Couple things...

• 100% Freeman isn't going to be fired... unless someone has some scandalous video or punches some woman....  lol
  • Look in the mirror, and repeat to yourself.... "Freeman will not be fired this year"..... repeat if needed. Or seek professional help. 
  • Freeman deserves patience. Sure, he's struggled. Perhaps ND should have gone with an experienced HC, instead a rook. But he's here now. And the admin/BOT will give him time. 
  • At this point... Cheer the dude. Let's just hope he's a quick learner...... And let's hope it doesn't get worse. And hope the 2023 class sticks.... 
• Highly likely 90+% Rees is here next year. 
  • He has new all O coaches. New OL coach (rehire, which help long term), and new WR, TE, and RB coaches... 
  • He started with a bad OL, and still has a weak an iOL.
  • He has 2 mediocre QBs. Both have different holes, but both have holes/limitations. Don't be expecting diamonds lol.
  • If he leaves, he'd find a job easily. Then you can complain about the new OC lol.. 
• For the BK haters....
  • If you thought Freeman was going to a quick/easy upgrade over BK.... perhaps you think differently now.
  • Or perhaps you'll still/continue spin things/excuses, or both say both Freeman and BK suck lol... 
  • BK isn't a legend, or genius, but he is now 5-2 in the hardest conference, and hardest division in CFB. And did it with defections, decommits, and a new transfer QB. 
  • And our losses.... include a non-P5 team (Marshall). And now last place PAC team, that is 0-4 in the PAC... 
  • BK's losses.... lost to FSU, who just got beat by Clemson by 6pts. And lost to Tenn who just put up 52 points on Bama today... 
  • And most important, who cares... why invest hatred on a guy that is not here. Cheer for the new guy here. 

In short... reality is your friend.... 

Freeman will get the Willingham 3.

He’s a better recruiter, but may be a worse coach. Time will tell.

If Rees is here next year the O will be the same and ND will go 7-5 or 6-6. Of course some will blame that on poor QB play, but that would be TR’s third year as OC and it would be malfeasance to blame that on his QB’s. 
 

TR would certainly easily find a job. He’d do great at Temple or UConn. 
 

Hire TCU’s OC. I won’t complain then. I’m confident he’d make Pyne and Angeli look like 5 star QB’s because he’d create an offense around them that works. 

Edited October 16, 20222 yr by AnTostal

Just now, AnTostal said:

Freeman will get the Willingham 3.

He’s a better recruiter, but may be a worse coach. Time will tell.

If Rees is here next year the O will be the same and ND will go 7-5 or 6-6. Of course some will blame that on poor QB play, but that would be TR’s third year as OC and it would be malfeasance to blame that on his QB’s. 
 

TR would certainly easily find a job. He’d do great at Temple or UConn. 
 

Hire TCU’s OC. I won’t complain then. 

I don't have a clue with Freeman. Agree on the 3 year prediction (if he doesn't improve). I won't waste time hoping he gets fired this year. Pretty silly IMO given the reality. I like him as a guy/personality. Thought his hiring was a risk (rook), but also liked his youth and energy. Only time will tells. 

On Rees/OC, I don't care who is at OC, the O will similar unless Angeli surprises. Buchner and Pyne are just very limited. Doubt either changes much. The biggest wildcard for us IMO is OL. If our OL becomes a super mean unit, then we'll compete with either QB. 

Doubt Riley would come here for an OC job. His career path is likely to HC soon, and a hot OC with his name isn't go to ND (where it's harder to coach). Some team will roll the dice for him. Wouldn't be shocked if he's a 1 year OC after TCU. I could see HC at Auburn, Miami, or AZ. Even maybe TAMU. AZ would put him with his Bro (conf) lol... 

Rees isn't going to Temple or UConn lol.. He'd get a decent job. Might even go back to Rams. 

I don't think anyone is realistically saying fire HC or OC right now.  I believe most are referring to after the season.  

I was onboard with patience until now.  Don't tell me about new coaches, roster holes etc.  If you can't properly motivate the players and put together an effective game plan to beat Marshall and Stanford then we have the wrong people in place.

I never thought I’d actually say this, but what if Freeman loses to UNLV? Is he still safe then? 
 

It was a hire to keep the class together and improve recruiting. We have top ten talent and are still losing to teams in the hundreds and 50’s. That’s all coaching and it will continue regardless of the 4 and 5 stars that commit. The gap can’t get much larger. 
 

The transfer portal has killed our depth and we haven’t been able to replace it. ND better figure out NIL and the portal fast because they are about to be left in the dust. 
 

Hiring Matt Rhule would probably save this program. Freeman is in over his head and anyone who thinks he’ll right the ship in two years is delusional. Smart people can admit to their mistakes and cut their losses. Imagine if Arizona doubled down on Josh Rosen? If the Browns stayed with Mayfield? The Rams gave Goff a few more years? 
 

The longer we let mr “deer in headlights” continue to learn on the job, the further we set back the program and lose all the momentum Kelly brought. Rhule or Meyer would be upgraded from Kelly, make the move or continue to sink the program. 

Edited October 16, 20222 yr by ndomer4

28 minutes ago, ndomer4 said:

I never thought I’d actually say this, but what if Freeman loses to UNLV? Is he still safe then? 
 

It was a hire to keep the class together and improve recruiting. We have top ten talent and are still losing to teams in the hundreds and 50’s. That’s all coaching and it will continue regardless of the 4 and 5 stars that commit. The gap can’t get much larger. 
 

The transfer portal has killed our depth and we haven’t been able to replace it. ND better figure out NIL and the portal fast because they are about to be left in the dust. 
 

Hiring Matt Rhule would probably save this program. Freeman is in over his head and anyone who thinks he’ll right the ship in two years is delusional. Smart people can admit to their mistakes and cut their losses. Imagine if Arizona doubled down on Josh Rosen? If the Browns stayed with Mayfield? The Rams gave Goff a few more years? 
 

The longer we let mr “deer in headlights” continue to learn on the job, the further we set back the program and lose all the momentum Kelly brought. Rhule or Meyer would be upgraded from Kelly, make the move or continue to sink the program. 

I agree that Freeman is in over his head. But Meyer will just never happen at ND. Maybe somewhere else, but not ND. 
Rhule?  Maybe. Meh. But he has at least had success as head coach at the college level, something ND’s current coach can’t say. 
But we all know Freeman gets three years. 
Maybe two if he does actually lose to UNLV and this recruiting class disintegrates. 

I was willing to overlook losses to teams they should lose to.  I even overlooked the Marshall loss.  Combining the Marshall and Stanford loss paints an ugly picture.  No matter how bad the roster is or difficult the new coaches learning curve is, you must beat teams like that.  Period.