps Barry Alverez would like to return to coaching. I think he would be outstanding.
How about Jim Leavitt at USF. A young eager guy looking to move up.
And of course Kelly. Self made.Came up through the ranks. Knows the details of college football.
There is always option 3.
Keep Charlie Weis and hire a proven Defensive Coordinator.
I like Charlie Strong from Florida. He was once a coach for the Irish. And all you have to look at is Florida’s Defense. That’s what wins them championships!
Shaz:
In addition to your former posts on what to do with Brent Musberger, I also agree with your option 3. A Bud Foster at VT “type” is what we need, but he has been there for 23 years. Two guys (a Bud Foster and a Charlie Weis) working together (not sure if an Illinois boy and a Jersey boy can play in the same sandbox though) would create an unstoppable combination. combination.
Shazam,
He does but only as a position’s coach. I should have been more clear that I would prefer one with proven college head coach experience and results. I don’t like Harbaugh or Fulmer at all! All things considered, I think Kelly is probably the best choice at this point in time…
He (Kelly) kind of reminds of Jim Tressell. Smart, hard working,
has been around College football his whole life, knows
how to win at the college level. Knows a lot of college football people. Worked his way up.
I’ll give you a good example.
ND vs Navy. I’d bet with this team he would run the ball down their throats for 3 quarters. Use his O-Line size advantage. By the fourth quarter he could call whatever he wanted.
Why pass when there is no need. Just to show off?
As I’ve indicated elsewhere, the Notre Dame job will be a difficult one to fill. There are a number of reasons that successful candidates are not interested (I’ve suggested them elsewhere).
With respect to the positives, there are many:
1.) Talented kids want to play here (especially talented kids who have been recruited by coaches Kelly, Stoops and Ferentz);
2.) Talented coaches — assistants — would love to come here;
3.) We’re on national television every week because we have excited fans all over the world;
4.) The student body is ridiculously loyal to the football team. Sure, it may not love Charlie Weis, but it shows up week-in and week-out and enthusiastically cheers on the football squad.
5.) Notre Dame Nation is hungry (and we’re still buying jerseys, hats, jackets, footballs, sweatshirts, etc.). As such, the program will have the resources necessary to allow any head coach a chance to win here;
6.) We’ve got great rivals like Southern Cal, Michigan and Michigan State, and (yes) Navy that produce great football games.
7.) We graduate our kids on time, ensuring that any head coach will have to recruit kids who can get through Notre Dame (I list this as a positive because these same kids are likely to have the brains necessary to implement any successful offensive and defensive strategy).
8.) Our flexible scheduling allows us to vastly expand our recruiting base.
9.) The talented kids are already there. Say what you want about Charlie, but he brought some credibility back to the Notre Dame recruiting front. Tate, Floyd, Allen, Te’o, Clausen, etc. A coach coming here will have a pretty decent group of athletes to coach.
10.) Any coach who wins here will have a building named after him. This group of fans is the most loyal, the most knowledgeable, the hardest to please, the easiest to annoy — and the most crazed in the country. I couldn’t imagine cheering on Boston College or Northwestern. We know history, we know college football history and we know Notre Dame college football history. A coach who wins a national title here is treated like a king.
well done!
Well done indeed.
I read a post from yesterday (can’t remember who) that really hit home with me. It talked about how CW may have been the right coach at the right time to get ND back into prominence with regards to recruiting and getting those blue chip players seeing ND in a better light. He definitely isn’t the long term HC for this team – he is a good OC, but not a good ‘manager’. I have lived mostly in North Carolina and Georgia for the past decade I recall a similar scenario in college basketball that seems to parallel this. Dave Odom resurrected the Wake Forest basketball program by bringing in recruits like Tim Duncan. However, he lacked the real coaching ability and more importantly the enthusiasm to get them to the ‘next level’. I recall Tim Duncan’s junior year (I think) them being nearly unstoppable in ACC play and then losing in the second or third round of the NCAA tourney. They just lacked that killer instinct, similar to the current teams at ND. Ultimately, Wake brought in Skip Prosser who was able to continue the recruiting upswing, but brought some fire and personality to the team they didn’t have previously. (Unfortunately he passed away of a heart attack a couple of years ago). All this being said, maybe it’s time to just look at CW as the transition piece that brought ND back towards the top in recruiting and now it’s time to go find that guy who can fire these kids up and get them to play with a chip on their shoulders.
Guys,
Can we all PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE agree to ignore AngryEagle? Please?! I will make that promise if you will. We’ve been down this redundant, pointless, circlejerky road before. Let him say what he wants and do not respond…
JDH,
“Guys” is plural. I have only responded to my good buddy Joe. It’s like when you go to the carnival and check out the freak show, when you get back you have to tell your friends all about guy who bit the head off a live chicken!
Besides, I’m bored today and he is so easy to make fun of.
Did you see where he said “ND is BC. That was his attempt at insulting us. Funny as hell. Insulting, yes, very much so. But funny.
JDH,
I’m sorry.
You are right of course. Provolking him just eggs him on.
Besides, with colder weather comming on, it freezes the tin plate in his head to his brain, and makes him say crazy things.
I know it’s plural. I’m talking to everyone on the board, not just you Shazam….
He’s a homeless guy calling the CEO’s losers.
He needs another bottle of rum to drown his sorrows of a wasted life.
I think Frank just needs to boot him. I mean do you let any gang banger into the office?
I am here to educate, not debate, I just expect you to read, digest, then eventually come to understand that ND is the patehhtic middle of the pack wannabe program that it is. It will continue to cause all you delusional Domers untold angst until reality knocks on the door, you open it and join a conference like everyone else. Then you (and your unnamed coach) will have something realistic to play for: a conference chanpionship.
BTW, I love how ND keeps changing coaches every, it helps the ecomony because everyone gets a raise. I may tell my boss this week that ND is interested in me so I can get a new 5 year contract, like Gruden and Harbough today, and Brian Kelly in the next few weeks. Call it Fickle Down Economics, the Faux Gipper (Ronald Reagan) would be proud!
Why does ND eat at your heart every day?
Let go the pain Eagle. Tell us who kicked the crap out of you.
It’s not pain but pleasure. Plus it’s good for you.
You’re welcome.
No actually Eagle, you have a psychological issue. Otherwise you wouldn’t obsess with Notre Dame.
Okay, Jim Harbaugh has a less than .500 record at Stanford. Sure, he is 7-3 this year and he beat Southern Cal and Oregon, but he’s hardly the Coaching God that you make him out to be AE. Gruden’s longer deal with ESPN doesn’t necessarily prevent ND from grabbing him. It just suggests that ESPN feels he could leave.
If we wanted Brian Kelly, my hunch is that we could get him soon. He’s at Cinci and he is winning, but Cinci doesn’t have the massive fan base (and revenue) that Notre Dame has. We’d be able to pony up some coin for him.
But, I’m not sure he’s the right guy for the job (and, admittedly, I am not sure that the administration will find such a person).
Teo,
AE has nothing positive to add.
However, I’ll comment on Harbaugh and Kelly. I do think either could be decent coaches for ND. Stanford went through 2 guys who couldn’t clean up the mess Willingham left. Harbaugh was patient. He has done what Weis hasn’t which is beat USC ( and twice ). Ultimately, he’d be a decent fit and ND. Hit criticism of Michigan seems to have been well founded.
Kelly, he also is a winner, but is in a place that may not be able to support him. He’s ambitious and has moved up each time. He’s also left programs in successful situations. GVSU is still tops in D-2. Central Michigan is still much better. So Kelly’s improvements to schools seem to stick. Cincy may stay up there if he does indeed leave.
But he will leave because like it or not Ohio St. is the draw in Ohio.
ND doesn’t compete regionally but does nationally. But even in Indiana, ND is THE football school. I think Kelly would take the job. He might be the long term guy too.
I just can’t wait for it all to be over. Because even though Weis is clearly not the guy, you can’t say he didn’t try and you can’t say he hasn’t improved the foundation. Doug Collins built foundations but couldn’t get his teams beyond a certain point. Maybe Weis is that kind of guy.
If the next guy keeps more or less the offense in tact and teaches toughness in the trenches, ND has a good shot next year and certainly within the next 3. But only if that coach keeps the players focused on excellence in all apsects of each day. That’s the Notre Dame way.
Mr Eagle:
I think the fire in your belly is great for these debates. You bring a very good perspective that gives us passionate golden domers, as you say, a chance to reflect on different view points. I can only compare it to a little craze that we are all caught up in which is dancing with the stars. It has taken this nation by storm. What truly works is that they have the passion of bruno contrasting with the intellect of the great Mr Len Goodman. It is this kind of back and forth dialogue that allows them to find the most suitable dance champion. With these kind of discussions, we can find the right coach to lead our great university back to the promise land. Let’s make the Gipper proud as you say in your message.
JoeDub,
You must be relitivly new to our Blog here. Anus Eagle, as we call him, hates ND and is only here to garner attention for himself. He once had his own BC blog that no one read or responded to. According to his own Bio he put the Pathetic BC football program before his own wife and kids.
That’s when his life turned to shit.
When he was young his deepest desire was to attened the University of Notre Dame. Being the loser that he is he was immediately turned down. So he did what he thought was the next best thing and gained admission to BC(They always take our rejects) He parleyed his BC degree into a job installing gutters. His wife left him and he now lives in a trailer with 50 cats. We here at this blog try to humor the poor SOB. His posts are not really worthy of any kind of debates.
He says the same thing over and over. Example:You have a cute little team, Bla, bla, bla.
Your team is almost as bad as our team. Bla, bla. We here at BC
Never talk National Championship. That’s because we suck and
No one wants us. Bla, bla, bla. One loss is through the roof for us. Have fun counting
Your Heisman’s, Your team has NBC and makes commercials. Bla,Bla. I’m just
A ND wannabe with a crazy aunt who is in the second tier and votes for
Robert Kennedy each election. Bla, Bla. The tin plate in my head tends to freeze
In the winter when I go sledding down Chestnut landfill hill. Bla, Bla.
And Oh,
Congratulations on your signature win over a BC team that suck balls. Bla, bla, bla.
That should really piss you off. Ha, ha, Bla, Bla
Big Brother is watching me so I will be back next year. (Which
In wacko time is really tomorrow, or in ten minutes. Bla , Bla, bla.)
Anus,
I would like to congratulate you on stating the obvious. ND IS A MIDDLE OF THE PACK PROGRAM. Right now.
You chastise us for “living in the past” but what you fail to see is the true nature of the difference between ND and BC. ND has been to the top of the mountain. Hell, we once were the mountain. BC…? Not so much. You had a nice hail mary and a good field goal once….
Thus, when you say we are living in the past….no….we jusy have much higher expectations. You say you enjoy BC football and you know they arent playing for national championships and that they’ll lose 3 games a year. Hey, man, thats great that you are ok with being a second tier program. We’re not. We are one now, but we expect better.
You…being a BC grad…are used to settling for mediocre results. So, I completely understand how you cant fathom our expectations. You are a “settler”—cant go to ND, settle for BC—root for a second tier team and never be disappointed—marry the first thing that resembles a female that will sleep with you—you know, a “settler.”
Yes, I’m perfectly happy with BC being second tier, and I can say with certainty that I enjoy my rooting interest much, much more than you all do. Every Irish fan I know has been absolutely miserable for nearly 20 years, and will continue to be miserable as long as you mainatin the delusion ND can get back on top. You get built up with all this “return to glory” garabage, only to get exposed as the pretender you are year in and year out. It’s comical, like Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown – everyone knows it’s going to happen, the only question is how hard everyone will laugh at Charlie Brown for thinking this time will be different.
Yes, I consider the 1940s-1970s (when ND had 90% of its big moments) ancient history, because it is. I even consider the 1980s ancient history for that matter. A ton has changed since the 1980s, with conference alignments, conference championship games, reductions in scholarships and the resultant dilution in talent, the expansion of cable TV (now every teams games are televised), and the advent of the BCS format. All of that militates against a tiny academic school like ND competing at the level of the huge state universites, the NBC contract notwithstanding. It is an entirely different world, one in which ND cannot compete at the highest level without joining a conference and making the the academic sacrifices that USC and Miami (the only BCS private schoools committed to championship contention) make. In other words, it is a new world, and ND is a dinosaur.
And gimme a break with me settling for BC. I am an Ivy Leaguer undergrad, I only root for BC because I have a grad degree from there and I live in Boston. It always amuses me when you dolts deviate from the losing football argument and start professing your perceived academic superiority. The dropoff from the Ivies to ND is about the same as the dropoff from ND to BC – not much. I know I would never look down at ND’s academics, and you shouldn’t look down on BC’s. That’s laughable, makes you sound like friggin morons.
Anyone on here bashing Cincinnati/Brian Kelly, all I can say is good. I’m a Bearcat fan and I will be more than happy to keep him here in Cincinnati.
Damn it Joe, don’t you know by now that BC doesn’t play for national championships. They never have and never will. Get it strieght for crying out loud. 1 loss is through the roof. I don’t think BC has EVER seen the view from the roof. Unless we are talking about his crazy aunt’s outhouse.
That’s right, YOU get it. BC does not compete for NCs and never will. Nor should they. I’m very happy with where they are, and I enjoy BC football. Do you enjoy ND football? Think about it. Really think about it. Then, after you think about it some more, after some long pauses and breaks for reflection, the light bulb may go off in your head, and you will understand what I am saying.
Here is what I read when I see “Angry Eagle” posted. Doesn’t matter what he says. I can only see the following:
Angry Eagle:
“I enjoy watchinh BC lose at football, watching the sound of music over and over, and humming ACC fightsongs.”
“I’m Angry eagle. I’m a 43 year old loser whose wife and kids left me because I had a tantrum when ND bumped BC for the Gator bowl back in 1984.
When I’m not making a fool of myself on a ND blog site I spend my spare time changing my crazy aunt’s diapers and brewing bath tub gin. If you ever need new gutters installed I’m your guy. I know what what you’re going to say, the word “guy” might be a strech.
But I really do have a penis, it just looks likes a wick because of all the inbreeding.
Why do you think I carry these tweezers Mr. Heismen throphy winner? BC has girls. I rode with one on a elevator one time! Nobody knows more about ND football than me.
Go Notre Dame! I mean BC!
If you Bla, Bla, Bla, a rats ass bla, bla,you will, and a light bulb, what I’m….Bla, Bla, Bla, Bla, Blaaaa, talking, Blaa, bla, blaa what, Bla, am saying, bla, bla. bla. This is good for me! Bla, Bla, bla”
Joe, BC doesn’t play for national championships (and neither does ND for that matter despite your beliefs), that’s why 3 losses is a good year, 2 losses is a great year, 1 loss is through the roof. Winning the conference is the focus. BC lost just about everyone this year, including every quarterback who ever took a collegiate snap, the reigning ACC defensive player of the year to cancer, and 2 defensive tackles to the 1st and 2nd rounds of the NFL draft. They were picked to finish last in their conference division. So yes, this is very much a rebuilding year, and the fact that they managed to sustain their success, get back to a bowl and to probably tie for first place in the conference division and graduate players at 95% are all testament to a solid program, one you delusional ND fans should endeavor to emulate. So there you go, digest that while you think about Heismans won when your grandfather was a young man.
Oh and congratulations on your “signature win” over that rebulding BC squad, that is by far the only game you should be proud of (and it took 5 turnovers, including 1 at the goaline as BC was driving for the clincher). I know you are rooting for BC to make your season resume look a little better
So BC is in the second tier
My grandfather in his 70’s in 1987 when ND’s Tim Brown won the Heisman, but you’re right, he was very spry and certainly felt like a young man. Actually, he probably could have started for BC. Oh wait, Anus, are you too young to remember 1987? Still wetting your bed then (and now) huh.
