According to CBS’s Bruce Feldman, Notre Dame defensive coordinator Bob Diaco is about to be named head coach at UConn after agreeing to a 5 year deal worth $1.5 million/year. The news has yet to be confirmed by either UConn or Notre Dame at this time.
tweetAfter experiencing no turnover in the staff last year, it looks like Brian Kelly will now be tasked with replacing both of his coordinators with Diaco headed to UConn and Chuck Martin being named the head coach at Miami (Ohio) University last week.
If this news had broke two weeks ago, Kelly would have had an obvious internal replacement available to him in Martin but with Martin now in charge of his own program, Kelly could have to go outside the program for at least one of the open coordinator positions on his staff for 2014 without any internal candidates with coordinator experience on the defensive side of the ball.
Diaco has done a marvelous job in turning around a Notre Dame defense that was a laughing stock just a few years ago into one of the most dominant units to ever play for the Fighting Irish last year. Performance fell off slightly for the defense this year, but even with a rash of injuries at critical positions, Diaco was able to put a patchwork defense together that kept Notre Dame in every game despite being put in some tough positions from time to time.
The most immediate concern for Kelly outside of hiring two new coaches is going to be recruiting this weekend. Notre Dame is set to host two key defensive recruits – Nile Sykes and Kolin Hill. Both were thought to be possible commitments for the Irish but today’s news could throw a wrench in those plans.
Then there are all of the current commitments whom Diaco played a large role in recruiting. Kelly and the rest of the defensive staff will have to put in some extra time keeping all of them on board as well while Notre Dame looks for a replacement. In interim expect the negative recruiting from Irish foes to pick up big time with other programs looking to poach away while Notre Dame looks for a replacement.
The other immediate concern for Kelly is junior defensive end Stephon Tuitt. The biggest recruit on the board this year for the Irish is their elite defensive end whom many project to be a potential first round pick if he leaves early for the NFL. At this point it is unclear how Diaco’s departure will impact his decision.
We’ll have more on this situation as it unfolds.
Thanks irisheye62. But, no, irish, we both have this site. Our styles are contrasts but nicely complement each other. Funny how we seem to say the same things differently. While great minds may think alike, we don’t need to say things the same way.
Yes, irisheye62, crush Rutgers. Ask no quarter, give no quarter.
ESPN typically sloppy. Aaron Lynch and Deontay Greenberry are NOT old friends. Never have been. They are not even in the same class, and come from different coasts.
It was Tee Shepard who made multiple visits to Notre Dame. Greenberry just redeyed in for the 2011 USC game, and never returned to Notre Dame.
He most probably shook Lynch’s hand and said “HI” but the recruiting staff, even before Spradlin, is rigorous in their agenda. It was a jumble of kids in that weekend (Shaq Thompson, the receivers, others) So they did not have the time to become “old friends.”e
ESPN never lets the facts get in the way of a good tagline.
If you want to understand football then watch football and use your eyes and your brain.
If you want mushbrain, watch the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network.
Entertainment is their first name.
Duranko
It was T. Sheppard and D. Greenberry who are good friends. Both from Fresno, Ca. and may even be related. IMO I think when Sheppard Enrolled early and got a taste of how hard it can be in the classroom that caused Greenberry to get scared and flip to Houston. Tee Sheppard just finished his year at Holmes CC in either Miss or Louisiana. He is expected to choose between Miss st. or Ole Miss. He is the #8 rated Juco recruit. It wouldve been nice to have both those kids but it wasnt to be.
This has NOTHING to do with the story–but
Florida State’s man has just won the Heisman Trophy.
This makes me wonder -if history will repeat itself in two ways-
Heisman winner’s team does NOT win the National Championship–
and —-
the SEC wins again—( with incredible talent all over that conference)
( Still I had to laugh WITH Steel Fan Rob above–Special Ed. Conference- SEC lol)
I think Auburn has a chance —and if Bama was there–it would be another Crimson Tide Story–as they really have had the more difficult path than Florida State–still the best team that night is debatable–but Bama mistakes ( rare for sure) puts Auburn in–and I would LOVE to see Auburn win it to go from rags to riches in one year!
SEC may be special ed. —
but they DON’T CARE in the SEC –they win!
( not saying it’s right–but they win)
Interesting year–to some degree.
