I'm hoping for the best. Barry Alvarez had experience coaching LBs at Nebraska, I believe. Also, was part of theBlack Shirts there when that meant something. Also the head coaches were a bit more high level than Wake's I'd say so likely that more expertise rubbed off before he came to Lou's staff than for Lea in coming to ND. With Lea seems this is where the similarities with Alvarez end. Maybe Lea will pan out, or not. Hoping the familiar sinking feeling just from the lack of spring weather and not from you know what.
He doesn’t even have Diaco’s creds and people are pinning their hopes on Kelly hitting the powerball with this hire.
But that was under Hayden Fry, where he was LB coach for 7 years in a span that included two Rose Bowl appearances.
He was then with him again at Wake for a year in '16 and then 1 year at ND. He has not been at any coaching spot for more than 3 years. His build will be learn on the job...
especially recruiting continuity.
a barrel. Heaven forbid that we go big game hunting....
PS if Lea has success he’ll be gone faster than Elko. Lastly, if we were after continuity why didn’t we go all out to keep him? A&M vs ND hmmmm
on a budget
eyeglass case....
as football savants. "Player execution" is their crutch and the root cause of their failures.
imo We should be a run first, smash mouth, control the ball, physical football team... On defense we should have a reputation for being ferocious, physical, smart, fundamentally sound...
We have no identity on either side of the ball and dunce polian rounds that out on Sts.
And he'll take the entire defense down the suckhole with him.
Glad we cleared that up.
Contrary to its reputation for unrelenting negativity, this board has generally been positive when things have gone well.
During Willingham's first year, I would estimate that 20-25 percent of posts were outraged emotaposts because ESPN talking heads were calling our run "smoke and mirrors."
NDNation was all-in on Weis during his first two years, and there was actually a positive outlook going into 2007--to the point that some pessimists were actually hounded off the board.
This place was positively jubilant during the 2012 season.
Last year, for the first time, I noticed a marked difference. There was celebration when we beat USC, but there were also more than a few "Lucy is still lying in wait" posts (one of them was from me). We've seen it too many times now.
FWIW, I have refrained from criticizing the Lea promotion (for some of the reasons you share elsewhere in this thread). But there are problems above him in the organizational chart that probably make it of limited importance anyway.
No.
He might pan out. That doesn’t make him a good hire.
Before taking the Pitt promotion when Ben Howling left. I think he did great though he eventually got pushed out due to unrealistic expectations he helped create through his success. He's doing well now at TCU. Heck, Trump had never been a vice president or even a senator :)
Given the uncertainty at the head coaching position and the fact the defense is only one year into a new system that Lea's familiar with, he probably is the best we could get under the circumstances.
the best notre dame could hire was a guy who had never been a DC before
it is still a bad hire? That's a great no lose position to take.
My choice: Hurricane Ditka .
1) A commitment to spend the resources necessary to bring in quality personnel
2) Casting a sufficiently wide net to capture the best pool of candidates
3) Leveraging organizational brand/equity to attract good candidates within the pool. The best candidates probably aren't looking.
4) Letting skills and measurable results drive the majority of candidate ranking and evaluation.
5) Accountability for hires in a reasonable timeframe, and willingness to rectify mistakes and bad fits quickly
We've improved on 1). We've failed on the others.
We might get lucky on a DC promotion. That is independent of whether we have a good hiring process in place or not. We don't.
like Notre Dame. ND isn't where you go to learn, it's where you apply what you've mastered.
But it is not the be all end all. As SEE notes, Barry Alvarez worked out pretty well despite having no DC experience. This is not to say that Lea will be as successful as Alvarez. But given the cluster**** ND's defense has been in the three years preceding Elko, there is a reasonable argument that stability should have been an important, if not the most important factor, in deciding whom to hire as DC. Couple that with the reports that Lea is highly intelligent (and not just for a football coach), is a good teacher, relates well to his players, and was able to coax greatly improved production out of his linebackers, and Lea seems like a reasonable hire. I'm not saying that Lea will necessarily be successful, but I think there's a good chance he will be.
but using Alvarez to buttress this argument is cherry picking in the extreme, at least as I see it. I’m concerned because I think this year’s team is going to struggle on offense early, maybe longer, due to the departures on the O line and the defense will have to hold down the fort. Not expecting much out of Kellyball this year, just more of the same.
our DC to a guy that went on to be one of the best head coaches of his generation.