Congratulations, you go back 22 years for the last ND Heisman winner. That’s 1 in 50 years? BC goes back 25 years, also with 1 in 50 years. This has relevancy? Check out how many guys on the ND roster were born in 1987. I’ll bet there are a lot more guys on the roster familiar with ND losses to service academies, BC and MSU than ND Heisman winners (this point cannot and will not be debated). Gimme a break. And we all know Tim Brown was recruited during the Lou Holtz “relaxed academic standards” era, which the administration kiboshed in 1991.
Wow, you are delusional.
Any fact about “relaxed academic standards”? Tim Brown, Mark Green, Corney Southhall, Stan Smagala, and Reggie Ho all lived in my dorm. Tim brought the Heisman back. We all got to see it. And one thing about Tim, he studied his butt off.
Eagle, you don’t know any real fact about ND. Explain to us why you are obsessed with a school you’ve had no connection to? The only thing you have proven to us is that you personally are a sad example of a wasted existence.
I ask you this, why aren’t BU alums on this site? Harvard, Tufts, Northeastern, Holy Cross? Why only you? Really sounds like you are the one with the problem. Not even other BC fans, just you.
What eats at you every day Eagle?
Oh, and Tim Brown was recruited by Faust. Get your facts straight. Opinions with incorrect facts like that reflect poor intelligence.
Why are you on this site. This is for the ND community.
Don’t you think you and your tool belt belong on a blog like Dennis Dodd’s at CBS. There are a bunch of BC dropouts like yourself there who obsess about ND.
Quit obsessing with ND.
Do you take your tool belt and walk into random homes in the area? That’s what you are doing here, uninvited. If you took your tool belt and walked into a home ininvited you’d reach the pinnacle of your BC education and wind up in jail. Sounds like a great idea.
Hey get a little original there C-Dog, the tool belt was my metaphor from when I was posting last week, you know before the Navy apocolylpse. And I said it quite facetiously. But I always know when I’m really getting under ND’s skin (and proving my point) when the football arguments stop and the (perceived) academic superiority arguments begin. The schools, along with GTown, are virtually identical. The only difference I see (aside from a far better campus and much better looking girls at BC) is that ND grads have this weird obsession with their (formerly relevant) football team, and tether their self-esteem to its success.
Enjoy the angst!
Oh come on now Eagle,
You know and we know you’ve wasted your life. What else explains your repeated entry into another group’s blog site?
You know the only type of people that show up at a party uninvited are poor souls like yourself. Seriously Just go have some more ripple. And for food, hock the frame that has your BC degree in it. You might have enough for a Snickers bar.
But know that you’ve convinced me that you are the protoypical BC alum. Couldn’t get into ND and so now you obsess with ND football. There is no other explanation. You wouldn’t be on this site if it wasn’t important to you.
BC ha ha ha ha! The Drunken Irish.
Oh yes, And I’m sure you do wear a tool belt. Again, if you hadn’t failed after graduating BC, would you be here obsessing with ND? Nope, you’d focus on talking with BC alums?
Show me an ND grad who gives a crap abotu BC to show up on a BC blogsite and I’ll show you 14,000 residents of Chestnut Hill who couldn’t get into to Notre Dame. Ha Ha Ha.
C-Dog,
Don’t let him fool you. That tool belt is his prize possession. Can’t install gutters without tools.
And who would know more about gutters than a BC grad?
Gutters is his life, and of cousrse, the occasional down spout.
Oh Anus Eagle, you’re just jealous because people actually care about ND football. When will you learn that not all college football fans are like BC’s drunken louts, who if asked to name a BC player would start to say “Doug Fl..” before stopping themselves and realizing that, holy cow, does he not play for BC anymore? And then they’ll go back to fretting about their beloved Red Sox again.
I wonder, Anus, did you similarly proclaim the end of USC football, let’s take the 20-year period from 1981-2001 (when Pete Carroll took over):
2001 6-6-0
2000 5-7-0
1999 6-6-0
1998 8-5-0
1997 6-5-0
1996 6-6-0
1995 9-2-1
1994 8-3-1
1993 8-5-0
1992 6-5-1
1991 3-8-0
1990 8-4-1
1989 9-2-1
1988 10-2-0
1987 8-4-0
1986 7-5-0
1985 6-6-0
1984 9-3-0
1983 4-6-1
1982 8-3-0
1981 9-3-0
Wow, not so great, eh? Lots of 5 and 6 loss seasons in there, huh? No way that “harmless little” USC program was coming back to national prominence, right? No doubt that ND has the wrong coach. And there’s no doubt that the right coach can turn this thing around.
What I wouldn’t want is a program, like BC, that reeks of apathy. Good luck with that, Anus.
Hate to break the news to you Joe, but ND is BC. Actually, ND should strive to be BC, which has had something like 12 consecutive winning seasons, and is currently 7-3 in a rebuilding year.
Also, as I type these words, your new coaching candidates are already saying “thanks but no thanks,” as Jon Gruden just signed a multiyear deal with ESPN, and Jim Harbough is about to sign an extension with Stanford (check out ESPN.com right now). Think those deals have anything to do with the vultures circling Charlie’s fat head? How does it feel to be played?
Mr. Angry Eagle,
Any word on interest from a Mr. Bud Grant??
Millie: Last time I saw Mr. Bud Grant was in Columbus, OH at the USC-OSU game. Perhaps they’ve already beaten ND to the punch and are going to replace Mr. James Tressel after the Rose Bowl. It won’t be same on the sidelines without James in that red sweater.
ND would have to lower it’s academic ratings to be BC. I haven’t run into any fellow ND alums with wasted careers. But we know of one BC alum right off the bat, that’s you Angry Eagle. Working for Food yet?
Joe,
Not sue what he means when he says “ND is BC” Is that supposed to be the ultimate insult. Not sure. But according to his original post, mential illness runs ramant in his family. But how about all thos BC facts. I never new. I guess because I never cared!
Joe,
Do you think his aunt went crazy because of the inbreading or was it the bad bathtub gin?
If BC is in a “rebuilding” year at 7-3, that must mean that BC is always “rebuilding” since BC always has at least 3 losses.
1996: 5-7
1997: 4-7
1998: 4-7
1999: 8-4
2000: 7-5
2001: 8-4
2002: 9-4
2003: 8-5
2004: 9-3
2005: 9-3
2006: 10-3
2007: 11-3
2008: 9-5
Has anyone ever noticed that Notre Dame is ALWAYS in the headlines. I mean it doesn’t matter if we win or if we lose. Hardly a day goes by that we aren’t on ESPN. Seems the College football world is ND fans or ND haters.
We just lost to Pitt. We have more prime time media than #1 Florida or #2 Alabama. People around the country are capitvated by what’s going on at the University of Notre Dame. Our blogs are absolutly overflowing with people from all over the country. Some positive, some negitive, but everyone has some type of feeling. Everybody wants to be involved.
We haven’t won a national title in 20 years but people everyware are still compelled to voice their opinion about the Irish. It’s amazing.
I guess the only thing worst than “Bad Publicity” is no publicity at all.
You ND fans are absolutely adorable! So cute when you get so mad about your harmless little football team! You remind me of the crazy old aunt at family gatherings who still mumbles things about President Kennedy. Newsflash: your program is just an average, middle of the pack D1 program, and has been such for years and years. I can’t believe you fools were actually talking National Championship and running the table at the beginning of the year. My god, you are unbelievable. The entire college football world just looks at you and shakes their heads. It truly is amazing, a National Championship 2 years after going 3-9, 1 year removed from 6-6 and losing to lowly Syracuse at home. WTF? Get a grip. When will you accet your medicority? Will it be 2020, when you have had 30 years of so so football? 2030? When? When will the NCs and Heismans won in the 1940s be ancient history? Amazing. You guys are totally embarassing. And the coaching carousel is hilarious. You talk about candidates as if they are all drooling to end up with that dead-end, coaches graveyard of a job. Hilarious! Can’t wait for the redux of 2004, when all the candidates on the message boards say thanks but no thanks before they are even interviewed, and then you end up with another deer in the healights, 7th choice like Soundbite Charlie (“9-3 isn’t good enough,” “decided schematic advantage,” “we’re going to be nasty”). This will be great theater for the rest of the college football world. Pure comedy.
No shit. Nobody was predicting a National Championship other than Lou Holtz.
Brian Kelly is the name mentioned most. Let’s just make sure we get a PROVEN COLLEGE COACH….no more experimentation! It would be great to get Urb or Pete or Stoops or a Saban….but who is really going to leave a great situation for this mess.
Jim Harbaugh is a winner at every level with proven experience. Has the NFL connection too.
Gruden may be the sexy choice, but again has no college experience. Plus, is he really a great coach or a better commentator?? The only thing he did was take Dungy’s team and win the Super Bowl. He is the best on Monday Night Football since the Dandy Don/Howard Cossell era.
Harbaugh will deliver Charlie’s parting gift on Nov 28th.
Doc,
Don’t get me started on the Steelers today! Their redzone O reminded me of the Irish yesterday against Cinci. I watched the game with two ND grads who are from the Steel Town. Perhaps we jinxed the Stillers by talking more about the previous night’s game at Heinz Field and did not concentrate enough on the game there Sun. afternoon.
BTW: I like the Cubs. I just think they’re irrelevant and mediocre because their fans tolerate that. That’s what I don’t want to happen with ND football.
I’m not from Pitts. or Chi Town. I grew up in Miami but have been a Steelers and Irish fan since I got to the US. (I hate Miami sports fans; they’re front runners and thus I find it hard to root for the local teams down here.)
I want to go back to the Stoops rumor once again. At first I thought no way, but after pondering it for awhile, it’s starting to make some sense on why he would consider leaving Oklahoma.
He was first asked to interview when Davie was fired, but it was common knowledge that Davie said you counldn’t win at ND because of the admission standards, schedule, and whatever other excuse he had. Besides, he was becoming a legend at OU.
Didn’t want to interview after Ty was fired because he saw that the cupboard was bear and it’s obvious you couldn’t recruit with the big boys at ND anymore.
Fast forward to today. He is feeling the heat at OU because the fans got spoiled. If they’re not in the NC game, the season is a bust. Competes in a pretty competitive conference and has to compete with Texas to get recruits. He now sees the ND job and it looks more attractive. Charlie has proved you can recruit at a very high level at ND. He would have an explosive offense to work with with Christ or Clausen at QB, Floyd and possibly Tate at WR, Rudoplh at TE, and Allen, Riddick, and Wood at RB. Remember, OU set a record last year for the most explosive offense in college football history. What could he do with this offense coming back? I think he would be able to save most of the recruits as well.
I’m sure he also has peeked at ND’s schedule next year and thought if I can keep this team in tact, I’d have a better shot at a NC at ND than at OU. If he won, he would become an instant legend in college football history…the man who brought ND back.
There is something about an ND legacy that might cause him to come. He has the players, he knows you can recruit at ND, and he has a favorable schedule. This doesn’t seem so crazy anymore.
Need a guy currently at the college level. Brian Kelly is the guy no doubt about it. We certainly dont need another pro style coach out of touch with the emotion and passion at the college level.
I don’t think there is any chance at landing Bob Stoops (but that may just be me), or for that matter Brian Kelly…… at this point I have no idea who the guy is, but it does need to be a guy that was/is a head coach and at the college level.
Lou and Ara were no names too at that point in ND fotball history. Kelly or bust!
Here are my top 5 candidates to replace our Charlie:
1. Bud Grant, Minnesota Vikings former Head Coach
2. Bill Parcells, Miami Dolphins Pres.
3. Walt Michaels, former NY Jets Head Coach
4. John Madden, former Oakland Raiders Head Coach
5. Dick Vermeil, former KC Chiefs Head Coach
What do you think of these fine young men. Legends boys, think legends. Wake up the echoes Joe. Old Millie has put together a list of legends. Think legends Chris, Steel Rob, and my favorite blogger Joe the Knucklehead. Lets not knucklehead around with no-names. Legends,legends,legends, legends, legends.
Also consider Bill Cowher former Steeler’s Head Coach.
another College Headcoach could be TCU’s own
Questions.
Was Robert Hughes injured? He had been turning in some pretty good performances of late. Even with the return of Allen, I thought he would get at least a few touches. Does Mike Ragone have the kooties? Yeah, Rudolph is out, but Ragone was at one time slated to be the starting Tight end. Did the coaches just give up on him. Shouldn’t he have been taught how to catch the ball and not just some blocking assignments? Did he even get one pass attempt his way? What’s up with the punting and place kicking game? Ruffer hits a long field goal, then misses an extra point? At least number #22 looked like he knew where to line up this week and what his assignment was. Of course the rest of the defense looked lost agian. Going a whole game without getting a sack is unforgiviable. Has anyone heard or seen Shaq Evans? It’s like the cold war and trying to get info from behind the iron curtain. I like Robbie Paris but he looks worn down. He had a fumble agianst Navy, and a drop agianst PITT.
Then it looked like he ran on the field when he shouldn’t have and cost us a timeout.
Weis is like the Rodney Dangerfield of college football. He never gets a call. He never gets a ruling. He never gets a fair shake on the road. I know that PITT is a good team. But 1 measly penalty for 5 yards agianst PITT. Come on. These are football players not choir boys. CW gets no respect. Maybe because he doesn’t demand any.
What is it that Jim Harbaugh has that allows his team to put up 55 agiasnt USC on the road. The last time we played there it took us 3 quarters to just get a first down.
We have the ball and two and a half minutes in which to drive the field for the go ahead TD. Why are we stil commiting 15 yard penalties that kill any hope of a game winning drive? Why does Corwin Brown come out on Wednesday to comment on the Navy game. Shouldn’t his attention by that time been on the next game agianst PITT?
If anyone out there has the answers I would sure love to hear them.
Shazam-
I was asking the exact same questions during the game. Where in the hell was Hughes? Did he ever even set foot on the field?
Like I said before, the terrible call at the end of the game did not lose it for us. But, if I was Charlie, I would have been thrown out of the game at that point. He should have let the officials have everything and anything that he could think of after that call….
But alas, we all know this program was MUCH bigger problems than that bad call…
Darn good questions for us Monday Morning Quarterbacks.
Hughes – no answer. I don’t remember even seeing him on the sidelines.
Ragone – spent most of the night trying to block the Pitt front four and trying to shake off dropping the shovel pass on the 2 point conversion. I like Mike, but he needs to work on catching the ball first and then holding on to the ball after contact.
Kicking – I read somewhere that Tausch got injured during pregame warm-ups? That would be something you want to keep under your hat until the game is over. Traveling team only had one punter. We brought the multi-tasking place kicker holder. (Nice pass he threw in the USC game, but he should be on “automatic pilot” to receive a long snap on a punt.)
Shaq – again, no idea. I would assume he is not at the level of Tate, Floyd, Kamara yet. I like Robbie Parris, too, but he hasn’t been the same since getting his bell rung against USC. He has a lot of grit and I hope he can have a great senior day on Saturday.
Karma – Complain about a chop block on Wednesday, get called for one on Saturday . . . I have a new “most unfavorite Big East official” after watching that game. Lucky for him, Brent Musberger was calling the game so I had someone else to channel my anger at.
Harbaugh – I am somewhat impressed with what he has been able to do at Stanford. He recognizes talent, puts in the right spot and motivates his players to do the best they possibly can. He is relentless when it comes to winning – we saw that two years ago when during a battle between a 3-7 Stanford team and 2-9 Notre Dame, he had a quarterback get a “possible concussion”, his reserve quarterback then went down and then he put the quarterback with the “rung bell” back in to try and win a game that had no bowl implications. (I wouldn’t risk the brain of a Stanford graduate to try and win a football game.) For as much as Nana likes his size 34 waist, he will end up back at Michigan in a few years. I’ve had November 28th circled on my calendar as toughest game of the year from day one. Stanford is trying to extend his contract as I am blogging, I am sure, as he only has two years left on it, which is about the amount of time Michigan will give Rich Rod before he gets the ax. Stealing a Stanford Commit (Tai-ler Jones) last month in the recruiting war will get him even more focused on throwing everything at us they have.