Here’s hoping for a REAL offensive unit at ND for 2014.
. Scott Frost, Oregon
offensive coordinator candfidate
If the early 2013 season is a good indicator, Oregon’s Scott Frost is well on his way to becoming a head coach.
The former Nebraska quarterback is in just his first season as the Ducks’ offensive coordinator and play-caller, and they are already off to an incredible start.
UO has averaged 672 yards per game through three weeks and has averaged more than 60 points per game, ranking No. 2 in the nation in both
categories.
bud foster for def coordinator. open the pocketbook or we stay second rate forever.
Jack, thanks for the first rate analysis.
I remain excited about the frosh CBS, and we haven’t even seen Kinlaw yet. It appeared, anecdotally, that Luke and Butler were more ready for action this fall than KeiVarae Russell was a year ago. I also hope the new DC will play them in man-to-man coverage.
I am more frustrated by the safety situation, We have talent there, and Baratti should return for Spring. I further hope the new DC will shift the priorities and either simplify the safety calls or find other ways to put our best athletes (tackling included) out there.
Kelly may promote a defensive coordinator from within, however if he goes outside of the program to fill the position he should take a hard look at trying to lure Bud Foster away from Virginia Tech. The guy is a GREAT defensive coordinator. Tech’s defense is always loaded – athletic and very aggressive. I don’t know that Foster would leave Tech, he has been loyal to Frank Beamer for a long time and may even have designs to take over the Tech program when Beamer retires, but, who knows, perhaps South Bend is one of the few places Foster would leave Tech for. I think he would be a great hire if ND could get him.
Bud Foster isn’t going anywhere. He has a lump payment of nearly $1M if he stays through the 2014 season coming to him. This was put in place by Va Tech nearly 5 years ago.
fxm, was it the 3-4 defense or the way it was used? The Irish ranked very low in sacks and turnovers. Early in the year, they blitzed a good bit
but then they backed off. This year we were tied for 102d in sacks with just 17. Last year, by comparison we were tied for 22d with 34. That reduction, combined with the misplays by one of the safeties, was a big difference.
I would suggest that, after tackling and upgrading the safety play, generating more pass rush and sacks will be a spring priority.
It is hard to figure, one thing for sure, I was sort of counting of Tuitt to equal or exceed last years sack figure and more production out of Shembo as well. I would’e thought they would’ve come to close to 20 by themselves. I don’t think I ever heard the term “coverage sack” associated with this crew. But, the bigger point for me is, how does that D work without a monster in the middle? Maybe Jarron can become that.
Duranko,
ND plays gap control 3-4. Their goal is to fill all the gaps and make a mess of the line to stop the run game. It is the best defense to stop a spread because in a spread philosophy they want you to push up the field to create holes. Its not great against a good pro-style QB because he can sit in the pocket and pick you apart. What ND did well last year was win one on one match ups on 3rd down to get sacks. This year not so much. With the freshman playing so well at corner look the new D-coordinator to put more pressure on 3rd and long. The key will be if ND can play with 8 in the box and leave their corners on an island. I think they need to do that to account for the loss of Nix and the weakness as MLB.
I believe BK is a good CEO and therefore I think we will be largely unaffected. I am more curious as to whether we are going to continue to a be a 3-4 defense. The problem with the approach is guys like Louis Nix are a necessity to make it work and for our program he was a luxury.
FXM,
I don’t think ND has the personnel to run a 4-3. They don’t have a DE or Middle linebacker s to run the 4-3
I don’t know which is more detrimental, no nose guard or no middle linebacker. Maybe, they are equally bad.
First rate men hire first rate people
Second rate men hire third rate people.
Not to confuse this with any facts, but that explains the differential hiring practices of Kelly and his predecessor, all of whose
hires have sunk without trace, except for the two, Haywood and Brown, who wound up with police sirens outside their residence.
One guy, in recent years, has had five of his assistants become head coaches in D-1. The other guy led only in number of assistants on the police blotter.
The difference is not trivial.
i just want to win and want a guy to do anything to get there consistent with the nd coda
Good news bj, Buddy Ryan is available!
