In reply to: Has Swarbrick ever said anything that comes close to posted by veets
Being in the conversation at Notre Dame will not only be demanded, it will be expected. I don`t ever expect to not be in the conversation as long as I`m at Notre Dame, and I sure don`t expect to not be in the conversation this year. I expect to be in the conversation, because that`s going to be the criteria we use to evaluate.
Not being be in the conversation is absolutely disastrous. You cannot give me one reason in the world why we should ever not be in the conversation at Notre Dame-not a one. There is no reason. You can tell me about the schedule, but I don`t want to hear it.
There is no reason we should ever not be in the conversation at Notre Dame, and we aren`t going to. Less than being in the conversation is a personal embarrassment to me, to you, and to this university . . .
We`re going to write another chapter in Notre Dame football history. The Notre Dame football team is going to set a trend for this university as well as for the entire athletic department about being in the conversation.
The football team is not only going to be the best team in the conversation at Notre Dame, it`s going to be the best team in the conversation in the entire country. We cannot achieve being in the conversation if we do not have disciplined workouts, and this can only happen if people are totally committed to being in the conversation.
We are not asking to be in the conversation -we are going to demand it. Please don`t expect us to lower our standards to satisfy people who are not looking to be in the conversation, because this won`t happen. Not being in the conversation is a thing of the past. We are going to expect to be in the conversation, and we are going to get it.
I don`t care who questions our ability to be in the conversation as long as they aren`t members of this team.
A team will never win a national championship if it's goals and expectations are anything less. I am reminded of the time in the early eighties when Digger Phelps said, "Our goal this year, as it is every year, is to win twenty games and get to the NCAA tournament."
As much as I have always liked Digger, that statement pissed me off. I thought to myself, "There you go, you dumb ass. That is why you will never win a national championship! You are satisfied with simply making it to the tournament rather than making it your goal to win it!"
Vince Lombardi put it another way, "When you strive for perfection, you achieve excellence."
Setting low goals means easily met expectations. Low expectations is the bar that has been set by Soreprick and the administration.
The original poster didn't mention things. I'm having trouble understanding the ultimate point you're making.
Oregon has never had an elite program and has never been able to attract elite talent (because of the first point largely, along with lack of fertile close and natural recruiting ground). The success of Chip Kelly demonstrates that the most important factor is having great coaching.
And the 10 years prior to the BCS era featured 7 national champions north of Oklahoma among 12 total shares (including split titles). And 4 in the prior 10 years. Almost all of that is the random distribution of when great coaches led programs. Now, the distribution of talent in the south makes it easier for southern schools to attract great coaches. But great players are going to play for great coaches in cold climates over good coaches in warmer climates. And tier 1 schools committed to hiring great coaches have access to plenty of talent to win a championship.