UConn on Saturday – two weeks to prepare for us, a lot of tape to watch to see where we are vulnerable, and a quarterback with a 320 pound chip on his shoulder looking to spoil his former classmates’ senior day. Bad combination. I hope I am wrong.
Brent Musburger? What a douche nozzell.
Pitt’s Dion Lewis breaks off a 50 yard run to make the score 27-9 with 12 and a half minutes remaining and he says
“This is a great win for Dave Wanstet as Pitt improves to 9-1” Then Clausen completes a drive with a 18 yard TD pass to Tate. The Irish force a punt which Tate then returns for a TD and he says “Look out, here come the Irish”
I’d like to whack him upside his head with a sack of shit!
Great imagery for a dull Monday morning. I especially enjoyed the comments on your Jim Harbaugh post further up the page as well. If you can ever pull off that “sack” thing, try and catch it on video for the rest of us “Brent Fans”.
If it is going on YouTube, I better make it a flaming sack of shit!
Pay a big time COLLEGE coach to come help us at Notre Dame!! We could pay the coach with 10% of Notre Dame’s merchandising revenue.
They make 5 million a week in merchandise at Notre Dame.
Just like G.W.Bush…..Anyone is better than Weis!
Hey Jack, it’s obvious you don’t know diddly squat about football, or baseball for that matter. Learn how to conjucate a verb you Moron!
Tom,
Way to insult me. I really appreciate it. I go on this blog to talk to ND fans about ND since I live in Penn State land. Your comment was not appreciated. I am sorry if I am not as smart as you. I got an idea, since you know so much asshole you coach the team.
Jack, you’re such a big meany!! BOO HOO!!
IF they ARE the yankees of college football than spend the money for a great coach you annoying idiot!!
Money talks. Just ask the Yankees. Perfectly legal. Find a great coach and pay him accordingly.
Being a fan in the Al east, ND are the Yankees of college football, stop pussy footing around and really make everyone hate you.
The Chicago Sun-Times has written that the candidates are starting to line up for the ND job. They said that the Iowa coach and Bob Stoops have expressed an interest in the job.
I do not know who their source was, but they wrote that Bob Stoops has publically expressed an interest in the job.
Would be exciting if it was true, time will tell.
Do you have the url for that article?
found it…interesting.
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/colleges/1885241,CST-SPT-nd15.article
Let me get this straight: Bob Stoops from Oklahoma, who the Irish AD called in December of 2008 and in December of 2004 to discuss working in South Bend, is suddenly interested in the job?
I doubt it. I could be wrong. God knows I have been wrong about Notre Dame all season long. But, my hunch is that Stoops stays at the University of Oklahoma. To paraphrase Bobby Knight, if you get to a University of a state, you’ll get all the resources you need to be successful. He wouldn’t leave to come to ND. Of course, if he did, that would be great, great news. He’s a magnificent recruiter, coach and, as far as I can tell, guy. That is a good combination at Notre Dame. Right now, we have a decent recruiter who has the kids to be successful, but cannot deliver.
With respect to Ferentz, he may be interested in the job and we should be interested in him. He seems like a decent guy and has brought Iowa back from the lower tier of the Big Ten. He’s coached a number of great players and has done really well at Iowa. Unlike Stoops, I haven’t heard, in the past, that ND was interested in Ferentz so I doubt the source is just sort of making this up.
Assuming the article is true, I think either man would be a tremendous improvement over Coach Weis. Sure I have defended him on this board and elsewhere, but after five years of losing close games and losing bloody games, either Stoops or Ferentz would be a great addition.
Top tier, D-1, coaches won’t come to ND any more. A new coach next year would be, what, the 4th in 10 years? Scratch stability and loyalty off the list. What ND offers now is money and a fading but great legacy. You’re either going to get a mercenary (e.g. Petrino) or a leading coach from a lesser conference. The latter strategy worked for OSU with Tressel and UC with Kelly.
With so-called “ND fans” like DocBinge79, who needs enemies. These people are immune to truth and logic. They live in a fantasy world where to call a spade a spade is a crime and a reason for an ad hominem insult. No logic. No reason. Just resort to insults. I for one am saddened to have to share the ND universe with classless and clueless people like this.
BTW, DocBinge79, I always love how these tough guys talk crap on blogs when they wouldn’t be man enough to ball up and do it in person. Nothing like internet guts and a screen name to hide behind.
If you want to talk serious ND football I’m all ears. If you want to name call, then go back to grade school!
Hey SteelFanRob- what year did you graduate from Notre Dame?
You don’t have to be an ND grad to be a loyal supporter. If you’re an ND grad, then you should know better than to resort to ad hominem attacks as a substitute for sound reasoning. Regardless, if you’re a loyal son of ND, then you should want what’s best fr the football program. If you think that’s keeping CW, so be it. Just make an informed defense of your position instead of calling people names, which is the very definition of sophmoric!
Fundamentally this team is killing me. Tackling is fundamental, ball security is fundamental, blocking is fundamental, running the ball is fundamental. So tell me out of the fundamentals I mentioned how would you grade our team?? We have enough talent to get the ball to Tate who has single handily kept us in games or won games for us. Everyone wants to give JC the credit– not me Tate has been to cornerstone of our wins, and has kept us in the game(s) late.
I have supported Weis all the years however even my “hope” is diminishing…I was hoping he would pull his head out of his *** …but I don’t see it…and two games away we have a very talented hard working Stanford team– this game is one that I circled at the beginning of the season knowing it would be a tough one…
Jack – The ND offense is especially nice watching if you dont have a DVR. Its the same plays over and over and over again. The fades guaranteed on 1st, 2nd or 3rd and goal. Bet the house that play gets called. The swing passes that take forever to develop. The vaunted draw play on 3rd and 19….the jump balls..I have never seen any deception or any genius in Charlies offense in routes or play calling. I am amazed folks are still so enthralled with it. Bottomline, when Charlie arrived – he simply threw the ball more. Thats about it.
Exactly, they still can’t run worth a damn. They are a better than average throwing team. That’s it.
It’s all about execution and the offensive line. While the line was improved, it could not hold up under pressure. I don’t know why you blame the play calling when it’s obvious the O-line was still sub-standard; the same for the defensive line.
Good point- games are won and lost in the trenches!
One more. How many receivers have been hit “in full stride” rather than when they turn around at the flagstick or elsewhere? Minimal “yards after catch.” Best play of the year: Crist hitting Goodman in stride for 6 just before his season-ending injury.
Chris,
The problem with Weis is he tries to out think ever team rather than running what works. He was runing the delay draw with AA for 8 yds a clip. He was running the veer at 5 yds a clip. He tries to pass to much and that is his problem. Here is the deal, if you can run at 5yds clip you don’t need to throw. Why don’t the stupid offensive co understand. I would rather jamb the ball down you throat thoat than pass, and this is coming from a high school QB who loved to pass. Running game and defense wins championships.
I think our new AD is not an idiot and will make the right hire. Kevin White was a jackass and screwed the program up. I like watching CW’s offense, but the defense is a mess.
I literally can’t wait to watch the Stanford game in 2 weeks, its gonna be hilarious watching this defense try to arm-tackle gerhart. Every time he touches the ball it should go for 6 lol
Thanks a lot for this well written post. But I had difficulty navigating around your site as I kept getting 502 bad gateway error. Just thought to let you know.
NA NA NA NA
NA NA NA NA
Hey Hey Hey
Goodbye
Hate to beat a dead horse, if you have a $7 billion endowment you can have anyone as coach that you have the Will to hire. Hopefully, the alum that created that endowment will give the admin a boot in the ass to do it right this time.
Right on!!!
We’ll get lucky and beat UCONN and CW is a genius again and ND is “back on track” just like all the other BS
Reading between the lines Swarbrick is going to can Weis at the end of the year. In typical fashion this defense gives up a long run to seal the game. How can our team score a ton of points in a short amount of time, but play like shit the rest of the game. Another penalty on a drive for a chop block kills it in the fourth quarter. The offensive line has a ton of starts and yet still getting penalties and still giving up sacks. It is time to end the Weis era and get new coach. I wish Charlie the best, but in the end we need some one who can lead this team. I think Kelly is the best option, but we need to get on this right away and the administration needs to address the players after they fire Weis and make sure they stay loyal to ND and not to a coach.
I would like to stop and thank Jim Harbaugh for putting it in our face that there is NO REASON that ND can not succeed after the thumping his “too smart to win” put on SC.
Big time coaches will come to Notre Dame. It is one of the 10 best jobs in the country. Don’t forget, USC and Oklahoma were irrelevant in the ’90’s. Alabama was terrible for the last 10 years. Nebraska is terrible now but they will come back. Notre Dame was down until Holtz showed up. It can and will happen again. The admin needs to take it seriously. You can’t just sit back and wait for them to show up. They took a lazy approach with Meyer and look what happened.
The guy who turns this thing around will have a statue built for him.
Hey folks I have an idea lets ask Bill Cower he an intense guy hes in your face he will tell you how it is…. No history ties with ND but I think it would be cool.
Erik- I think Cower would be a heck of a hire…intense, structured, big name as a HEAD coach, and a ring…
Chris, why am I full of crap? Please give me one reason why any big time coach would come to Norte Dame anymore.
If memory serves me, Holtz was run out of town for…Bob Davie. Ty Willingham was was the second or third choice after the O’Leary mess. We all know that Weis is here because Meyer turned them down.
I agree anyone would be a hero and Kelly would be a perfect fit, but the only thing that concerns me more than ND laying a big egg the rest of the year is knowing that it is going to be extremely hard to get anyone to come here.
This job has been hard to fill since Holtz and I don’t think it is any easier now. If they do fire Charlie, the administration better take their time and do it right. Find someone that can be a long-term solution, not a quick fix.
Also, I think it’s time for ND to think about joining a conference. It hasn’t hurt Penn State or Miami. I’m hearing all the complaining about next years schedule, but I think that is going to be the norm from now own. Big time teams are not going to schedule ND as a non-conference game. Therefore, we are going to start playing the Western Michigan’s of the world more often.
I would love to think that we can hire one of these up and coming coaches, but I’m just as confident we can’t as most of you are that Charlie can’t be a successful head coach. I’m just looking at the past to make my judgement. We haven’t been able to land a “Big Time” coach since Holtz.
The only hope may be that the cupboard isn’t totally bare due to Weis’s recruiting and the fact that if a coach does turn this team around, they will be a legend in college football coaching. You will not get that kind of legacy at Cincy or TCU.
You certainly make some great points Mr Scav. I am sure you must not have read my earlier commentary. You say an up and coming coach needs to come to Notre Dame. I see this a little differently. I think we need a seasoned coach. One who has been around the block a few times. I am up there in the years and longing for a lady in my life. I have no desire for a young woman to take on that role. There is too much uncertainty. Instead I long for a women who has been around the block and had plenty of relationships. Shall we say a seasoned woman. I think I may have found it actually on this board with Midred. I do not know where it will go but I think we have something special. And it all comes back to the matter of Mildred being a nana and a seasoned woman. A mature woman who knows what relationships are all about. This is what I am saying should also apply to Notre Dame. This is why they need someone like John Madden, Mr Bill Parcells would make a fine choice as well. These men have been through the rigors of media and high profile jobs. Before his stint in Dallas, Mr Parcells handled the job of the NY Giants. We all know what the NY press is like. Notre Dame would be a piece of cake for him. Here is another choice that could be an option but I ask you to sit down before I say it as it will knock you off your feet. Mr Donald Shula. He is also retired so he most likely is getting tired of playing bingo and golf. He can not possibly get the same rush out of winning a “round robin” bingo match that he would get out of stomping over USC. Yep. USC. He along with any of the other seasoned veteran coaches is what this fine university needs in this dire moment. We do not need a up and coming coach who has never been on such a grand stage. We need a veteran which is what Mr Holtz, Mr Devine and Mr Parseghian all were. They were the Parcells, Shulas and Maddens of their day. Let’s make it happen my friend Mr Scav.
One word Scav, BRAND. The definition of brand at the college level IS ND. Regardless of the past 10-12 years there is no bigger visability and fan base in college football than Notre Dame. Ironically, thanks to Weis’ incompetence, the stock in the position of head coach at ND just rose through the roof. ALso true, what is different this time around is the cupboards are not empty. Solicit Kelly and he will come – oh yes he will come. He is definitely the guy to get. Look what he has done with a bunch of no names really…in his 3rd year he is 10-0 and ranked 5th in the country. He does much with very little also acknowledging he is recruiting primarily in Ohio States back yard…
Chris, I hope you’re right. I would love for us to get an established college head coach and Brian Kelly fits that description. I’m just looking back at the previous coaching searches and I’m not that confident.
However, regardless of what happens, I do believe Charlie was the right man at the right time. He made ND a place for offensive skill position players once again. He restocked a totally bare cupboard. He made ND relevant once again by getting to 2 BCS games. The downside is he is not the man to bring ND back into the Elite. I think ND is a lot closer than it was and that may be what lures a great coach in this time.
I’m sure in the past, other canidates saw that the recruiting was down but now they have seen some good recruiting come into ND and maybe a name brand coach can get Jimmy and the recriuts to stay. Charlie has blown up the myth that you can’t recruit at ND and has made them a national recruiting power once again.
Charlie has made ND relevant again, it’s time for someone else to make them ELITE.
I disagree – recruiting aside Charlie has done nothing to move the program ahead in terms of recapturing glory of past years. Weis was not the go to guy at the time Willingham was let go – only available. ND football has regressed further under Weis to more of a doormat mode than a force to be dealt with. Losses to teams with painfully less talent have become the norm. Like Willingham – Charlie had good sound bites that never materialized. Tough – disciplined – nasty comes to mind. There are division II teams that live and breathe that mantra every game – Charlie has made it into a punchline for our opponents.
I have watched Brian Kelly on the sidelines for a couple years now since his name has been tossed around. This guy has exactly what the Irish need. He is o nonsense, coaches 60 minutes, always looking to step on a throat, great play calling and he is in charge of the entire team including his other coaches. I saw him dressing down his defensive coordinator during the West Virginia game on Friday – the guy has major game face on the sidelines and has that uncanny ability to get kids to believe in him and themselves. What his players dont have in talent they make up for in heart. This is the perfect time to get this guy.
There are no other college football programs out there that are as desirable as Notre Dame. Sure, the weather sucks, the fans run coaches out of town for losing to Michigan, the alumni refuses to accept anything other than national titles year-in and year-out, the administration throws coaches under the bus, each of the last three coaches has found ND their dead-end, but I’m sure that Brian Kelley would love the job.
Please. Steve Spurrier would be nice if he would leave the safety of South Carolina. He won a title at Florida. He’s coached in the pros. He’s proven he can recruit anywhere. He would be solid. He’d never leave, though.
And, btw, who did USC get to become relevant? How about Oklahoma? Where was Stoops before OU? An established coach doesn’t want this job and probably won’t bring the program “back” to the BCS.
I hope I am wrong. But, looking at how ever search since Holtz has gone, it’s a job few actually want.
I can’t believe I’m agreeing with Teo on this one. As for his rosy prediction of two more wins to end the season, last week he said we win out by winning all three. Next week, if we lose to UConn,we’ll hear about how we’ll win out and beat Stanford. Lose to Stanford and finish 6-6 with four straig loses, no problem, we’ll win our crappy bowl game and Charlie can stay. Lose the bowl game, there will always be one more chance somewhere. And on and on it goes, loss after mind-numbing loss, excuse after lame excuse….