FSU lost 7 assistants last year. It’s about the Jimmy’s and the Joes, not the X’s and O’s.
i just dont want a defensive coordinator or an offensive coordinator from central michigan. cant they swarbrick and kelly find some old pro who would stick around south bend and nd for a decade, mike ditka, type, just bummed out. to much me instead of nd for me.
bj,
Relax, they’ll find someone and it will fit the system. If not you will get your wish and Kelly will be gone in 2 years.
Gus Malzahn was at Ark St last year, how’d that work out?
BTW:
As per ESPN.com: “Old Notre Dame friends Deontay Greenberry and Aaron Lynch were both named first-team All-American Athletic Conference this week.”
C’est la vie!
Steelfan,
First of all Aaron Lynch is an idiot and look at the conference they both play, it’s crap. Lynch had a sub par season compared to Tuitt’s last year and Greeberry is playing against inferior competition. I could care less about both of them.
I worry about the players that are on the roster. The last time he shook up his staff it worked, I am sure he is going to hire someone that fits his system and fits into his schemes. As long as he doesn’t pull a Weis and hire co-defensive coordinators, one from a 3-4 philosophy and the other from a 4-3 philosphy. That was a jack ass move.
Agreed, that why I ended by saying “C’est la vie,” Jack.
Sorry misread
No, Burgundy, ND is not technically a full member of the ACC for football. If this unprecedented event happens, then ND will have a decision to make. ND will not be able to compete in a semi-pro setting and maintain its academic integrity. It’s barely competitive now when compared to the semi-pro teams like Bama. It will only get worse if the power conferences decide to make de jure what is already de facto, namely, professional players on scholarships.
I think if this event C-Dog is talking about takes place, ND should stay and lead the reform of the crippled NCAA. Lobby to keep a few of the remaining elite athletic-academic schools on board and market the new NCAA as the place real student-athletes play and get a legit degree. With ND, Michigan, Wisconsin, Stanford, the academies, a few elite schools on the east coast and Mid-Atlantic, the trimmed down NCAA DI football could still be very competitive and attractive.
Make no mistake, what the SEC elite and a few others want is official semi-pro football. ND can simply not go there in good conscience.
Steel Fan:
Thanks for the tip.
“burgundy” may indeed know a lot about football at ND. However, he sounds more like the “squidword ” character on Sponge bob than –as you say–engaging in conversation.
As for affirmative action, thanks for the warning.
As for being called a racist, that is such a freaking cop out. ( I’m American Indian and Part Jewish by the way–Scottish/Irish and Catholic)
Now THERE are some groups combined who have endured.
Nobody plays the race card on me–on or off paper.
Disagree? Sure.
Race card? Cop out—
period ( racism exists but I can disagree with anybody but I –like you say will call it as it is –even with my own– or not–with social graces which should be commonplace to all people. )
That was REALLY well stated, wasn’t it?? —LOL 🙂
GO IRISH
DESTROY RUTGERS—
Steel–
What’s your take on the major bowls?
Who do you really see at Florida State/Auburn?
I wish the Buckeyesw ere playing bama–
Can’t get a feel for Stanford/ mich. St.
Sparty played well against suckeyes–
Clemson is good—my neighbors from the south say osu can’t play with Clemson for a full 60 minutes–
I hope they are right–
all I hear is hate for ND and anti-Catholic remarks through most of this city.
Just curious–
Auburn seems to be on a role with destiny–
who knows?
irisheye62,
I’m just glad it’s not Saban and Meyer for the NC. That would’ve been painful.
I’m going for Auburn. With me it’s always about ND. So Auburn has less NCs than FSU.
I think Clemson will give OSU a tough time. They have real speed ans ATHs there. Could be a great game.
Standford will beat MSU but it will be close, I think.
In the end it’s all about ND and the Pinstripe Bowl. ND needs to win big. No excuses. Just win big!
Go Irish!
Steel:
Thx–
living in Columbus as I’ve stated a few times, I long for a suckeye defeat. It’s not necessarily the guys on the team. This media here is awful. As for the team, they have a schedule which is laughable overall year after year. If FSU would have had them ( or Bama or Auburn) it would have been a REAL yawn fest and I’m laying 50 bucks on that. Something like 57-10. Oswho is not as good as they think they are. Good? Yes. NC calibre? LOL—-
This town of Columbus has REALLY been quiet this past week. ( I even put out a Mich. St. Flag borrowed from a friend! 🙂 )
I think they can beat Stanford. Don’t have a feel for it. I’m just thanking God that we could have lost to Stanford 50-7 and then only lost by 7–and could ( should) have tied it up! Who knew?
