Indy said the same thing about Bobby Clark (choker, too old, game passed him by, need younger blood) blah blah blah for years. With Clark, his former gaffer at Aberdeen (Alex Furguson) thought Clark had some coaching chops knew a thing or two about soccer but apparently the ND nation board knew better. After Clark went on to win a natty, those cries of sack him, he's over the hill dissipated.

Jackson's case may be different from Clark's and time will tell but we should keep in mind the source.

Jackson teams at ND make the tournament 2 out of 3 years.

What are the programs and who are the coaches who have outperformed him?

In the history of the program pre-Jackson: 1 NCAA appearance.

In the 13 seasons prior to Jackson: 1 winning season.

I admire the passion of the posters on this board, but I am surprised at how many people feel Jeff Jackson has failed, especially considering the context of the history of the program. ND has made the tourney 4 of the last 6 years. If he still has the desire and energy to continue coaching (which I believe he does based on talking to him last fall), I think it would be a huge risk (and a mistake) to remove him or to even heavy-hand him in terms of his staff.

A competent AD would sit down with him post-season and ask him what resources he needs to take the final step the program before he retires. If he needs more money to add a top recruiter assistant (with perhaps some encouragement to do so), or some leniency to navigate academics with freshman or transfer recruits, then support him. Beyond that, he has earned the right and has the credentials to work toward figuring things out.

And, until Swarbrick is gone, why in the F would any ND fan want a coach change in a sport that is still competing close to the ND standard (or in this case, IMO, above that standard)?

Read these posts from NDMD99 before getting rid of JJ: The Logan Cooley story, They engage all 5 skaters in their cycle, Speed is an issue, and 100% agree there should be answers and corrections.

Jackson.

Cooley is not the only recruit to have bolted.
The coach is responsible for the type of play the team exhibits.
The coach is responsible for recruiting players who are going to succeed in the type of play needed to win.
Jackson is not the only coach competing with the NHL or Major Junior hockey.
Recruiting in hockey might be a different animal than football or basketball, but it is the same for the other 60 NCAA coaches. And for a hundred or more societal reasons, recruiting for hockey at Notre Dame is easier than it is for football or men's basketball.

3 of the last 4 years have been .500 campaigns, and there hasn't been near the playoff or regular season success of the first season in the Big Ten. The trajectory of the program is clearly moving in the wrong direction. (the trajectory that I am seeing is what worries me the most)

The one big things that can't be countered is Swarbrick and the powers that be cannot be trusted to do an effective search for a coach to a beer league team, let alone any athletic program as Notre Dame.

I've noted in more than one post recently I think Jackson has earned the right to correct this obvious downturn. I can't truly envision a scenario where dumping him today would be the most productive move. But he absolutely needs to change the kind of an offense he puts on the ice. He needs new voices to help him prepare special teams. And unless the athletic departement is why he can't fix this HE needs to fix this.

I do believe it's a huge fallacy that because hockey was at best an afterthought for 40 years at Notre Dame that entitles the coach be given any sort of a pass. The CFIA was supposed to be the final piece of the puzzle and can it possibly be believe that in Jackson's 18th season here hockey is still an afterthought? The Brooklyn Dodgers (Bridegrooms, Superbas, Robins) were largely an afterthought for the first 50 years of their National League tenure.

Thanks again for your passion for ND Hockey. I hope you, Jeff Jackson and the rest of us are rewarded with a championship sometime before our legendary coach retires.

And its all good. You're still one of the handful of my highlighted posters!