Brand is a fine word. Tell me a little about yourself. Chris, what about a Mr. James Harbaugh? Mr. James is a fine young man. Cute too. I bet you he wears size 34 waist. Will look better in his ND gear than our Charlie. When Mr. James wears those sunglasses it reminds me of Maverick from Top Gun. I know if feel the “Need for Speed.” You know what I mean Chris. Do not let Joe From Dublin know about our blogging. He is a little clingy. One of those cuddle types. Lets just say old Millie needs to have numerous drivers. What about Harbaugh, he knows how to win with high academic standards?
?????
Interesting & entertaining suggestion – no more Hawaii Bowl under Madden’ watch
Mr Power Run the Ball:
I think you make several great points. Who should be the coach of the great Fighting Irish? That Mr Power is the question. I have a name for you and it is a big one. Are you sitting down for this as I am confident it will floor you? JOHN MADDEN. Yes JOHN MADDEN. You probably do not know this but before he was a commentator, he was a Super Bowl winning coach with the Raiders of Oakland. That is right. The Super Bowl!!! Now I ask you this. What is bigger than the Supper Bowl? I will tell you what. The National Championship of Collegiate Football. The great news on this is that Mr Madden is retired as a broadcaster. The iron is hot and we (Notre Dame Nation) need to strike while it is hot. How do we get Mr Madden to come and lead our team back to greatness? Here is an idea. Mr Madden has a fear of flying and travels via a bus. Perhaps we give him a Notre Dame Bus as part of his contract with unlimited gasoline for his voyages. I know the price of gas is on the rise but I think it is worth it if we can get him to deliver a National Championship. why squabble over a few cents a gallon if we can lure in the best coach in the world. Let’s make it happen.
Oh Joe, you are the one who should be making the decisons. I vote for Joe from Dublin as the new AD. Work it Joe, work it.
I have another name like Mr. Madden. How about Bud Grant. That’s right, Mr. Viking himself waking up the echoes. With his steel jaw and tight buns, he would, well, my gosh I am getting light headed. Help me Joe.
Milly;
Imagine me as the AD with you as my first lady. We would right this ship. It would be a dream but I do not think it is a realistic dream.
May be Mr Bill Parcells would come on board as our coach. Or Mr Bud Grant as you suggest. The possibilities are endless for us.
I have to say that I regret some of the terrible things I said about you earlier. You are by no means a hussy. If nothing else may be you can be my hussy. You are perhaps the finest woman I have ever met. My heart just pitter patters every time you respond to me. Speaking of pitter patter, can you imagine if the great Bill Parcells was the coach with Bud Grant as you suggest as his assistant. Now that would be the all time pitter patter of any Notre Dame fan. When can we meet? I long for your delightful discussions of ND football. I promise no more talk of that hooligan Mr Davies.
Not totally unlike the Navy game. Of course Pitt is a very good football team- I give them props. But like the Navy game, too little too late. Amazing run back by Tate- he continues to amaze. But when you don’t score a touchdown until the 4th qtr.- c’mon. Why is ND the only team that I’ve ever seen in my lifetime that misses extra points or gets them blocked? Think that’s 4 times now this year. I’ve never even heard of anything like that.
The call that was overturned at the end of the game was one of the worst I’ve ever seen. How is it a fumble when the ball flies forward 10 yds? As bad or worse than the Michigan game calls. BUT, that’s sure as hell not what lost the game. Like alot of us have said over and over again- the Navy loss was more than just a loss. It was a catastrophe and sapped any momentum this team had. It is truly a program in turmoil. These kids are human beings. They know their entire coaching staff is about to get canned. They know how bad their defense really is etc.
This program is a trainwreck and it’s time to clean it off the tracks. I will continue to root for these kids every week because I love them. And I feel very very sorry for them that they have the coaches that they do. I hope they can regroup and get a W against UConn…
I know, the call was AWFUL. It did not change the outcome of the game, but, like you, I have never seen a fumble travel 10 yards on the fly.
I appreciate your optimism, I too wanted a terrfic season and that CW would figure it out and bring stability to the program. But 18 year old kids are very resilient and they will jump on board with the new coach. I find it hard to believe that if Gruden is named coach all 18 commitments wil not stay, heck they might get even more to show up. Gruden is dynamimc, he was the HC of a Super Bowl winning team etc. If it isn’t Gruden then Brian Kelly or whomever will create optimism about the future and on we go.
Remember, Brady Quinn was real upset that Ty was let go. Now he is best friends with CW. Young men just need somebody to lead them. Honestly, I think the firing should happen today. Get on with it, rip the band aid off and end the speculation. The unknown is our greatest risk with recruiting. Every kid in the country is being told by other coaches, “Why would you want to go there, the coach probably will not last another year.”
End the speculation! Place an interim tag on Corwin and get the feelers out now. Heck, you could begin negotiations with Gruden right now and find out if he is interested. Remember, UF hired Urban before his New Years Day bowl game.
I love the Irish, but I don’t want to watch another year of this. At least with a new coach we don’t have to hear after every loss about the future of the program. 5 years is a long time to prove yourself. There is no evidence this will get better.
I know the schedule looks easier on paper next year, but that is what we thought this year. Other than Nevada and WSU, we handled nobody. Every game came down to the last minute. You can’t win all those games forever.
The CW era is over. I thank him for recruiting his a$$ off and the passion he brought to the job. I wish his staff the best of luck in landing on their feet, but ND is bigger than one man. This is a program on the brink, we are at a crossroads. The big tough decisions need to be made.
Go IRISH!!!
C-Dog yes I did notice. The defense gave up in the 3rd quarter. Teo all good points. It’s time to join a conference, botton line. Big East. Perhaps they could get to a BCS game thru a conference. Yeah there will be the $$$$ arguement and TV contracts. Get over it, move into the real college football world and perhaps you can attract a Kelly under these circumstances. Sidenote – Tate, Clausen and Floyd playing for the likes of USC would all be on the short list right now for the Heisman!!
Football success is 90% coaching— ND has the ability to get the talent
who is going to dominate the weak and upset the powerful????
I don’t want next yr’s coach to be picked for any other reason but he will be a Great football coach who will be good for the program. He needs to coach with class beat the teams u are suppose to beat and find a way to upset a team or two throughtout the season….
I don’t want to look at only there history of coaching records or have them smooth talk themselves into being a great coach…..
Is Gruden a good football coach? Why?
Is Brian Kelly a good football coach? Why?
Is Boise state coach a good football coach? why?
Why is C. Weiss a good football coach?
why is tenata a great defensive coord.?
Preface this with CW must go..
I feel like it was the best game ND played all yr… Notre Dame actually took what was given to them with the fade stops and the quick stops. Allen can get through a hole unlike hughes. They just didn’t do enough on defense, but We know how bad our defense is… We were still a play behind the offense when it came to defensive play calling but if it wasn’t for a couple of phenomenal catches by 82 I believe ND wins that game… Pitt was definitely the most complete team they played this yr. but who cares after u lose to a terrible Michigan and Navy team and a weak usc and struggle with every other team u play…..
Here is why ND is 6-4 and Pittsburgh is 9-1….
Pittsburgh puts pressure on the QB with four d-linemen. ND does not put pressure on the QB with four d-linemen. Let me type that again… Pittsburgh puts pressure on the QB with four d-linemen. ND does not put pressure on the QB with four d-linemen.
What does that say about ND’s offensive line? They are holding ND back too.
We had another unfortunate loss last night. We stunk in the third quarter, when the game was decided. Unfortunately, the kids really didn’t show in the third quarter. There were so many dropped passes last night. I mean, again, Weis cannot catch the ball, but clearly his kids are not focused right now. They’re all wondering why they aren’t beating up on Navy and hanging with Pitt. And, Weis’ job is to get them to stop wondering, PREPARE and move ahead to victory. That’s not happening. Having said that, of course, I have to say that it was at least a ballgame against a top ten opponent. I know, five years in you don’t want any moral victories. But, this team has improved over last year. It’s just that they haven’t improved enough.
With respect to the ND Job, I was out with some Big Ten buddies last night (and a Southern Cal fan). As we watched the game, the topic of the ND job came up. Everyone — eight guys — said that they would never take that job. “Why?” I asked. “It’s the best job in sports.” Their universal response was laughter. One guy, who I respect and who went to Michigan, said, “By the time you get the job at Notre Dame, there is only one place you can go. Down.” The expectations, the alumni, the academic standards, the focus on winning national titles every year is just unreasonable. When I said that we just wanted to return to competitiveness, he laughed. “Just after the Michigan game — a game you should have won — you wanted to fire Weis. Nobody wants that job.”
I have no idea if this is true in the college football industry. I imagine some real money will attract the best coaches. But, I can see the point. We have no conference title to win and even if we did that would never satisfy the fan base.
I’m as tired of losing these big games as everyone else. And it’s not just the big games, as we lost to both Michigan and Navy this year.
My prediction is that we win the last two games and Weis returns. It’s not because I think he should return — I don’t know. I have been an advocate of CW for a long time, but I am tired of losing year in and year out. At the same time, if I were Brian Kelly (everyone’s favorite coach), I would stand clear of Notre Dame and find my way into the Big Ten. I suspect Weis returns because Notre Dame is going a different route this time.
Scav – you’re full of crap! Anybody coming in here is a hero! Kelly would be the perfect fit. You would see a total 180 next year.
Thank God we had the schematic advantage last night…….worst offensive play calling yet from Chuckers….the worst.
Did anyone notice that the defense seemed to give up in the 3rd quarter. There was one run for Pitt that Sergio Brown looked like he was blowing a tackle on purpose. His attempt looked like he was faking. It’s almost as if the defense is saying, “We know we’re not prepared and the coaches can’t prepare us.” Even Teo looked confused and frustrated.
After last nights game, I am ready to admit that ND needs a new direction. After struggling thru the Ty years, I wanted ND to have an explosive offense. We did that with the hiring of CW as the ND offensive record books were re-written.
However, there are three phases to a football team and we are not that good in the other 2 phases. Also, this team simply lacks the emotion needed in the college game. For too long, Charlie has treated this as a business and not a collegiate sport. I was looking for a spark or a sense of urgency last night and all I saw was a team that played tight.
So, the next 2 weeks will be the NFL auditions for Jimmy and Golden and the rest of the team will probably just go thru the motions. I’m sure the recruits are starting to get a little nervous as well.
Here is my concern, who would want this job right now anyway? You do not need to go to ND to land a big time job like the past. You can go to Cincy, TCU, Pitt, Stanford, or a number of other schools and be a major player in College Football. That’s why I don’t think Kelly will come here. He is in a BCS Conference that is very winnable each year and he is worshipped were he is at.
I think we should go after Patterson of TCU. He is still coaching at a school that doesn’t get an automatic berth to the BCS and has to compete with Boise and Utah for the 1 at large birth. He may be willing to come to ND to coach on the big stage. The have one of the top offenses in the country and their defense is only allowing around 12 points a game. They crushed Utah yesterday and are currently the #4 team in the BCS. That is better than Cincy.
Again, we can throw out names like Patterson, Kelly, and even hope that Meyer would consider, but ND Nation we must face the facts that Charlie may be as good as it gets.
Graduation stat. We can’t compete when other schools don’t have to focus on education. Just football!
Mildred
I am sorry about the angry words that I had for you. I thought that you had left me like Charlie did in the game last night. Truth be told, you always had me at hello! I have never felt a fire in my loins for anyone like I feel for you Mildred. Though I do also get that same fire in my loins from a Clausen to Floyd 50 yard game winning pass. It is neither here nor there. I love you Millie. My loins love you! Put out the fire. Put out the fire!!!!! What did you think about that call at the end of the game. I was so infuriated. I long to have a discussion with you on the topic as well as the topic of Mr Davies. He may be your prince charming but i feel he is a hooligan. Yes a Hooligan!! I do not know if we can ever get over this fact but I am willing to try. Go Irish!!!!!
Joey,
Moral victories are for losers. CW is a loser. Thus we can logically conclude he can have nothing else bu moral victories. This man is physically and personally unappealing. Wins wouldn’t change that but we’d have to overlook his flaws. But he’s a loser. Good riddance, fat loser!
With the way Weis dislikes “Moral Victories” I think it’s ironic that his signature moment at ND was the “moral victory” vs USC in 2005.
to C-DOG there are no priests at notre dame. religion majors can go four years without a single religous instructor. the money mania started when the latity took over.
Not sure where you got that one. Fr. Jenkins and the rest of the Holy Cross are still there. Maybe by bringing in an abortion rights activist and a play that promotes lesbianism and at the same time demeans all women, he doesn’t act like a priest. But that’s my point. Those Holy Cross priests are way too comfortable on a campus that has become way too comfortable. And yes, the religion department has it’s issue too. Not sure what you mean about the religious instruction though. Theology is taught be theologians. They may be priests or lay teachers and maybe too many aren’t even Catholic.
The money mania started after Monk Malloy took over for Father Ted. Monk, also a priest with questionable orientation allowed Coke and the board of trustees to sell out. Heck, the quad just west of the stadium is nick named the Mob Quad. Thank you DeBartolos. Hopefully Robert DeNiro, Joe Peshi, or Al Pacino won’t be in a movie about how that quad was built.
May be if we lose to UConn by less than 2 TDs and lose to Stanford by less than 3 TDs and lose the Tampax Maxipad bowl to FAU or someone by a few points and finsh 6-7 ND football has something to build on for next season. I can’t do Teo as well as Teo. Please, Teo, I need something to laugh at right now!!!
SteelFanRob:
Please crawl back into your can of Iron City Beer where you belong.
Very intelligent reply from someone who must truly hate ND football if he’s willing not to see the truth for what it is. I’m just so impressed by your intelligence I don’t know how to retort. You must also be a Cubs fan. LOSER!!!
Doc,
Let’s leave the name calling for when “Angry Eagle” inevitably makes his return to our board. You know he must just be in heaven after this weekend!
Angry Eagle sure knows how to get you bloggers going.
I was around during the Dan Devine years and thank goodness all of Ara’s assistants were still around so we had some consistency in the program.
I liked what Lou Holtz said the other night – “One year we finished 2nd in the nation and I was still getting letters saying I was an idiot.” Even Lou had his moments of being unable to keep the athletes focused. Prime example would be Angry Eagle’s favorite game – BC 1993. Also, Fisher DeBerry and Schembeckler / Moeller seemed to out coach Lou during that era as well. Don’t forget, Lou had a “Lifetime” contract, but he chose to leave for a reason, and wasn’t forced out because he was getting close to Rockne’s record – I love that one. How soon we all forget . . . . I am glad he came when he did and glad he still speaks highly of us. He understands what it’s like to coach at Notre Dame, and even he says Chuck should stay. (He doesn’t say how long, however.)
As much as I hate seeing us lose, as an alum and a former athlete here, we should at least honor our original contract with Chuck which ends NEXT year. It will be painful, but it is the right thing to do. After that, a buy out would be chump change. He is a good pro offensive coordinator and I am sure he will have a job back there after he takes a couple years off and enjoys some family time. Unfortunately, it is obvious he a workaholic, and won’t be able to do that. Workaholics also think they can do everything themselves, and that is not what a head coach is supposed to do. That’s why guys like Parcells and Belichick hire guys like Chuck – he will put in 100+ hours a week during the season to come up with an offensive game plan for them.
It is a different style of Notre Dame football today. We were all used to strong defense and cloud of dust on offense and Joe Montana on the bench to step in to save the day when needed. (He was also a mean basketball player as well during pick up games at the Rock . . . . )
The defense system (too many chiefs) isn’t working and the offense is then forced to abandon a balanced offensive attack to play catch up.