Clemson? Haven’t watched much of them save for early in the season. I’m hoping for Orange as the same deranged Osu fans who slashed tires and cussed out 12 year olds deserves a loss. ( ND is not perfect but one would never see an ND fan do that to a Jr. High boy wearing the jersey of the other team. OSU does it ALL the time. Real classy, eh? Uggh)
I’m going for Auburn too.
Seems like destiny with the pass at last minute against Georgia, the return of the few failed fg’s of Bama and racking up 59 on A and M.
Furthermore, most of the time–as we all know –the Heisman usually has the losing team.
Weird, eh?
Who knows.
FOR ME–IRISH # 1.
WE HAVE TO destroy Rutgers to the hilt. 40- 20 -something like that or MORE.
No excuses–it is time for a huge win! Convert on 3rd down, run the ball, continue to fix the soft corners and improve the secondary and please—just ONE TD return!!!
I like your posts Steel–you should have your own site!
Steel–
one more thing–
If oswho suckeyes played the schedule ND does year in and out, they would not last year after year.
They would have some good years. However, when the spoiled rotten disgusting fans are accustomed to home games in the Aug. and Sept. sun with a scrimmage season of 3 games ( or 4 or 5) all with kick off at noon, then playing in a conference which is less than stellar with 50% poor 25 5 mediocre and the other 25% possibly competitive but failing miserably outside of the confernce over all. They have talent –but it is not tested talent week after week. Then they whine about the disrespect. Mich. St did us all a favor for a more interesting NC matchup.
AS YOU SAY–this is all about ND. I agree.
With the post season coming on very soon, I like to see the lay of the land and possible upsets and hope for some teams to be humbled and others applauded ( like Va. Tech and Tenn. and most ND opponets in other bowls.)
Go Irish!
Hoping for good hires on staff, good win, good recruiting and a good future!
WE ARE ND!
diaco was an enigma to me, sits in the box in the stands, yet 2012 unbelievable performance, 2013 a total disaster 30 pts a game, i think he was looking for a job for a while thats why we got that prevent defense, they used to come and stay for a decade, notre dame our mother has become me me me me, here are some def coordinators to think about if you can get em
best college defensive coordinators
Bud Foster – Virginia Tech
Bud Foster takes the number one spot due to his abilities standing the test of time. The Virginia Tech defense is consistently among the best in the country. Since 1999 Foster has had eight units rank inside the top ten in total defense. In 2000, Foster took a defense that returned just three starters and turned it into a unit that led the Big East Conference in rushing defense, placed 16th nationally against the run and tied for third nationally in interceptions. Under Foster the Hokies defense has been a top-ten scoring unit nine times.
If Virginia Tech’s offense was anything like its defense, they would have more than just one BCS National Championship appearance to show for Foster’s incredible defensive mind.
John Chavis – LSU
John Chavis, or, ‘The Chief’, is an extremely aggressive coordinator, his defenses create pressure and force turnovers.
Tennessee won the first BCS National Championship in 1998 with a defense under Chavis’ tutelage. At the end of the 2008 season he was named defensive coordinator of the LSU Tigers, where he has helped solidify LSU as one of the best football teams in the nation.
Jerod Mayo, Patrick Peterson and Morris Claiborne are just a few names in a long list who Chavis has guided to the NFL.
Brent Venables – Clemson
Venables took the reigns as Clemson’s defensive coordinator in 2012 and made an immediate impact. His defense allowed 24.8 points per game compared to the same unit which conceded 29.3 a year previous.
Oklahoma lost three National Championship finals whilst Venables was in charge of the defense, but that isn’t a knock on 42 year old, who already has 13 years of coordinator experience under his belt. Venables could be the missing piece that allows Clemson push for a top-five finish.
Kirby Smart – Alabama
Kirby Smart is one of Nick Saban’s closest allies. The 2009 Frank Broyles award winner was Saban’s defensive backs coach at LSU, safeties coach at Miami and now defensive coordinator at Alabama.
The 37 year-old is the highest paid coordinator in college football, and rightly so. Alabama is consistently one of the best defenses in the league, which is recognised by three National Championships in the last four seasons.
