In reply to: Agreed, but that Oklahoma State game .... * posted by ndnjlaw
The fact that we blew a 21-point lead, standing alone, proves that.
With that said, it would have been a bigger shock had he outcoached Gundy.
Certainly head-and-shoulders above any bowl performance I've seen since Lou left.
Mike Elston couldn't keep up with their tempo and get the right guys on the field, and Tommy Rees made a mistake in going away from the run with Williams out. Maybe Freeman should have reacted more strongly to both those things. Maybe he realized it was a non-playoff bowl and better to see what he had with those assistants. Maybe it was both. Maybe neither.
Regardless, it annoys me that we finally get what we want -- a coach who isn't a jagoff who is recruiting a fantastic class already -- and there's still bitching and moaning.
I think that the bigger problems still remain on campus (or in Indianapolis, I suppose).
I am trying to look at things as objectively as possible. I also realize that there are going to be growing pains with any head coach who has no previous college head coaching experience. And I would never write off any coach for a single loss to a Top 10 team.
I like Freeman and want him to succeed. In fact, I want any ND head coach to succeed, as the coach's success necessarily means success for ND, at least in the short term. I'm just not prepared to label him a success (or failure, for that matter) just yet.
Right things.
But he is not a proven tactician, strategist, or game planner from anuts and bolts football acumen perspective.
And he hired a few clunkers as assistants.
It is ok to be skeptical. And still be supportive of the guy.
Assuming you attended.
As far as Freeman and the bowl game, my take was exactly the same as your second paragraph. Seemed to me he was overly deferential to both coordinators in a game where the outcome was of little consequence. What mattered was starting hot to show that we were a legitimate top 6 team which we did.
The interview is up on Zorich's YouTube page.
bitching and moaning. I generally see optimism due to Freeman's recruiting and embrace of the university's complexities. But at the same time, some of us are very wary because he has no experience running a football program or with gameday strategy. History has not been kind to first time head coaches at Notre Dame since some guy named Rockne.
to dismiss the long held belief that ND is a very tough job for a first time head coach to take on. We've all heard Ara talk about how much he needed his prior head coaching experience before getting to ND, given that the job is even more complex now I would argue his statement is even more accurate. That's not to say Freeman can't overcome it and recruiting the hell out of it is a great start.
didn’t show a lot of engagement with anyone especially as we were collapsing. I guess you could argue that it is unfair to judge him based on that but for me he looked like someone trying to figure out what to do instead of knowing and acting on it. At minimum it reinforced concerns about the readiness of a young first time head coach. As you know our AD has declared that our program is in superb shape so with that in mind we should expect whoever he selected to step into such a great position to be well prepared to succeed immediately.
I think a lot of people here have preconceived notions about what they see based on PTSD from the last 25+ years, and they need to get over it.