As far as Clausen coming back next year, I don’t see it. He is five classes away from finishing (he enrolled early)which he will finish next semester. He was kept behind a year in school so he would be the oldest and biggest and his entire purpose in life since the day he went to 1st grade was to be a professional football quarterback. Chuck did wonders with him – he will go high in the draft. Crist will be okay next year and will start to resemble Brady Quinn in 2011, but it will be a little funky in spring ball with no veteran quarterbacks, assuming he can’t make it back. The second he planted that leg in the WSU game, I knew exactly what happened (I couldn’t believe it when the announcers said ankle . . .duh )and ACL injuries can be quite painful and you’re never the same afterwards.
Don’t EVER call me a Cubs fan – now THAT is sophmoric name calling.
PS: They still make Olde Frothingslosh there in the Iron City?
Sorry – just seeing if you’d take the bait. Speaking of bait, what happened to the Steelers in Week 2? Lovie Smith could use a guy like Chuck. . . . . .
I can’t wait to hear Teo’s newest revisionist rosy scenarion. Teo please I need something to laugh at!!!
Officating is tough at the speed of the game … holding, 5 or 15 yd rough the punter etc. tough calls.
But to have slow motion replay and then calls are reversed that done have clear evidence. That’s when officating should be called into question.
FYI – It was a Big East officating crew.
well, we lost and cw is gone.
on a side and rather insignificant note, does anyone know who officiated the game? i couldn’t believe they had enough to overturn that fumble, the ball was thrown forward, wtf? and not that we didn’t commit penalties, but i could only recall pitt having 1 for 5 yards (obvious offsides call they had to make), and we having about 6 for 70. again, not the reason we lost, but disconcerting nonetheless. did pitt really play flawless football all game? im extremely skeptical…
When you are relegated to the status of an Idaho, San Jose St., Akron, or Tulane, you won’t get the calls.
The NCAA served notice to Notre Dame. officiating calls will go to the first and second rate programs. Third tier has to prove itself.
i really don’t think it is ND’s status as a program right now, it is a total racket by the conferences to boost revenue.
as nice as it is to have the nbc k, take home all the money from bowl appearances, being able to hand pick the schedule, etc., we should seriously look into joining a conference so we can be on the right side of official corruption conspiracies.
are we too far east to join the big 12 or too far west for the ACC? though the big east is ‘up and coming,’ and beat us when we play them, it would be below us to join them…we almost play a big 10 schedule already, maybe join the laughing stock of the big conferences? it would be fitting
I view 2 and 1 almost as a free play …. in hindsight sure didn’t work out that way though. I’m done with CW but not because of his play calling…. great 4th & 1 call.
The defense actually looked good other than some terrible missed tackles. I’ll assume Sergio Brown is in there for his coverage and not tackling ablities.
Knuklehead,
Do you really believe that there’s anything like a free play with this team? Have you been paying attention this season? How many plays and points have we left on the field in 2009?! BTW: If it’s a free play, then go vertical and not a two yard pass into coverage by the way! We’d still be driving if they’d picked up the sure 1st down there. (Probably not because CW would’ve screwed up later in the drive.)
Agreed – you have to go deep with Floyd or Tate on the “Free Play”. I guess I don’t have a problem with CW as an offensive coorinator/play caller but his short comings as a head coach are why he needs to step down as head coach
It is so over. Defense gave up in the 3rd quarter. Not everyone, but about 1/2 the defensive players. Sergio Brown decided to throw the game if possible by not really trying to tackle. The offensive line doesn’t want to use their feet. They truly do not try to get to the defensive player if they have to move their feet to do it. I saw a lot of giving up on plays. Clausen, Tate, Allen, Teo, McKarthy….they stayed in. But I saw a team divided and giving up on the coaching staff. There is frustration because they aren’t being taught how to be tough and intelligent.
Oh, and don’t think the message to Notre Dame by the NCAA is any better. The poor officiating against the Irish sends the signal. “ND take your clean program and join the Ivy League. Let Division 1, the FBS be the league of academic frauds, cheats, and inmates on campus.”
It is over.
Weis is an NFL offensive coordinator – there’s nothing wrong with that…everybody will be better off. It’s time for ND to hire a head coach.
a couple weeks ago you thought I was crazy. Sing a different tune now aren’t ya.
Every week it is the same thing out of Weis’s mouth – “we just have to focus on next weeks game”. I’m tired of hearing that. Other than a few nice plays, it looked like they didn’t practice this week. Next week is no guarantee for a win and Stanford is going run right thru them. I really feel bad for the players.
If or I should say when then fire Weis….we can look forward to 4 years of rebuilding! Great….!!!
Cliff,
Rebuilding under the right leader can happen quickly. USC under Carroll; UF under Meyer; Oklahoma under Stoops; Cinci under Kelley. I could go on. None took four years to rebuild struggling programs.
I can’t believe the lack of knowledge of even recent history of some people on this board.
Perhaps this is partly why ND football is were it is. It’s fans don’t know any better and are afraid of their own shadows. Are we the Cubs!
Rob- I hope you are right…and dont insult my knowledge of ND football.
Cliff,
Sorry, I wasn’t speaking about you per se as much as about the attitude I sense in some comments here.
I agree it can happen. But ND also tries to do it cleanly which makes it harder. Also, The fans have nothing to do with ND’s success or failure. The coaches and players each day, and the adminstration over the course of a 5 or 10 years span do.
But know this, the administration has no motivation for the program to do any better. The money rolls in because of the hope for a return to past glory.
If the inflow of cash dried up, they might worry. But someone just built a fake, “Downtown Notre Dame” just south of campus with crummy bogus Celtic music playing along the mainstreet. Oh and there’s a bookstore to rape the money out of your wallet on stuff signed by the last living legends from when ND actually won something important. I feel like we’re the Cubs and we just don’t know it yet. But hey, $64 per ticket plus the $800 seat fee and a $40 per parking pass is worth pretending.
Someone told me you can get into a Stanford game for $12 and parking is free. $12 to watch the team that is 2-0 against USC in the Colleseum and still in the hunt for the Rose Bowl. $12 to watch the team that gave USC it’s worst loss since 1966. Oh, and I hear they also care about academics.
As long as ND’s limp wristed pansy priests grab the money for a comfortable existence in a sheltered world, while secretly hating football for not being gentle, the program is screwed.
C-Dog,
ND football is at a crossroads. It’s becoming the Cubs (minus the Wrigley experience). the priests at ND are counting on fan loyalty just like Cubs management has done for decades. The Cubs are irrelevant and so is ND football!
SteelFanRob,
No argument from me on that. I think we are saying the same thing. But hey, there’s always “Mainstreet Notre Dame”, Disney’s new attraction just south of campus.
A QB sneak on 2 & 1 on that position would be a terrible call. There’s plenty to complain about but not that. CW’s days are numbered as Stanford is looking tough too. Another program that has been able to turn it around
Knucklehead,
1) the D is not in position
2) it picks up the first
3) stops the clock
4) new set of downs
5) whole playbook at disposal with new set of downs
Bottom line is what Weis called blew up in his face. That’s typical of his career in the last 3 years.
Do you like what happened with what Weis called? We’d still be driving if he’d taken the easy first.
Hmm, A lot of emotion here. I like the article. I hope everyone chills out a bit. I too believe Weis should go. I think he’s a good coach, but meant for the NFL. He’s a great offensive coordinator, but just can’t handle the whole program.
But let’s talk about a few more numbers. Oregon 47- USC 20, Stanford 55- USC 21, Washington 16 USC 13.
Let’s talk about some more numbers. UofM 5-6 ( Mich 38 ND 34 ), MSU 6-5 ( ND 33-MSU 30 ) Purdue 4-7 ( ND 24 Purdue 21 ) . Just looking at ND’s opponents and you have to say this, while the schedule is not a patsy, if ND has done anything reasonable to build a respectable program, this should have maybe been a one loss year.
The genius had 2 and 1. Look at what happened next?! Instead of quick snap and QB sneak for 1st down. NO!!! Pass. Personal Foul. Sack. Fumble. Just as the media builds up CW as a playcalling genius (which he’s NOT!), he proves he’s a fat choker!
The media came up with the excuse for CW and all his excuse makers. ND put a scare into them in the 4th quarter. NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!
ND will go 7-5 or more likely 6-6. CW WILL BE FIRED. The Weis era ends were it began. ND should not accept a bowl game at 6-6 with a lameduck coach.
Here’s what all real ND fans (not the CW apologists) need to hope for from here to Feb.: 1) a big name hire; 2) hope this big name keeps a portion of this recruiting class; 3) get a top staff to help the rebuilding; 4) hope Shaq and Teo don’t leave to USC.
ND FOOTBALL IS AT THE CROSSROADS!!! 100 plus years of football history is at risk of degenerating into permanent mediocrity.
Just curious, but how exactly is the sack/fumble/foul his fault? Does he control the players on the field?
Those offensive linemen are SENIORS for gods sake. It was pathetic how that got handled by Pittsburgh all game.
That was a BS call…how much did Pitt pay the officials?????
Wow– its going to get very bloody ….
Yup. This ND team has checked out. And Pitt isn’t really that good, ND is quitting. The only positive thing to come out of this is a real estate sales for some agent in South Bend.
GAME, SET, MATCH!
PENALTIES!!! Bad coaching!!!
At ease my friend Mr Steel. As my hero Louis Holtz says there is no “I” in team. the fighting Irish never quit on anyone. Speaking of quitting. There was a woman I was in love with who quit on me a little while back. Her name was Mildred. after her reach around, I thought we had something special. She let me down and turned out to be nothing more than a Hussy. “Joe from Dublin” was just a stop on her voyage. Let me say that she turned a bustling town into a ghost town over night after her voyage through here. It was a train reck to be frank much like the Navy loss last week. Would I say that Mr Weis has quit like Milred. Absolutely not. He is trying to get that fire burning in their belly. In the end I guess Mildred never had that fire in her belly for Mr Dublin. Go IRISH!!!!
Sorry Joe, but me thinkest that you are told old for this red-head. Me thinkest that my new beau, a Mr. SteelFanRob, is my new man. I imagine steel abs, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Take me Mr. Steel.
Oh no, my old harlot ways are coming out. The rumors from Floral Park, NY will return. Forgive me Joe, for I am a weak hussy. My vote for new coach would be Jim Harbaugh or the Boise State coach. What do you think of that my Steel Conquistador.
Every man loves a challenge Mr Love. If it is a old fashion cat and mouse game that you want to play, well all I can say is MEOW!!!! I do also think that Jim Harbaugh would be a fine addition to the University. He brings a bit of toughness to the role. He reminds me of a younger version of myself. So stick that in your pipe and smoke it Mr Steel Conquistador.
Jim Harbaugh???
You all watch way too much Dr. Phil.
Jim Harbaugh is a Michigan man. He hates everything Irish. The only thing he hates more than ND is USC.
To even think about hiring him would be like asking Jessie James to hold your wallet!
Perhaps it’s time you all move on to twitter and save the rest of us ND football fans the nauseating commentary
between you and someone named “Nana” who is probably some guy with a hairy back who likes to wear pantyhose and pretends he’s some wannabe cougar who can only gum a few bars because he has no teeth.
THIS TEAM HAS QUIT ON CW!!!
This punter has to go! Why is he out there? Bad coaching!!!
Jack,
Unless this piece of shit has a HOF QB running his O he can’t win. Tom Brady made this fat loser!
SHOW RESPECT! BE CLASSY! No need to act like a complete douch!
MF drops easy first down. Baldwin makes a play. 3 points. Difference between winners and gutless losers! Easy as that!
This team is playing tight. I was defending Weis but he needs to go. Our punter just dropped a perfect snap. Our SENIOR PUNTER. I am done watching this game. Weis is not a head coach, stick to being a offensive coordinator. Why are we not running the ball down their throat. Another loss I am done.
How many weeks has our punting been putrid? Bad coaching!!! Same problems over and over. No solutions. Bad coaching!!!
Brent Musbergher after another bad blown TO: “It’s been that kind of week for Coach Weis.” Are you kidding me?! It’s been that kind of season and career for this loser! How many TOs do we take every week, season after season? This is the very essence of bad coaching!
Please Joseph, say something. Did my Rug Burns comment scare the bejesus out of you????
We must be playing the Steelers tonight. Is that Troy Polamalu I see in Pitt’s secondary? James Harrison at LB? CW will make it sound like that, I guarantee you. He’s being out-schemed yet again! 3 points total in the first half of the last 2 games. What an offensive genius CW is!
Just when the idiot media goes into how great Tenuta is, oh, well, our D shows up small again.
I love how Sam Young was a five star and he can not block anyone with speed.
Our O is unstoppable!!! Who can stop JC, AA, GT, MF, our stud TEs (oops, they’re all gone now). We also have a schematic advantage over everyone because our coach is the smartest man on Earth. Not even the Steelers can stop us from scoring tonight! What? We just punted?! What we went 3 and out?! CW? Over-rated! Tenuta? Over-rated! Sam Young? Most over-rated recruit ever!
by the way, I was just putting to bed my two year old tonight and I recalled this post (which I did not read until today) and started chuckling out loud. “Why laughing, Daddy?” I heard. And, of course, then I burst into a full fledged laugh. Good stuff. “The smarted man on Earth.”
Some of it is CW. A lot of it is the players failing to execute. I saw quite a good number of drops last night. And, Clausen was also off quite a bit. I mean, there were at least two touchdown that he missed — because his passes were under thrown.
I’m not saying CW isn’t to blame for some of it. His job is to get the players motivated and ready to win. But, the players have to actually show up. We should have won that game.
Again burn another time out on a 3rd and 4 in the 1st qt. I hate going into work and hearing these Penn State idiots chap my ass. I better just call best buy for a new tv if it keeps going on like this.
Another bad example of coaching all year long: wasting timeouts because we’re lost on O. This from an offensive “genius”. Genius my ass!
Jack,
I’ll hold out to the end for a miracle! But we already stated out with 2 stupid penalties. Penalties all year. Just another example of bad coaching. Lose 2 of 3. Bye, bye fat man!
WTF why do we have stupid penalties that extend drives? No discipline. I am ready to throw this beer through the tv. I won’t get to sleep tonight until 2am if this keeps up. Pitt should have scored because Brian Smith is to worried about talking shit and not picking the back up out of the backfield. I am so pissed right now.
Agree again with you Steelfan. Now we have a very hard 4 months ahead of us with the end of the season, new coach being hired and national signing day. I can only hope that this AD knows what he is doing when he makes a coaching change. I am even having a hard time watching football at all because of this season.
Don’t worry Jack, the administration will screw this one up, too. The next coach will be another up-and-comer like Harbaugh — who will never win at Notre Dame.
It’s so familiar. The Irish lose some tough close games (they haven’t lost by more than a touchdown all season). The alumni jump ship. The school abandons the coach. The athletic director posts the job and, amazingly, proven coaches with a history of winning national titles are NOT interested in the job! What a shocker! No Bob Stoops. No Urban Meyer.
So, ND resorts to some up-and-comer like Harbaugh or Kelly. They come here and in four years they’re seen as analysts on ESPN or the Big Ten Network (or they coach Akron). And around and around we go.
Folks,
Jim Harbough @ Stanford
Dave Wanstadt @ Pitt
Butch Davis @ UNC
All have done more with less than CW.
All have signature wins.
All have defeated MULTIPLE ranked teams THIS SEASON.
No more excuses!
These were the same exact arguments people made when Willingham was hired. He did less with more. He is a brilliant coach and an even better motivator. Blah, blah, by fu&*ing blah. The same arguments were made with Charlie Wies, too. He was a brilliant mind that will dominate the college game.
