Changing of the Irish Guard (2009 Edition)

(The Rock Report) - Yeah, there's that big to do in DC, but when the music stops and all of the assistant coaching changes are finally finished, Notre Dame's football leadership will also look dramatically different in 2009 and include at least one and possibly two blockbuster names from Notre Dame lore, NFL pro-bowlers Bryant Young and Tim Grunhard.

Big names aside, the question Notre Dame fans are asking is: Did Weis learn from his first round of mistakes and get the right guys? At this point, it's no secret that Weis has had to learn "on the job." His initial hiring process for assistants wasn't a process at all and Weis had no experience assembling a staff.

When Weis was hired, he was trying to put together a staff in the midst of a Superbowl run. He hired names with a mix of experience and recruiting expertise or that had a Notre Dame connection. Okay, and one NFL connection. Bill Lewis, Rick Minter, John Latina, David Cutcliffe, Rob Ianello and Mike Haywood all arrived in South Bend with fairly impressive resumes.

On paper, it was a staff that appeared to rival that of any in the country.

But of the initial staff, only Rob Ianello, Brian Polian and Bernie Parmalee remain.

What went wrong? One can only guess at this point, but in hindsight, it seems obvious that Weis had no idea what he needed nor how to work with or manage the coaches he did hire. He was guessing and while having to learn how to work with a full staff of coaches, he was also trying to learn the other hundred things he needed to succeed as head coach.

The assistants fell off quickly for different reasons.

On offense, Cutcliffe had a heart issue. Peter Vaas came in, but his tenure was short-lived amid rumors that he and Weis butted heads. Weis and Latina just never meshed. Our offensive has been a mess since 2006 when Quinn was sacked over 30 times and was hurried another 23 times. In an odd move, Weis gave Haywood the offensive reigns last year, but boxed him in with restrictions. It didn't work and Weis took back the play calling duties.

On defense, both Minter and Weis admitted that they never saw eye to eye and our defensive performance was dismal compared to top schools. It was clear that Jappy Oliver was in over his head from both a coaching and a recruiting standpoint. Weis replaced Minter, but should have done the same with Oliver. Our failure to recruit defensive linemen under Minter will haunt this team through 2009.

It seems to me to be analogous to Weis's recruiting learning curve.

Rewind to 2005.

His first class (mostly Ty's) was abysmal. Weis's second class was marked by a series of misses. He clearly identified the wrong talent and recruited a class, that while ranked in the top 10 at the time, is barely a top 15 class at this point. But, by Weis's third year, he had it figured out. No school recruited better over the next two years than Notre Dame. He got it.

Likewise, Weis has made some seemingly astute hires since he first assembled his staff. Corwin Brown brought an immediate injection of energy and recruiting ability to the team. Tenuta brings a wealth of experience to partner with Brown. Together with what will likely be an experienced hire on the defensive line, Notre Dame's new defensive staff will rival any in the country and that doesn't even factor in bringing in Bryant Young as a graduate assistant, which should pay immediate dividends on and off the field.

On offense, Frank Verducci has the experience and, from accounts, the intensity to turn this line around. It would be surprising if Notre Dame isn't able to improve on its historically bad rushing numbers. The pass protection was noticeably improved from 2006 and 2007. But remember Latina had a good resume as well, yet couldn't work effectively with Weis. The million dollar questions are: How will they mesh? Will Weis's scheme allow our linemen to be aggressive? If not, it won't matter if we bring Joe Moore's ghost back.

Notre Dame's new running back coach, Tony Alford has a solid resume and reputation as a recruiter in states where Notre Dame has struggled.

On the offensive coordinator issue, I believe that Weis, at this point, shouldn't bring in an offensive coordinator that will change the system. I'd much prefer this team just execute better on the current offense than try to install an offense that will create a new learning curve. We're returning almost an entire offense; it's time to build from strength. It was an offense the rewrote the record books for passing in 2005.

Just like Weis has learned in other areas, he appears to have improved his hiring process and this time isn't just bringing in names, but *hopefully* coaches he respects and will work with to make the whole greater than the sum of the parts. On top of that, Weis is using the graduate assistant position to give the 2009 team incredible mentors in Young and possibly Grunhard.

Weis may yet fail, but, at least on the surface, this changing of the guard appears to be far more than re-arranging deck chairs, hopefully it's turning the ship around for good. As a frequent critic of Weis, I, and most of NDNation, want him to succeed and hope these changes are the last major steps of the learning curve. That's three "hopes" if you're counting.

And good luck to that Barack guy as well. He does have one of the other three toughest jobs in the country.

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~ The Rock

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