Than it is indeed 1988 again.
him for 2 years. I see nothing as stable here.
This is a total crap shoot...
I'm sure Lea will do some tweaking, but nothing as drastic as installing a completely different base defense that requires spending the entire spring on install rather than fundamentals and refining what players already know, and causing players to think about everything they are doing rather than reacting, a sure recipe to make even the fastest players look slow.
I'll wait until September to see how this works out. Unlike you, I'm not astute enough to pass judgment without seeing actual performance.
That's laughable.
Quite honestly, defensive schemes are simply not that complex unless you hire some jackwagon like BVG.
A 4-3 front is going to have very basic techniques, gap responsibilities, and assignments to go along with the back end coverages. Blitz and stunt calls are relatively easy to install.
You are DRAMATICALLY overstating the case. I'm sure you're taking the line from the recruitnik boards, but you should be much more careful moving forward and not just believe everything you read from those clowns.
I just happen to think that all things considered, the Lea hire was not an unreasonable hire. You seem to disagree, which is fine. Given your background, I respect your opinion. I'm no fan of Kelly and thought he should have been bounced after the disaster that was 2016, but unlike too many on this board, I try not to let my distaste for Kelly be my sole guide concerning the program, assistant coach hires, etc. I'm not obsessed with being one of the Rock's House cool kids, and I don't fear being tagged a "Kellylover." (That last sentence was not directed at you.) In any event, we'll see how the Lea hire works out. I think he has some traits (to borrow a worn out Kellyism) that could lead one to reasonably believe he can be successful at ND. Like I said, we'll see.
By the way, I'm too cheap to subscribe to any recruitnik sites.
I think the stuff about install for defense is completely off. Defense is nowhere near as complex by nature (reaction based) and certain things are going to be constant. Now, if he had gone with a bullshit hire like BVG, I would agree that it would take longer, but that's because those schemes (like the Ryan's) rely heavily on bullshit/hero scheme stuff and are very unlikely to be successful at the college level. For basic defense, however, there are only so many ways to run an even/base front or an over/under and there are really only so many coverage combinations and they really don't differentiate much by coordinator. Defense is mainly about disguise and react.
For offense, you would have a point about it taking the entire spring; in fact, it would take longer than that.
And if I assumed something about your view of the hire that is incorrect, I apologize.
coming of George Seifert for all I know."
"There's nothing in his resume' that shouts ND DC. He's never done it. He's a wild card."
Please tell me where I am off base...
where to line up! First, they have to listen for the strength call (that's at least a week of install right there). Then, 2 interior players might have to switch sides (that right there might take the entire summer), and then at least one of them might have to get contain.
All of this stuff is rocket science. I haven't even started on teaching the db's how to run coverages like 1, 2, 3, and 4. That shit is mesmerizing.
the players need to hand the ball to after the whistle when we are in hurry up. It’s this kind of attention to detail that separates poopsie from all other HCs. Next he will be telling the secondary the importance of not allowing a guy on the other team to get behind them. In fairness, It did take Lou about 10 minutes to establish an identity.
PS Devine’s ‘77 defensive team had a very angry disposition.... they stone cold wanted to tear you apart....
New coordinators and teams who do poorly.
Given a new DC would have been the 4th system change in 4 years, Lea was probably the right call. Doesn’t mean he’ll do well.
lost the fire in his belly and was on the downside of his career.
There is no identity. We are grab bagging. People get woodies when we make a routine tackle.
There clearly is
# 6 of 8 in Total D under poopsie's watch.
Total D
2010 51 (7)
2011 30 (2)
2012 7 (1)
2013 31 (3)
2014 73 (8)
2015 45 (5)
2016 42 (4)
2017 46 (6)
In addition, the scoring D ranked # 5 of 8.
Scoring D
2010 23 (2)
2011 24 (3)
2012 2 (1)
2013 27 (4)
2014 84 (8)
2015 39 (6)
2016 61 (7)
2017 31 (5)
Elko obviously simplified things and then left after 1 year. He couldn't get away from kelly fast enough.