It’s the same old crap. The next coach will be gone in five years, too (or earlier) because he’ll never recruit like Charlie has recruited. Golden Tate? You think Ty Willingham would have landed him?
Today I was thinking about the past 15 yrs of ND football and one thing came to mind. Only one recruiting class played under the same coach the entire time at ND. Davie coached from 97-01, Willingham 02-04, Weis 05 to present. That is sad state for a program. It reminds me of SC from the early 80’s until Pete Carrol. What is the brain trust up in South Bend thinking. This is a horribly run program from the AD down. After we fired Lou Holtz we hire Bob Davie, cry ass who sucked as a coach. Then we hire Willingham who loved to lower his handy cap rather than recruit. Now we have a Bill Parcell’s prodigy who never was a head coach and now is trying to learn on the job. I am done talking about Weis being fired, but if the administration makes that decision, they better handle it right, because the F-up will be on their heads. ND needs to realize who they are is because of their football tradition. No one would be talking about a small Catholic school in Indiana unless it had the program. It brings a shit load of money into the school and it is about time the Administration makes it a priority and begins to win. Let’s Go Irish and beat Pitt. I think they can, but we will see if they come out flat or with a fire in their eyes. SHOW UP DEFENSE AND WE WIN!
Anyone watch Stanford demolish USC today!! I’m sure ND will lose that one too.
10-3? I really appreciate optimism. Pitt will win this game by 3 touchdowns, UCONN will give them a game and Stanford will beat the Irish. Take the emotion out of this, college football is business now and ND is in living in the past, even though they created this mess themselves (see NBC contract). Their product is losing its fan base which equals losing money, and the school is all about the revenue (see NBC contract again). 15 year s of irrelevancy calls for swift moves and even a little risky. 1. CW must go (should have been 2 years ago-that’s another commentary), I say before the end of the year, hopefully after this game.
2. BIG TIME coach with BIG TIME winning record, they have already shelled out a ton of money for this clown, what’s the difference now. And they have the deep pockets to do so.
3. NO Brian Kelly. Start the talks with Meyer, feel him out. I would even talk to Pete Carroll, all they can say is “no”. I would talk to Alverez and even Bilotti, they win. And don’t argue with the “image of the institution”, ND does not have one at this point, its gone.
This program is razor thin close to becoming non-existent in what college football is today, BUSINESS.
Listen to what some of you are saying. Our standards have plummeted!! You are seriously concerned that if CW is fired we will lose recruits. Did you see the stat above? He has NEVER beaten a team that finished the year with less than 4 losses. NEVER NEVER NEVER!!! Can you even believe that stat? How has this become acceptable?
Jeremy Foley (AD at Florida) had the best quote 5 years ago regarding Ron Zook’s firing. At that time he stated, “If something eventually needs to be done, then it needs to be done immediately.”
This is where we are, CW leaving is inevitable. UF didn’t sit around wondering about recruits or who is leaving early for the NFL. They moved on and now have 3 rings in 5 years.
Clausen and Tate are 90-95% gone as of now. JC is a Top 10 pick and would be silly to leave. By all accounts Crist will be ready and he was an extremely high rated recruit. He starts next year with our without CW as the head man.
I love the Irish and want what is best. I believe CW is a true ND man but he simply is not a HC. Some guys can sit in the big sit, others can’t.
poz once again you’re absolutely right. After five years you think people would learn. But after tonight’s game that should put the nail in the coffin!
As much as I wish we were at the USC level, firing CW would impede that vision. Seantrel? Not coming. Clausen? Gone. Tate? Gone. Recruiting class? Decimated. It would set the team so far back that you would all be clamoring for the next coach to be fired in his first season!
10-3 is VERY possible, and beating Pitt is the only major stumbling block until the bowl game. If you would fire a coach over that, go over to USC and have a blast.
Zach, you’re as blind as a bat. We will NOT beat Stanford or Pitt. As far as our recruiting classes decimated, What the hell is CW doing with all these 4 and 5 star recruits now. Making us look silly. Week after week, year after year.
I’ve been saying the same thing as Threehills. You have to look at Charlie’s career in 2 parts. He did great with a strong upper class that included Quinn. After that class left, he had NOTHING! He started over in 2007 with Freshman and Sophomores at the skill positions. They are in the third year and there has been improvement. In 2007, they were the worst offense in college, now they are one of the best. Charlie will continue to get the skill players on offense to come to ND as long as he is the coach.
If they win out or at least 2 out of 3, he should get to coach this team next year. If they can Charlie this year, we are back to 2007 all over again and ND may never recover from it. If Jimmy & Co come back to prove a point, this program will continue to trend up. Again, I’m not satisfied with the losses, but Charlie is getting kids to ND consistantly. Davie had a few good classes and Ty had one, but Weis gets these kids to come. The coaching staff will get better, 2005 & 2006 were not flukes. Weis knows how to coach and once there is some stability on the defensive side of the ball, there will be improvement there as well.
However, if they lose 2 of 3 or all 3, blow it up and start again.
Couldn’t agree more with Crable. Getting rid of Weis now could do more potential damage to the program than waiting him out one more year.
I want to pose a different question though. What if we ignore the first two years under Weis. His record would be 3-9, 7-5, 9-3 (hopefully). Would people still be clamoring for him to go if he was showing this upward trend in performance? If this trend continues, that would predict at least 10-2 next year, 11-1 after that, 12-0 the next.
OH Goodie Are you kidding me!
The kind of agree that if CW goes Clausen, Tate, and Floyd would not want to stick around. But to correct you…we were 6-6 last year, not 7-5; and it looks like we’ll be 7-5 (at best) this year because we can’t stop anybody and Stanford laid the wood to USC and USC’s defense is far better than the ridiculousness that is the Irish Defense.
So, to make it more accurate…3-9, 6-6, 7-5. If that’s improvement, you need to provide me with a new definition of “improvement”. Again…if he was winning 10 games a season, but missing out on the big one, maybe give him a pass, but HELLO! 6-6, 7-5, we’re not even getting close to the big one. I’m willing to take a chance that it can’t get any worse, but until bid Charlie adue we won’t know. That’s how I see it.
Bunch of whiners and crybabies.
If Weis is fired, doesn’t Clausen automatically go pro? And if Clausen leaves and Crist is out ’til summer, there will be no scholarship QB’s in spring camp. So, why would Tate and Floyd stay around? It seems to me that the Irish would be looking at 3-9 next year. If the Irish keep Weis, possibly Clausen and cast stay, they finish out next year and we have two more of Weis recruiting classes in the pipeline.
Timing is everything.
And maybe a new and better coach won’t have any excuses and just Win Baby!
Clausen isn’t ready to be pro
I just don’t see it
he has numbers and all
but one more year here or there
new coach or not–
Clausen should stay and get better
Pro? Now?
5 years from now he is working at Olive Garden-
Jimmy is great–but one more year is going to make him even better
Jimmy stays
As a life-long Irish fan,seeing the “ahhshucks attitude” gives me the impression that this coaching staff along with the past staffs(post lou years)forgot that these are kids, and kids need PUMPED UP! You cant treat them like PRO’S. I cant watch CW press conf after a loss, simply because its like watching him after a win, did ever lick cardboard? Young players feed off the coaching staff and when you have a cardboard staff, well you get cardboard players. Yes there are some players that out shine others but, ND needs to play as a TEAM on both sides of the ball.Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh shucks aint getting it. No life in this at all, well when the Irish come out of the tunnel, thats it.
What is to say Brian Kelly wants the job? a smart man knows Notre Dame fans will want him to lose his job after a loss. AFter Michigan you blogged about how horrible Weis is, then again after USC, and now after Navy. yes i put those losses on him but come on the program is making strides and ESPN is scared of what the future holds for Notre Dame and they are trying to get Weis out while they can; think about it Lou Holtz is they ONLY person with a brain at ESPN and he likes the job Weis is doing. Im sorry i dont follow the words of Notre Dame hater Mark May. Once the Irish win against Pitt you will see what im talking about.
Go Irish!!!!!!!!!!
Lou never said he liked the job Weis was doing. He said he was the coach and had a signed contract, so there was no point debating the issue. It was his worst, damning-with-praise defense of Weis I’ve ever heard.
Weis is out specifically because NOBODY is scared of ND as long as he is coach. We don’t impose our will on teams. We don’t play hard. We don’t play smart. We are a reflection of our coach.
Not at all interested in ESPN or Lou’s comments. Lou is all Irish but beholden to his boss.
Charlie wins 2 of 3 or more and stays. Fire a 9-3 or 8-4 coach…crazy.
Go Charlie…GO IRISH!
I am disappointed with the way this season has gone. The loss to Navy was tough (but they are not a cupcake, Sagarin has them ranked between West Virginia and UCLA). Our secondary with a LOT of previously proven talent is just AWFUL. The Tenuta/Brown union is unproductive and barring the obvious talent of Teo and the growth of the DLine under Randy Hart is not not making any progress. Again someone has figured out the defensive gameplan that seems to work to effectively limit us and our answers after many games have not been convincing (challenge us to score in the red zone). It is all very frustrating.
The Anti-CW sentiment is very thick.
Charlie is not a motivator (a big part of the college game) and likely never will be.
Our defense has never been championship caliber under CW and other than hiring an effective coordinator he is unable to help there.
The post by Keith far above put numbers on something that all of us knew intuitively (schedules are softer for us now than in years gone by, and we do not win big games under Charlie). (Lets not argue that Ty should have stayed because his lack of recruiting was a travesty.)
Brian Kelly seems the answer…. (I am inclined to jump aboard…)
BUT WAIT——————————
There are 3 games left. This team has shown that they do not quit (even last week when the odds were so stacked after the safety). 10-3 is still possible. An excellent recruiting class. Clausen Tate Floyd coming back? Let this team determine its fate. Put the soapbox away. We all know that CW does not get canned at 9-3 so save your breath. Let the kids play. I think this team could come out with some fire tomorrow night! If that is the case this could be an inflection point in the programs history under Weis.
Besides, has Kelly given ANY indication he is interested in the ND job? A few years ago we bet the farm on a hot coach coming from Utah. He even had a contract hitch and a stated love for ND (with a Pope’s name). Let’s not force out our coach and kill our recruiting and demoralize our spirited team by pulling the plug too early. This team has shown that it will not.
I remember back when I started to watch ND football. It started during the Faust Era. Jerry was a nice guy and could recruit but didn’t coach. Lou came into town and took the talent and made it better. One thing I can remember about Lou Holtz and to this day he speaks about ND with such respect. He has an amazing faith in the University and has never said a bad word or made an excuse why he couldn’t win at the school. Now I look at the three previous coaches. Davie cried about how he couldn’t get the atheletes. Willingham wasn’t willing to put in the time and Weis has never had a defense to protect a lead or dominate a game and can’t moivate. We need some one who has dreamed of coaching at ND. We need someone who looks at ND the same way Lou did. We need someone who wasn’t smart enough, fast enough or good enough to go to school there but dreamed of being apart of what ND had to offer. That was Lou Holtz. I can tell you right now if I was the coach at ND I would be telling my players your are ND football players. This is the greatest gift God could give you. Either people love you or hate you. Most of the media hates you (ESPN)and most people like to see you lose. Now are you going to show the tradition of the past and live up to the many men who have wore that uniform before you of falter under the pressure. I recruited you here because I saw something special in you and this University sees something special in you. Now it is time to play like a Champion, go hard for 60 minutes and leave it all on the field. I saw an interview with Rocket about the speach Lou gave before the Miami game. Those players wanted it and it showed. I don’t know if Charlie can do that and that scares me. I don’t see the family feeling and the world against us feeling I saw in the beginning of the year. Maybe this weekend we see it, but one thing is clear if a coaching change is made the person needs to show the same amount of respect, love and admiration for the university as Lou and Knute Rockne did. My five year old son asked me why I love ND, and I told him because it is the greatest athletic and academic institution in the world, too which I never could get into. It embodies what a university should in every aspect and one day I hope you are smart enough to go there.
I know, these are tough times to be an Irish fan. We’re 6-3 and not in the running for a BCS. Boo-Hoo.
Seriously, as I mention above, Weis isn’t done yet. This 2009 team isn’t done yet. They have the athletes. Do they have the heart to make sure that 2009 doesn’t end on a sour note? I’d like to think that Jimmy is fired up and ready to pick apart Pitt’s defense. I’d like to think that both Tate and Floyd are ready to have monster receiving days tomorrow. By the way, neither Davie nor Willingham ever would have landed Tate, nevermind both Tate and Floyd.
CW and the school need a monster win tomorrow night. They just lost to Navy. They barely scraped past Washington State (okay, not quite). They struggled against a rebuilding BC squad. They’re hurting.
Yet, tomorrow night the excitement and flash of the Fightin’ Irish returns. This team has been written off by everyone from the bloggers to the sportswriters. Yet, I see the us against the world mentality reappearing at Heinz Field tomorrow night.
Let’s go Irish!
Enjoy the game.
What world do you live in?
Let’s fire Charlie right now. Great idea. Then, maybe Seantrell Henderson and all of the other recruits considering Notre Dame will magically appear on our sidelines next year. And, yes, Clausen will stay, of course, because he’s dying to play for a brand new coach.
Why will we get a brand new coach a la Gerry Faust? Because dimwits like yourself and the idiots who put up the billboard in South Bend have made damn sure that no one with any qualifications will take the Notre Dame job.
Good work. Keep posting about the inadequacy of our head coach. I’m sure that will attract other high school coaches to the job.
People like you are repulsive. You’re the same people who chased Holtz out of town and, worse, who demanded that the administration sign Charlie to a long term deal lest the NFL take him away.
You’re barely human and your job is to ruin everyone’s Saturday.
Why are we still discussing whether or not CW should stay. It is over!!!!
His shining momemt over the last 5 years is ‘almost’ beating USC in 2005. That’s it end of story. I could care less if they beat Pitt by 35 tomorrow night, finish 9-3 and beat Miami in the Gator Bowl. This team is so far from a Top 10 team it isn’t even funny. Our standards have fallen too much to think CW can earn his job over the last month.
5 years is enough!!
Great article above, it points out the lunacy our program has become. It is time to change and move on. Whether it is Kelly, Gruden or whomever let’s just get on with it.
poz, Amen, I couldn’t have said it any better!
Amen – He should have been gone after the first lost to Navy…
Going for it on 4th and 8??? Come on, you can’t tell me your kickers FG percentage is lower than you 4th and 8 conversion rate??
Miami in Gator Bowl?
Really?
I HATE Miami more than anything in this world
( Nancy Pelosi is very close to the Hurricanes and hate is a strong wrod BUT I HATE MIAMI WITH EVERYTHING I HAVE)
That said, I love the Irish as most do here-but Gator Bowl?
Seriously?
We have U Conn and then—
STANFORD ( near Nancy Pelosi’s place uggh)
Stanford just hung 55 points on USC
ND put 57 on Stanford in 2003 ( I think I am right on that)
You think the Cardinal wants some payback?
Oh yeah they do–
oh yeah–the fan base does and this Stanford Team scares me–they are huge–
and we don’t have a –DEFENSE.
I pray that we beat U conn-
so at least we can go to a bowl at seasons end with a recored of 7-5 and end up 8-5
just one win better than last year —
Gator Bowl?
Please–I will settle for an at large berth against an opening before New years or another trip to the Hawaii Bowl-we don’t deserve the higher tiered bowls
It is the truth
meanwhile
Beat U Conn
and pray for a defense on Stanford who has —by the way defeated OREGON and USC
That is proof right there-
and in both games they got over 50 points
OUCH
Indeed and if you think back -Lou or Ara weren’t even on the radar most likely from a fans perspective when those hires were made……its custom made for Brian Kelly at this point in time – his time is now to be promoted to head coach of the Irish! He’s a proven winner in an area where recruiting is minimal to say the least – he gets the most out of his players and more importantly, he demands and gets everything from the kids he coaches. That alone is reason enough for me after watching ND football for many many years! Been there done that – its time to drop the clutch!