The 2012 the Alabama defense gave up a measly 10.9 points per game, 2.43 yards per rushing attempt and 18 total touchdowns.
“i think he was looking for a job for a while thats why we got that prevent defense”
(wtf?)
Did you really mean to say that or did your dog tell you to say that?
BJ,
Really, you are kidding yourself if you think Bud Foster is leaving VA Tech. All of these guys you mentioned are locked into their coaches and schools. Plus the guy from Clemson sucks, FSU stuck 40 on them.
Bj,
It’s like you are playing a game of scrabble and just type whatever letters you see.
Ron:
BJ had a lot of facts which were interesting.
I hope things get better for you because you are just plain angry and sour. If you are going to the Pinstripe bowl, I hope the cold New York wind refreshes you. Can you disagree with SOMEBODY without being a crank?
irisheye62:
I think we should refer to Ron Burgundy as Burgundy so as not to confuse him with the loyal and much more sympathetic Ron.
This is part of Burgundy’s “Anchorman” schtick.
When Burgundy is not staying in character he actually knows a lot about ND and football. Too bad he so often prefers to be drole and in character rather than be engaging.
One thing you can’t talk about with Burgundy, however, is affirmative action. Don’t even use the term because you’ll hurt his feelings and he’ll call you a racist.
Also, Burgundy thinks that Mike Tomlin is just too dreamy and a great HC. I’m sure he thought the same thing about another affirmative action lottery winner, Tyrone Willingham. Oops. There I go using that term again!
Sorry if I hurt your sensibilities there, “Anchorman.”
You keep calling it like it is irisheye62.
Now we’ll no doubt hear from the apocryphal “SteelFanBob” who always seems to disappear only to reappear to defend Burgundy. How strange is that, right?
Go Irish!
Thank You!!
Frankly, I am glad he is gone. Nothing personal. His laid back defense
just isnt working. Last year it worked because of Manti in the middle.
Defensive players are a different breed of cat.They want to be aggressive
not just sit back waiting to see what will happen. If you dont believe me
ask any of them you know or might meet.
I wish Coach Diaco nothing but good things. He played an important role and now here’s an opportunity to bring in a fresh perspective on the defensive side. I hope they stay in the 3-4 but if that changes so be it. Before doomsaying, let’s see who BK hires.
Play like a pinstriper
Jack, Bradley’s a great nominee, along with Vanderlinden. I think not only have they embraced the 3-4, they’ve recruited to it, and there was
some discussion by Belichick when he was here last Spring about the “recruiting to profile” of the OLBS. So it was not a whimsical choice, but a committed one.
Kelly-and Bradley-are mature enough to have the discussion and ask the question.
Duranko,
Its BK’s preferred scheme a 3-4. The person he hires will run that scheme. BK isn’t dumb like Weiss a change his defensive scheme and not have the players to fit what he wants to do. Bradley would have to adapt
I am happy for Coach D and wish him good luck at UConn. I think people are making a mountain out of a mole hill concerning recruiting players. If a player leaves ND for a coach than he wasn’t meant to go to ND. Also, the middle linebacker recruit is not going to Florida. It is between ND and Vandy. Finally, I don’t know if this person can adapt to a new system, but I would like to see them interview Bradley the former Penn State D-coordinator. The only problem I see is he was raised in a 4-3 scheme and ND plays a 3-4 and I am not sure he could change schemes. Bradley is a hell of a recruiter and a hell of a Linebacker coach.
Kelly has now at least 5 of his guys as head coaches.
Butch Jones at Tennessee
Jeff Quinn at Buffalo
Charley Molnar at UMass
Chuck Martin at Miami (O)
Bob Diaco at UConn.
fxm, this is tricky. I’m always worried that position coaches may or may not make good coordinators, and that coordinators may or may not make good head coaches.
In evaluating Cooks, we don’t know how much of the conservative use of the DBS, and how much of the emphasis for the safeties on playcalling versus athleticism was their call or
Diaco’s.
Cooks studieds under the Iowa system (a nice mother lode of coaches, Bill Snyder, Diaco, the Stoops), had a few cups of coffee in the NFL and spent time at K-State with Snyder and then at Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Kelly named him DC for the bowl game so that may tell you something.
Louis Nix just keeps on giving and making us smile.