(In 3 of our last 5 games we gave up 37, 41, 38 Wake, Miami, Stanford)
As I said, people are popping woodrow's over seeing a tackle made correctly.
all I know. He was with Elko for 2 years and has bounced around a bunch. There's nothing in his resume' that shouts ND DC. He's never done it. He's a wild card.
We finished last season giving up 37, 41, 17, 38, 17 and were a "miracle" play away from 9-4. I don't like the trend.
On the heels of a season billed as the greatest coaching job known to saucy's mankind... and after going 4-8...
"After every season, Kelly and athletic director Jack Swarbrick sit down to evaluate the program.....This year’s meeting took place at Swarbrick’s house and lasted eight-and-half hours." "Chad Klunder, the program’s associate athletic director for football operations, joined Swarbrick and Kelly for the final two-and-a-half hours of their marathon postseason meeting. He jotted down on paper..."
The facts are that kelly and swarbrick have made every hire, tons of mistakes and continue to get "do over" after "do over" while raking in millions to do so. Neither has a spine, both or consumed by egos that don't match their performance. 8 hours fixed... what a f'ing joke.
Lea and others serve at the mercy of kelly. He has his hands in everything.
Our OC and DC have a combined 2 years experience in their roles. We are not serious about National Championships. It's all puff....
There is also a lot to be said for tusk's. No one has a magic ball. Lets wait and see before we make grand pronouncements. What we should not be doing is projecting Kelly's failures to a new DC that may very well be a pleasant surprise.
not pump sunshine for a guy with zero experience at his position? I don't care if he is a good guy. I don't care of he eats nails. I don't care if he gets along with players. (That actually may be a problem). I don't care that he spent 2 years with Elko who couldn't jump ship from ND fast enough. I don't care about some wishy washy explanation that this represents some sort of disjointed continuity with Elko's work... which by the way was in a year end tailspin...
We have a DC with zero experience... did he spend years with Parcells? Coughlin? Belichick? (Factoid: all three were with the 90?
Giants) Or other expert in the field... No, no, no....
ND should not be a destination where "interns" receive full position coach jobs...
OC Long 1 year Memphis
DC Lea none
Rees QB coach?
polian barf.....
you have made your position clear. Others have disagreed. We will know who is correct in rather short order.
experience coaching that position.
reaction to Quinn’s hiring on Wednesday.... “I use the analogy from Christmas. You want that new gift. You want to open up something you didn’t know you were going to get. And the things that you do need, like socks, you don’t get too excited about socks.
“I’m not trying to equate Jeff Quinn to socks, but that’s how he was perceived,” Kelly continued, in an exclusive interview with the Tribune and WSBT Weekday Sportsbeat. “They wanted something different, because they didn’t know what they wanted. I knew what I needed for this football program.”
He should do stand up....in the Poconos....
https://www.ndinsider.com/football/why-notre-dame-offensive-line-coach-jeff-quinn-was-the/article_7c81c688-0c67-11e8-974e-93cfa54aee65.html
Quinn's spent much of his career coaching offensive line. You may not be impressed with his performance as an o-line coach (an opinion others share), or you may think there were better coaches available, but flat out factual misstatements don't advance rational discussion.
That can present a high potential for disaster.
Two tites.
The signal caller below would complete kelly's coaching "funny farm".
PS in fairness to Lea he did spend a year at Bowling Green.
Unproven staff, including a Kelly crony who was out of coaching replacing one of the best coaches on the staff.
Kelly, as the Wayne Fontes of college FB, had another “save my ass from firing” season last year after he already should have been fired. He’s due to lay a fat turd.
Kelly ruined last season by reinstating chuck and duck Kellyball after he became annoyed that ND was winning by running the ball and his assistants were getting too much credit.
Kelly appears to be doubling down on Kellyball this spring from the very little I have paid attention.
I put the over under at 7-5 and I’m taking the under.
Jack will declare that all is well and Kelly just needs another ten years to prove that Jack is never ever wrong. Jenkins and the nutless BOT will lap it up.
Perhaps in an ironic twist, less experience will prove beneficial over more. As it is, there have been enough instances of a staff with countless (insert bloated number) years in the coaching trenches...and we see how that's turned out.
At this point, I'm willing to adopt The George Costanza rule of opposites.