Amen. Amen. and Aaaamen. Brian Kelly is a proven winner. He is a proven leader. He is a proven developer of players. Oh and did I mention he’s a proven winner. He’s a two time nat’l champion at the college level. He’s an Irish Catholic. He actually played the sport of football…OMG there’s an immediate upgrade. All signs point to Kelly and thank you for justifying my previously declared “Kelly ’10” campaign.
I think Brian Kelly would make a fine addition to the Notre Dame Legacy. He was also one of my favorite linebackers to watch at the Giants of New York back in the day alongside Mr Harold Carson and Mr Lawrence Taylor. He is a nice Irish boy with a fire in his belly. When he was on the gridiron of Giants Stadium, there was nobody more ferocious than he. On another note, there was a posting from a lovely lady named Nana Mildred a few days ago. If you are out there Milly, I would love to chat with you about your wonderful insights on notre dame. You seem like a lovely gal who could tickle my fancy. I would love to take long romantic walks, have candle light dinners and court you. I may be up there in the years but I am quite a romantic. Please respond.
Too bad the administration didnt have the balls to defend Irish George O’Leary! That had all the makings to avoid this mess we are in altogether! And man – you cant beat the coach of ND having Kelly as his last name…..or O’Leary.
Mr O’Leary would have been an excellent choice. With a name like that you can not go wrong. He has done a fine job at UCF. What could have been. Speaking of what could have been, I am, to say the least, disappointed that Nana Mildred has not responded to my posting. I guess I thought that there was something special there. Milly, if you are out there, please post something that says you feel the same way. I long for a connection with you. We have so much in common. Our love of Notre Dame, Our hatred of Mr Davies. Our love of all things Milly.
Here are some numbers for you.
1 – heart broken by Nana Milly.
0 – responses from Milly since my posting.
Joe. You had me at hello. But blessed be Joseph, I have never hated Bob Davies. He is a handsome man and the things I would do to him when I was a younger, long legged red head would make you blush. As far as Mr. Kelly I say “Top of the Morning!” Let that young buck run the Irish. Joe, I have been thinking of you as well. Even though you are 12 years my senior, something tells me old Millie can still curl your mustache. Lets just say my nick-name in Floral Park, NY was Rug Burns.
By the way I am definitely on the Brian Kelly band wagon! Dont be arguing about what conference he is in – the guy has what it takes. ND isnt even in a conference so that argument is a moot issue and if we cant beat the likes of a 1-9 Syracuse or NC or Stanford or BC consistantly its all the more reason to just MOVE ON…….Kelly has done more with a hell of a lot less and again can flat out coach! The dude deserves a shot and we as fans and the players at ND deserve much much better. Look at the Weis stat breakdown on ND Nation – the numbers dont lie and the reality of what Weis has not come close to accomplishing warrants cutting ties and going in a different direction. Hopefully Weis has enough sense after his mantra this week about accountability, to step down after this season. I havent seen anything yet from him however to think that is realistically going to happen and that is unfortunate.
Dont know if anyone watched Inside ND football but after viewing this piece of crap interview after the Navy game was the last straw for me. Weis does any and all things to justify his ego and now with his CEO mentality he has all players buying into the demoralizing pc taint he puts on things. Even IF ND had the lessor talent which they did NOT – you dont go into the review process indicating how Navy isnt the team they once were in effect justifying the loss! It is absolutely incredible to me watching this crap! Its just like Weis not running on 1st down against Michigan in the last drive when all we have to do is run out the clock! Typical Charlie whic comes through loud and clear after the Navy loss states Michigan just wasnt gonna let us run! As I said previously that statement alone sums up Weis’ inadequate mind set to allow him to run this team any longer and again now the players are making excuses for not executing!
Its a cancer on this team anymore. I am sick of it and I for one dont want to hear about one more year for the Chuckster! Think back – we are hearing the same thing we heard last year before the final meltdown. ENOUGH already! For crying out load I will get ahold of Holtz myself and plagerize Skips playbook of thr late 80’s and deliver up more wins against bigger opponents than Charlie has accomplished in one year. Any coach with any iota of brains and a background at the college level with this talent will take this team further in a heartbeat. Incredible! This guy MUST go away. I will NEVER EVER root against the Irish but a loss at Heinz field tomorrow night would not leave me too overly depressed if it meant the end of the Weis era which wasnt an era in the least. His reign is much like waiting for Willinghams west coast offense to show up – I think Tyrones west coast offense only made it to Utah if I remember correctly. Put me in Jenkins – I’ll take half the pay and produce 5 times the results.
I do want to point out that i am not sure the “pressure of coaching at ND” is as strong as it used to be. How much pressure can there be to follow up 3 coaches that played 500 football. Back when ND was a powerhouse you couldnt read a sports page without reading an article on them, the year they went 3-9 they had maybe 1 mention in sports illustrated all year. I think the media is pretty much waiting for someone to do something before they get the ND hype going again. The only pressure there is at ND is to not get fired after had 3-5 piss poor seasons.
But, the fan base is different at Notre Dame. I mean, Alabama’s fans are wild and crazy and all of that — for sure. But, they’re limited to Alabama.
We have guys on this board who post from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, — even Connecticut (just kidding Nutmeggers). We have a global fan base. And, with the NBC deal, there is pressure to perform.
Think about it this way: regardless of whether Notre Dame is in the Top 25, when they play a road game, that game is on ABC or ESPN — and it’s a national game (meaning that unless there is a local game of interest, fans in the area get the game). No other program gets that kind of exposure.
So, I see your point about having to follow up years of inadequacy, but I think that most of us are fully loyal to the Irish. And, we expect victories.
All the more reason why a good coach would take this challange and go down in history with a coaching stint at ND under his belt and an opportunity to finally raise this program where it needs to be! Ego is everything at this level when considering good coaches. The problem is Weis’ ego only seems to serve himself.
By the way, it appears as from the talk shows around here that the intention by Pitt is to play off, keep it in front of you, bend don’t break, and make ND be pruductive in the Red Zone – sounds like a good plan, unfortunately
It’s a great plan, actually. I mean, after last week, I think everyone would play that way. No need to risk the big play if the Irish refuse to deliver in goal line situations.
Having said that, of course, we know that they will land a big play or two, and that they will get it done inside the red against Pitt.
fxm,
I for one have no illusions as to ND’s defense stopping Pitt’s offense. In short, we won’t be able to. It will be a typical ND Saturday: If our offense is firing on all cylinders and actually scoring in the red zone, it will be a good game. If our offense does not do that, we will lose.
I’m oversimplifying, but our defense is impotent and offense is prolific (usually).
I live in Pittsburgh and follow these guys, if you put too much on stopping the Pitt run game, Bill stuhl has numbers similar to Jimmy (I am not saying he is Jimmy) but Johnathan Baldwin and Dorin Dickinson (10 TD catches) will prbably gash us pretty bad. if we are going to win, it will 48 – 42 or something on that order.
Weis’ opponents’ numbers should also include the following:
less than 4 losses: 8
record: 0-8
more than 5 losses: 27
record: 23-4
While Willingham’s should include the following:
less than 4 losses: 13
record: 6-7
more than 5 losses: 12
record: 10-2
Looking back, I think most would agree that Willingham got a raw deal if you look just at wins and losses.
The trouble with Ty was that the recruits weren’t there. Sure, he had some decent players that came into the program, but he didn’t have enough.
There are a lot of 5-loss teams under Weis. I think that is relevant to whether he will succeed in these last three games. But, we have to play the games first.
Weis should have been gone long ago. He has been blessed with playing against terrible opponents–which is the only reason he has won as much as he has.
Through 2008, or the first four years of his tenure, the Irish under Weis were 29-21. They played only 10 teams that finished the season in the Top 25, and were 1-9 against those teams. (The lone victory was in 2006 over Penn State, which finished 9-4 and ranked #24.)
In that time, Weis’ Irish played 27 games against teams that finished with 6 or more losses and went 23-4 against them. Think about that for a minute–of his 29 victories in four years, 23, or 79%, came against teams finishing with 6 or more losses. The remaining 6 victories all came against teams finishing with 4 or 5 losses. Yet he still had a losing record against 4 and 5 loss teams–going 6-9.
Weis has never beaten a team that finished with fewer than four losses, playing 8 such teams and going 0-8 against them.
By way of contrast, Willingham faced extremely difficult opponents while going 21-15.
The Irish under Willingham played 17 games in only three years against teams that finished in the top 25, and the Irish were 8-9 against those teams. He beat two teams that finished the season ranked #9, two more that finished #13, and one each ranked #14, #19, #21, and #24. He played 10 games against teams finishing with 10 or more wins, and won half of them.
Willingham played only 12 games against teams finishing with 6 or more losses, and went 10-2 against them. Of his 21 victories, only 10, or 48%, came against teams with 6 or more losses; while 6, or 29%, came against teams with 3 or fewer losses. In all, Willingham’s Irish played 13 teams with 3 or fewer losses and were 6-7 against them.
Willingham was cursed by extremely difficult opponents, while Weis has benefited from extremely weak ones. They now have roughly the same winning percentage.
Weis opponents-4 yrs:
Top 25: 10
record: 1-9
5 losses: 27
record: 23-4
4&5 losses: 15
record: 6-9
Total record: 29-21
Willingham opponents-3 yrs:
Top 25: 17
record: 8-9
5 losses: 12
record: 10-2
4&5 losses: 11
record: 5-6
Total record: 21-15
Kelly can flat out coach. Period. The guy knows who to motivate his players, gets them to exceed their own expecatations of themselves and shows great emotion on the sideline. He coaches 60 minutes and takes no prisoners. when Pike got hurt – he says we arent changing a damn thing on offense. we plug in the nexy guy and we dont lower our expectations on results. His next guy, knowing the expectaions his coach has for him is now making it difficult for coach Kelly to reinsert Pike! Compare that attitude w/ Weis saying he’ll design a separate offense for Crist when Clausen was out. That special offense consisted of handing the ball off 30 times and included like 2 passes. Great confidence Chuck has in his players. I’ll take a guy like Kelly anyday over Weis. Kelly raises the bar for his players not lowers it like Chuckers.
I think if Clausen stays, so should Charlie. If Clausen leaves, then Charlie will be leaving as well. It would make sense for an easier transition. The bottom line is the defense has been a train wreck all year long. Thank god Nevada was the first game of the year for them or they would have dropped 50 on us. I am not sure what Corwin Brown or Tenuta are doing, but it sure as heck isn’t creating a gameplan that works. You can’t stop a zone read? Really? You know why, because you have a secondary that a good H.S. QB could light up. You can’t put 8 in the box if the other 3 wet their pants every time a pass is thrown.
Charlie is the Head Coach and he is in charge of the entire team, but maybe focusing too much on offense is causing the defense to struggle.
Let’s see how the next 3 games play out. We go 3-0 and win a bowl game, I say he stays.
And, how about the red zone offense last week! It was ridiculous.
I think having Tenuta and Brown is causing a problem.
Brown is hired as the DC. The next year, Tenuta is hired and “helps” Brown in the gameplan, but Brown calls the plays. This year, Tenuta is a “Co DC” and takes over play calling duties. Brown “helps” in the gameplan. One prefers a 3-4 and one prefers a 4-3. One is more conservative with blitz’s and one is blitz happy.
You can’t tell me that all these changes are not effecting the defense. You can tell they are doing too much thinking and not enough reacting.
If Charlie stays, he needs to get rid of either Brown or Tenuta and get some stability on the defense.
But we do have to play Navy next year too!
There was some talk of a defense??!! This “defense” plays for the Irish? Hmmm…if there is a actually a defense, they why does Jimmy have to drop back 50 times a game?
The fact is our Irish defense is freaking awful! WE WILL NEVER….NEVER, be ready for a BCS game until we can bring in some top shelf talent and coach em’ up big time!
GOD is referred to with
capital Letters
Thanks
GO Irish!
Where did the first stat come from about Cincinnati have 90% graduation Rate?
http://www.fanblogs.com/ncaa/007839.php
Excellent point Steve. I saw that stat and asked the same thing! Didn’t think it could be right…
It’s not right. I see 73% GSR at Cinci.
The 90% mark is referenced in various places:
http://www.gobearcats.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/103008aaa.html
http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=1610306
http://www.utahstateaggies.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/102408aaa.html
Here’s an interesting little fact to demonstarte the difference between a pro-style coach and a college coach. Team A is coached by an ex=pro coordinator. He recruits and signs a sought after high school mobile quarterback. Said qb comes in, the next year a more fitting and more highly recruited qb is also brought in. The mobile qb is given one shot, one game, one half…blows. The reigns are turned over to the freshmen and the mobile qb transfers.
To Team B. The college coach there recognizes a good athlete, doesnt need a qb, but signs the kid anyway. Now team A’s ex-qb who couldnt find a spot on the team after failing at qb is Team B’s starting linebacker and the team in undefeated.
In case you havent figured it out, Team A is ND, the qb is Demetrius Jones and Team B is Cincy. The fact is Charlie recruited a qb, when it didnt work out he figured, as a pro style coach, the kid’s a bust…let him transfer. Jones just wanted to play and Brian kelly recognized potential…
Say what you want, and I actually like Charlie, but that’s a big damn difference and a perfect example of the difference in philosophies.
I think you make a fair point. Charlie could have kept Jones on the squad and encouraged him to play somewhere else — say linebacker or safety — but he refused to do so.
We may not know all of the facts. Weis may have suggested this to Jones and Jones may have rejected this option. I doubt that Weis simply told Jones he was off the squad. And, Jones may have realized after playing at Northern Illinois that maybe linebacker isn’t so bad.
But, if Weis didn’t offer Jones a shot to compete for other positions, as you suggest, he should have. Jones was always a great athlete, just not a great Q.
More tot he point, great coaches at both college and pro levels recruit ATHLETES and not position players. Most great coaches teach position specific football from scratch anyway. Bud Grant, Ara, and Holtz are perfect examples of getting the best ATHLETES available and converting them into great safeties, LBs, DEs, etc. Charlie has demonstrated NO finesses in this regard, and the transfers are examples of that. The loss of Carufel was another example.
F Brian Kelly! THere’s three games left and you got your panties in a bunch! Great message your sending here. Kelly’s starters aren’t even his recruits! Mark Dantonio hello! Have you seen Cincinnati’s schedule? We don’t need to be considering anything less than three wins to finish the season. Haters!
UHND has been pretty good about restraining itself, Gregg. Just in case you missed the 1-2 record vs. Navy since 2007 and Weis’ inability to coach a physically tough brand of football, the time to draw the line of the sand is here and now.
And not to be a stickler for those pesky things called “facts,” but Kelly has been the head coach at Cincy for almost three full seasons. Of the 44 players on the UC two-deep, 32 are his recruits, and Kelly had a grand total of nine returning starters for the 2009 season.
Gregg,
Thanks for raping and murdering our braincells with your comments. Thankfully, we have them to spare. Try not to hurt yourself again though.
McSweeney, thank you for owning him with your response.
Should also consider Chris Petersen of Boise. He has done a heck of a job with his talent level including wins over Oklahoma in BCS Bowl, Oregon, etc. He is consistently in the top of the Polls.
Peterson’s contract and buyout are prohibitive — we will never get him out of Boise.
It looks like we should be pushing hard for Brian Kelly to come in and show us what he’s got. Numbers certainly do not lie and I’ve seen plenty of numbers in favor of Kelly over the past several days. There are only 2 arguments I’ev seen against Kelly, and neither of which hold much water in my eyes.