He has tweeted that he will be the next defensive coordinator at Notre Dame!
What are our thoughts on Cooks, since his name has been mentioned on the boards? I don’t feel like we have had good performance on the back end since Martin gave up the responsibility.
Excellent, though I had hoped that Diaco would have held on until the Iowa job opened. There are no football players in all of New England, so that’s a lot of work recruiting. Perhaps he can replicate the career arc of Randy Edsall, who had re-established Maryland as a soli mid-tier program in the ACC.
Who were Nick Saban’s coordinators when LSU won? Jimbo Fisher and Will Muschamp. It’s a sign of excellence. His recent OC was Jim McElwain, now the head coach in Fort Collins, who will kick off the bowl scene.
But the really intriguing study is Chris Petersen’s experience at Boise State, where he had multiple coordinators on both sides of the ball leave for bigger jobs at BCS schools.
I have only the most minor of quibbles with Pops: I would amend your statement to say “For those feeling betrayed, take comfort that this is a problem GREAT football teams have.”
The last significant changes Kelly made were when he brought in
Harry Hiestand and Elliott. How’d that work out? What does Tristen Hoge think about the last upgrade?
For those happy Diaco is gone – shame on you. Yes, the guy did not ace the test every game, but the sum performance is orders of magnitude than any DC since at least Willingham was around.
For those feeling betrayed, take comfort that this is a problem good football teams have. Whenever you feel bad about losing a coordinator who is taking on a head coaching job, remind yourself that we are a short time removed from losing coordinators because they were fired or worse, experiencing turnover at the HEAD coach position.
Now that we have turned the page on those chapters, let’s trust in Kelley’s ability to put together a good staff, as he’s done many times throughout his career, and with Bob & Chuck good luck in their new gigs.
…and the recruits? While high schoolers are high schoolers, 4 year decisions hopefully won’t be impacted by assistant coach turn over. Lord knows most programs have a hard time keeping head coaches for that long, so you’d hope recruits would be realistic about that and put the majority of decision weight on fit with the school itself.
Thank you for bringing me my christmas wish early this year santa!!
Although with the 5 power conferences making veiled threats of leaving the NCAA so they can complete divorce the football athlete from being a student. Notre Dame could have a shot again among colleges who still maintain athletics for students only.
I agree C-Dog.
This will effectively make the new, trimmed-down NCAA a minor league, however. Who knows how that will affect TV deals and other revenue streams.
Regardless, it’s clear that a school like ND is having a hard time keeping up with the big-boys who have little or no academic restrictions on who they can recruit and little or no academic requirements once they get on to campus.
So, unless ND wants to tweak its admissions of football players, then they’ll have no choice but to stay on as a minor league team in a minor team league. If, however, it can convince Stanford, NW, Wisconsin, Michigan, Vandy, the service academies, and a few others to not bolt, then perhaps this revamped NCAA DI can still compete for the attention of recruits and the general public with high-quality games that will still be desirable for the big-whigs to televise and market.
I just don’t see how ND will be able to consistently compete with how things are going. Frankly, I don’t know how Stanford has managed to be so good for so long. Then again, ND has more champion game appearances than the Cardinal has. So it’s just very tough for such high-quality programs to play for a title regularly when the Special Ed. Conference can basically recruit any thug with speed and make sure he’s eligible to play.
I actually think divorcing the Power 5 would be great and would leave the rest of the true school athletic programs stronger. As a father now, I have only passing interest in the NFL and the collection of jail bate that play there. I’m sick of the tattoos, lurid cheerleaders, guys who can barely enunciate, and mostly I’m sick of glorifying tales from the hood.
I’ve also become less interested in watching schools with phenomenal athletes who don’t truly attend school and who do things like molest women and get away with it.
I use myself in these sentences only because I think my own react will be the average reaction of a quickly growing number of people.
Professional sports isn’t special anymore. Only an NCAA that enforces the STUDENT in student athlete is something inspiring. So I will be an even more rabid fan for an inspired team of STUDENT athletes.
You do realize that technically ND is a part of the ACC and thus part of this separation.
Dang –C-DOG
well said
“guys who can barely enunciate’
I get that—all over the place–
wif ( for with) and “you know” over and over-
SEC is very good -athletically–but I like Steele Fan Robs’ saying Special Ed. Conference–LMAO-
both ( bof) of you are spot on–you know ?