#1- He can’t recruit JuCo transfers with ND, which is a problem because he has been excellent at getting JuCo players at his previous schools.
-This holds no water to me because I truly believe Notre Dame speaks for itself and recruiting would not be a problem for Kelly given his success as a coach in his career. If anything, players should be excited that Notre Dame is trying to better the program in an attempt to win a National Championship by bringing a “collegiate” coach who has had success at this level.
#2- He hasn’t played any big time opponents because the Big East is weak, the MAC is the MAC and Grand Valley State is a Div. II team.
-This argument isn’t very strong because Notre Dame’s schedule hasn’t been very strong either in recent years. Brian Kelly has improved all the programs he’s coached. Central Michigan won a MAC Championship in just 3 years under Kelly after 7 consecutive losing seasons before Kelly arrived. He coached GVSU to a 118-35-2 record over 13 years, which speaks for itself. And his stint at Cincy is making its own statement.
Regardless of scheduling, how he recruits his players, or any other meaningless argument, Brian Kelly can coach at the COLLEGIATE level and has proven to be successful. Weis’ credentials are NFL worthy, but they do not translate into success at the collegiate level…obviously. Why not look at Brian Kelly and see where he can take this program because it’s not like we’re winning 10 games every season and losing the big one. We’re not even getting to the big one to lose it. I don’t think we could be doing any worse than 3-9 or 6-6 with a proven winner leading our program.
GO IRISH!! BEAT PITT!!
It’s not a forgone conclusion that Kelly would out-perform Weis. Sure, he has done exceptionally well at Cincinnati. Absolutely. Willingham did well at Stanford, too.
Notre Dame is big time from the get-go. Every week, we’re on national television. There’s no chance to rebuild the program. A coach doesn’t arrive here to play in front of 10,000 fans and grow that fan base to 20,000 or 40,000. From the get-go, there are 80,000 in South Bend on Saturday and millions watching from all around the world.
So, if we decide to dump Weis at year’s end, I hope we actually do some serious work in finding the right coach that is used to the exceptional pressure that the Notre Dame job imposes.
I hope we don’t have to make a coaching change. I hope Weis wins the last three games this year and we finish at 9-3. And, then we get someone good in the Gator Bowl and I hope we dominate them.
But things haven’t gone well for Charlie really since the first time he lost as the Irish head coach. We’ve struggled against inferior opponents and have been beaten pretty well by better squads. But, these last three games can change that. We can come out and handle Pitt tomorrow. And, we should be able to stick it to Connecticut before smoking Stanford.
teo,
You make some valid points about the fact that Notre Dame is “big time from the get-go”. Here’s the thing…Kelly would come into ND with talented players from “the get-go” but he would know how to use them. Look at the comment by “DeltaIrish” who puts it pretty black and white. A kid may not be the best option at a certain position but maybe he is still worth keeping around to improve another position. I just feel like Charlie doesn’t know what do with all this talent and use it effectively. As well, I’m sure Cincy gets some pretty solid crowds that are MUCH larger than 20,000 or 40,000. So I highly doubt 80,000 will make that much of a difference, but using players in the best was possible is a clear cut example of something CW does NOT do.
I really don’t have much to complain about CW concerning the offense. He gambles more than I would like, but that’s his personality.
My problem lies on the defensive side of the ball. Is it lack of coaching, scheme or athletes? Or is it all three?.
Calling for a new coach to lead us to a BCS game is great, but once we get there we MUST be able to keep the team we are playing out of our end zone!
I’m not really interested in watching Jimmy have to throw 50+ passes a game because we need 2-3 scores to get caught back up.
WE WILL NOT BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY UNTILL WE CAN PLAY DEFENSE!!!!
Example, Bama has only given up 8-10 tds all YEAR….LOL!
That means keeping teams to:
Under 14 pts a game.
1-2 forced turn-overs a game.
Consistant special teams play, maybe even kicking the ball into the end zone on kick offs, instead of the 12 yrd line.
Look at all the top teams who have a fighting chance at playing for a championship and you will find GREAT defense units leading them into the game!
Oh, these top teams usually have coaches who have had many years to build on the programs they took over.
In the NFL the Redskins, Lions, and Raiders are infamous for sending coaches out the door. They are always looking for the next coach, and the one thing they all have in common is that they NEVER get better.
Hopefully we don’t (continue) become one of those organizations!
Teo and Palk,
Good points here all around. Teo, I hope like hell that our season ends up as you’ve described bro –
GO IRISH!
Agreed. Let’s win out and we may see some things we didn’t expect.
GO IRISH!
Earth to Teo…they are having trouble GIVING tix away to ND home games now. Your “80,000 every weekend” is becoming a myth as interest in ND football begins to wane. You can have a hall pass for mediocrity only so long. Pretty soon, even an ND weekend becomes another exercise in boredom. Your defense of this Charlie is laudable, but i think Charlie is missing some key components of being a successful coach at this level. Simply recruiting well is not getting it done. The behind the scenes, in the trenches tools are simply not there. Kelly has them.
.570 The average winning percentage of the $20,000,000 salaried coaching tree. Faust (30-26-1 .526) Davie (35-25 .583) Willingham (21-15 .583)
Weis (30-21 .588)! Ohh.. not to mention their astounding combined 2-10 record in bowls (.166) I didn’t know .500 football paid so well!
“Our run-defense has done okay this year…My sense is that our larger and quicker defensive line will stop the run. That’s not a guarantee, but I think we match up well against Pitt because their offensive strength — a running attack — is our defensive strength.”
Navy rushing stats vs. ND: 57 rushes for 348 yds, 6.1 yards per carry.
I’m not holding my breath.
All Navy does is run McSweeney.
A better comparison would be USC, who ended up with 33 rushes for 121 yards, 3.7 ypc
This defense has gotten much better against the run this year against a conventional run game. Saying that they shit the bed against Navy is true, but has no bearing on how well they will be able to defend the Pitt run game.
If we were playing Georgia Tech next then this would make sense as a stat to post.
If a team runs the ball every play for an entire game, it still doesnt excuse a 6.1ypc given up.
Especially when you can stack 8 in the box to stop the run (like we did against navy)
Navy had a bit of a different running formation than the traditional one Pitt imposes. It seems to me that we should be able to stay with their offensive line, penetrate and stop the run.
Interesting post. Remember, Willingham had coached Stanford successfully before arriving at ND. Not everyone can handle this job. . . .
I am not going to talk about my own frustration with Weis in this comment. I’ve written enough.
But, I am going to predict a thorough Irish victory: 31-17.
We have the kids. If you look at the line, Pitt’s defensive tackles and ends have played well for them all season. They’re among the nation’s best in sacks. Sounds like SC, right? Well, when you dig a bit deeper, you see two things: Pitt played a pretty marginal nonconference schedule; nearly all of our offensive line guys are quite a bit bigger than Pitt’s defensive line guys. And, yes, we melted against Navy — Navy for God’s sake — but it was a letdown game. This game is different. We’re out of BCS contention, but we still have a formidable offensive front. Our guys will get Jimmy some real time and we have the speed at key positions. We’ll move the ball on offense. Putting up 31 points is a fairly reasonable expectation for this group against the Panther defensive front.
Defensively, I am concerned. Pitt has a great freshman back named Dion Lewis. He’s averaging a bit over 125 yards per game. He works with the support of a strong offensive line, led by center Robb Houser. The line is big, but not huge. And, they’ve been able to rack up some yards against mostly smaller defensive fronts. So, it will come down to whether we can stop the run. Our run-defense has done okay this year. But, this will be a challenge. My sense is that our larger and quicker defensive line will stop the run. That’s not a guarantee, but I think we match up well against Pitt because their offensive strength — a running attack — is our defensive strength.
Admittedly, we haven’t seen an offense quite like Pitt’s in that it expects to run the ball down our throats on every play. But, if we can set the tone early in the game with some legitimate penetration, I think we can beat up on Pitt because our offense will light up Heinz Field.
Again, maybe I am wishfully thinking here. But, I like this game. Pitt is clearly favored and they’ve nearly beaten everyone and this is a great opportunity for our kids to rebound, set the record straight about the 2009 Irish, and head into Pittsburgh and kick some Panther tail.
Let’s Go Irish!
Wow – you are a braver man than I in trying to prognosticate how ND is going to fare against a certain opponent! I am absolutely done doing that!
I will root for my Irish with passion like I do every week.
It is highly questionable how successful Willingham was at Stanford…
It is not questionable how successful Kelly has been at every team he has coached…
How to be passive aggressive while swallowing Brian Kelley’s p***s. Good job.
Best article I have read all year on this site.
Go Irish
Ha so McSweeney what your saying is: “I’m not sayin, I’m just sayin!” Which means charlie must go and there are plenty of well deserved candidates to choose from. Not BRIAN KELLY mentioning BRIAN KELLY any BRIAN KELLY names BRIAN KELLY but BRIAN KELLY you get the point! That what you’re saying Mr. McSweeney? Ha, I’m not sure who I want as the next coach at ND, but I do know there needs to be one (EVEN if it means starting all over AGAIN!!!)
Cinci’s opponents’ combined won-loss-record:
37-46
This includes a nonconference schedule of Miami of Ohio (1-10) and Southeast Missouri (1-8).
You don’t get weeks off at Notre Dame.
Ha teo you need to get off it…I’m not even saying that I think Kelly should be our next head coach for sure (just liked the artice.) However, what I am saying is that we need someone other than Charlie! Now I know our schedule doesn’t include some of these lower 1A teams or even D-II teams but come on you can’t possibly believe our schedule is way tougher than cincy’s or anyone else in the big east or big ten or whoever you wanna compare it too. Bottom line need someone else.
Two points: first, Notre Dame is everyone’s favorite team to play. How many opponents circled the ND game when they saw the 2009 schedule. I suspect all of them did.
Second, this year, our schedule is weaker than it has been in the past. The administration — largely at the public request of NBC — provided Charlie with a less challenging schedule. Having said that, there are no Southen Missouris or whatever. Sure, WaSu blows this year, but typically that program is halfway decent and plays in the Pac10. Same is true with Washington. The last few years they’ve been awful, but that is not the rule.
The larger issue is that while Kelly may be able to coach, he may not be able to coach at Notre Dame. It’s a much different place, with a massive following, large media presence and a whole bunch of pressure. Cincinnati isn’t even the most highly watched team in Ohio.
I think we need to consider a different approach: someone from the SEC or ACC. The players and coaches at southern schools experience the pressure that Notre Dame endures. They have the fan bases — at least in their states — and the media following. Anyone who’s ever been to Death Valley or Athens or Gainesville understands the live-or-die attitude of big-time college football.
Obviously, I’d like the coach in Gainesville, but I doubt that would ever happen.
ND opponents’ combined records of the teams we’ve played so far:
37-38
Current combined records for the whole season:
55-47
Not all that much better…yet another not-so-great argument against Kelly.
I will give you that Brian Kelly made not have had the most difficult schedule in the Big East this season. So you can argue that he hasn’t played a difficult schedule. And, coaching in the MAC wasn’t difficult either nor was his run in D-II.
But, like Tressel at OSU he has won where ever he has coached. The telling story is the number of games he has coached in college football, now 231 and counting.
Cincy has a great graduation rate so he knows what it means to get players who have to go to class.
And again to address the schedule, he is not winning in the last minute against teams that should be beaten soundly. Purdue will more than likely not win 6 games this year, Michigan will more than likely not win 6 games this year, Michigan State may win 7. Washington and Wash State, enough said.
Only 2 games were won the way they were supposed to have been won.
I don’t expect much against Pitt and Stanford just torched USC. UConn is a maybe at best.
Brian Kelley seems like a solid replacement for Charlie.
And, one other thing, anyone notice that there was no drop off when the back up QB came in to the picture. Seems as though depth has been developed.
Some really good points about Kelly. I’m not yet sold on the man as our next coach.
I am however a fan of us trying to bring someone in from the SEC. There is a lot of talented young recruits down south, and the SEC coaches have first grabs at them. Maybe the could get them to come up here and play some ball.
Plus, the coaches in the SEC know a thing or two about big time games, players, media, fans and wins.
“You don’t get weeks off at Notre Dame.” That’s true, especially when you are the ND teams of this era that are so dysfunctional.
One might have thought the following teams might mean a figurative “week off” in the last 2 years, but the results say otherwise:
Syracuse (lost), Navy (lost twice), Air Force (got crushed), UNC (lost although they were #22 at the time), BC (got crushed last year and barely won this year), Washington (barely won this year) etc. etc. I could go on.
Next year we play Central Michigan. I guess we’ll see if they are a light, heavy underdog opponent like some of teams listed above. Anyone think that game will be an “automatic win”?
Teo, my point is only to illustrate how much trouble ND has beating ANY team, no matter how “bad” that program is supposed to be in a given year. And we don’t beat any teams that really matter.
We/ND is in NO POSITION whatsoever to make fun of Cincinnati’s opponents! What in the world makes you think ND would have fared ANY better against UC’s opponents over the last 3 or 4 years?
As I have said many times, I don’t know if Kelly is the right answer or not. But for all those who still think our coaching staff should stay, I must pose this question:
What has to happen for you to change your opinion and decide Weis, Brown and Tenuta must be fired? A 7-6 season this year? A losing season next year? What? I want to know.
Teo, I submit these comments respectfully to you- please understand that.
I hate to say that I am old enough to have lived through some of these debates before, but I am. I recall the alumni who chased Lou Holtz outta town for not winning enough with big-time QB Ron Paulus. And, it’s been very much a nightmare since then, with everyone arguing that:
Davie would be a good coach (a good transition, understands the importance of running the ball, willing to graduate kids, etc);
O’Leary would be fabulous since he did so well at Georgia Tech (only that he was actually not exactly truthful on his resume);
Willingham would be great, given how he turned around Stanford; and
Weis would be an amazing coach, with his NFL experience and his sure-to-have “schematic advantages.”
Forgive me if I am tired of running through coaches (or listening to people insist that this coach or that coach would be better). Last year was bad. 2007 was awful. I am with you, JDH.
We’ve made some mistakes this year for sure. I see this team as a team that’s going to finish strong. It’s made mistakes, but they’re too talented not to have a strong finish.
If we finish 9-3, I think it’s pretty difficult to argue with a performance like that. And, I do think CW at least gets to finish the season before we all demand the guy’s head.
Besides, we’re in the running for some of the best recruits in the nation. Willingham, Davie (and O’Leary) never competed for so many of these big-time recruits. In itself, that is an improvement. Now, if we could knock off Pitt and Stanford and Connecticut, things could get better.
But, I do have doubts like everyone else.
Great points Teo my man! All great points. Like I’ve said before, there just aren’t any easy answers. Only educated, calculated risks. Fans want someone to show up and take them to the promise land. And it normally doesn’t work like that. I think Kelly could be a good fit for ND, but everyone must have realistic expectations.
With Weis, he himself set the bar VERY high and has underperformed ever since.
There are plenty of weeks off. Purdue, MSU, Nevada, Navy.
Last year they were Cuse, Navy ect.
ENOUGH with the EXCUSES!!! We used to take each of these teams to the woodshed week after week. Why are most of the posters satisfied with losing? We should be better than this and we will again.
GO IRISH! BEAT EVERYONE, SOON!
got news for you teo, you’d be absolutely blessed if kelly chose to bestow it upon you bro. under your ridiculous theory, urban wasn’t ready for the big time in the sec coming from utah either right? wrong again!
So I guess that a big part of the blame must go to the ND big shots who keep hiring these coaches that havent worked out???
0: The number of reasons Chuck deserves to keep his job.
This is some of the funniest shit I’ve ever read!!!!