Success breeds coaching change. It’s a part of football.
Lou Holtz had a revolving door for assistant coaches during his 11 years.
He always adjusted and kept things going in the right direction.
ND has a good “core” of coaches and recruiters to build around.
This is a program on the rise with good talent and will be very attractive for many coaches out there looking for a great oppertunity.
I’m glad for Bob Diaco, he is a bright, energenic, hard working guy who has earned the right to be a head coach.
And you never know, He might, one day, return to ND to lead the Irish again!
I wish bob well too.
Holtz had 5 or 6 defensive coordinators. 2 were great. 1 was decent. And the others were a bust.
Barry Alvarez and Rick Minter come to mind as great ones. Bob Davie was decent as a DC. Gary Darnell and Foge fazio we’re complete busts. So there is going to be a rolling of the dice here.
The outcome will certainly set the tone. 2014 really needs to be a good year.
Foge Fazio… now there’s a name from the past!
You knew that with a name like Fazio that if he couldn’t coach, at least he could cook!
Rick Minter was a horrific failure as a defensive coordinator.
Twice. the second time when the fat man rehired him in a phone call.
Minter’s performance ignoring Pete Mitchell in the ’93 game was one of the worst failures ever by a Notre Dame defensive coordinator.
Serafino Fazio did a fine job at ND and went on to great success in the pros.
Fazio had to take over the defensive side of the mess that Faust left.
He stabilized the defense, and in his second year, allowed a TOTAL of 21 points to Michigan, Michigan State and Alabama.
The year ended badly because Holtz’ offense underperformed against Penn State, Miami, and A&M, with a meager TOTAL
of 30 points in the final three. Even in that era, ten points a game from Lou’s offense was inadequate.
Foge also went along with Zorich being redshirted in ’87.
I’ve heard one other person say Minter was a failure. But he cleaned up the mess left by Gary Darnell. Everyone remembers the Sugar Bowl. Minter sort of lost steam with age. But he was good enough to have a great defense his first year. I guess some people can criticize ND coaches but others can’t.
Fazio was reasonably successful at Pitt, but I would call him overly successful at ND or afterward. Holtz fired him and brought in Alvarez. Holtz and Alvarez were an incredible team.
You’d like to see Kelly find some yin for his yang. It seems like he’d want that in the DC and perhaps mentor someone as an OC while taking on more himself next year.
Who knows? Regardless of who it is, we won’t have a real clue until midway through the 2014 season.
And the hits just keep on coming !
So for those who are certain that since 2013 was not the year, but 2014 is, how is all this coaching change going to help?
I hope Kellycan get at least one coach soon to avoid losing recruits. But if the Irish were poised for a true run, why would both coordinators leave now?
Coaching changes aren’t good for stability. It will be interesting to see how Kelly manages this to improve the prospects for a successful season. I wonder what he will do if approached for another position.
Notre Dame had a lot of coaching changes following the 2011 season (new OL, DB, and OC and some other new roles) and 2012 ended up being great. Last year we had no changes and the Irish underachieved so a lot of changes won’t necessarily prevent the Irish from big things in 2014.
I hope you are right, Frank.
He will need both hires to be winners otherwise 2015 becomes the year.
If your pay went up a million a year you’d leave with a championship run on the horizon as well.
Million dollars a year? sure –why not?
Ron–did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed today?
You and ETX get into it or wbat?
whoa
Maybe hire Monty Kiffen after the cowgirls sack him? (Joke).
Thanks for clarifying that it was a joke. No one would’ve figured it out.
sarcasm AND putdown–
wow–this is just a game–
Christmas is coming–
I wish some school would sign our special teams coach, whoever that is. LOL!!
Good!
Now maybe we can run system that doesn’t take a 5star recruit a year to learn. Keep simple at let the studs get out on the field and play. Do guys like JuJu Smith want to go play in a defense that is so complex that he can’t get the field like Max Redfield. Also please find someone that will refuse to play mathias Farley at safety!! I’m begging….please!!!!!
I think he is very good at what he does, he will do well at UCONN since he can recruit. I just don’t like his philosophy, but he probably doesn’t care. This is where we can add a name, it is not BKs area of interest.
Why am I not mad nor sad about Bob leaving?
Because you are a fool.