Frankus

It’s time for Mike Brey to step down or be fired. After today’s loss to IU they are 1-5 in games that matter and are looking at another non tournament year.

No it’s not. If ranking always equaled talent Gunner Kiel wouldn’t be selling cars.

I didn’t say anything about ranking. I’m talking about talent evaluation.

As we all know, out offense has been serviceable against our season opponents, but has been shut down in the playoffs. So, to compete we have to get better. Some people want to blame it on Kelly’s offense, but our problems go beyond that. So, given the need for improvement, here’s areas I think we need to work on/improve. Thoughts? QB Recruiting We need to sign the Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields et al. Every year. These are guys who can beat you deep and beat you with your legs. We haven’t had that guy and he’s not on the roster. We need someone in the portal and every year bringing in a big fish. We have to convince these Qb’s that our offense is going from plodding Tight End U to dynamic NFL U. We’ll always get great Tight Ends. We need to stretch the field. QB Coach We need a guy dedicated to the position, not Tommy Rees doing two jobs. Let Rees game plan. The QB coach can work on mechanics, reading defenses etc. Elite Speed Wide Receivers Though we have upped our game (Chase Claypool etc) we still don’t have elite game speed receivers who can consistently catch the ball. Tight End U and lots of possession receivers isn’t going to get it done. We need elite speed guys. New O-line coach We have had lots of elite O-lineman, but haven’t dominated like we should. Quinn was Kelly’s good old boy and it showed Bring in someone great to take us to the next level Keep up the RB recruiting With an elite Qb and wide receivers, we could have won a NC with Kyren, Chris T and Diggs We’ve got Chris T, Diggs and Estime We’re good there Keep it going

I like this because after 12 years of investing in T bills we’re now doing some high stakes gambling, with a hard working, likable guy. If it doesn’t work out, I believe our talent will be upgraded for the next guy. I think Fickell without Freeman would be Kelly 2.0.

I’m hearing that after Kelly broke Rockne’s record he went to Swarbrick and wanted a raise. Swarbrick went to the big donors and they refused. So, Kelly, believing he should be rewarded for his accomplishment, and believing the only thing holding him back from the ultimate prize of a blank check and unrestricted recruiting, bolted. The only way ND has a chance to win it all again is with a once in a generation recruiter. If I’m Swarbrick I hire Freeman and Fickell, or some other coach with head coaching experience. If Freeman balks I’d hire Freeman and roll the dice that he can develop into a head coach with the ability to keep bringing in Top 5 recruiting classes. If I was a betting man, knowing ND won’t pay both Freeman and Fickell, my bet would be on Freeman. I listened to Zorich’s podcast and there was a lot of support for Freeman. The players will also want him. Swarbrick wil go against the tide if he brings in a head coach and loses Freeman.

I’m not just talking about Fickell. I’m talking about keeping Freeman, who is going to be offered head coaching money somewhere soon. And someone may give him elite DC money as well. It doesn’t surprise me that Swarbrick admitted he knew Kelly may leave, but did nothing to prepare for his replacement. If recruiting suffers due to a prolonged search , it’s on him.

Then Fickell will be the next coach to leave for greener pastures as Notre Dame cements itself as a stepping stone program.

I think Fickell as HC with Freeman staying is the best scenario. They are very close personally and give ND the combination of a head coach with experience and a dynamic recruiting defensive coordinator. ND needs to back up the Brinks Truck and pay top dollar. It’s going to be interesting to see if they do. They could just as likely go for the low dollar option of Fitzgerald. ND is squeamish about college football becoming a money grubbing cash grab. They may decide to back away and decide not to participate with the big boys. Fitzgerald gives them that option.

NDNation is filled with unhappy, deluded fools. They pang for a world- and a Notre Dame that no longer exists. They thrive on their disdain that time has changed Notre Dame They will hate the new hire just as they hated Kelly. Ultimately, they hate the new Notre Dame. Meanwhile, Notre Dame views them as dinosaurs. In the new world of perpetually unhappy and angry football forums, NDNation is exhibit A of irrational, frustrated middle aged male angst. They thrive on their powerless unhappiness

We’d be very fortunate to get Fickell. He’s Catholic and family oriented. Still, if he does well, he’ll leave for OSU, or any serious NC aspirational program if the job becomes available. We’re a stepping stone program, because our newfound wealth and academic aspirations are higher than our football ones. The ACC alliance was a political move to appease those who would be deluded. We’re living a lie and Brian Kelly knew it.

Do you blame him? ND will never have the talent the SEC elite has and at LSU he can get whoever he wants. He’s developed a lot at ND in the past 4 years . He’s got a great opportunity. I don’t blame him one bit. There’s a lot of deluded fans about how attractive the ND job is. I suspect ND will hire a Kelly circad 2010 hire. Nobody elite will take the job. It’s a stepping stone job today.

If it’s true, I think it’s a lot more likely that Brian Kelly will win a NC than anybody ND hires.

Agree. He inherited a solid program from Stoops and four years later lost to Baylor and Oklahoma State and squeaked by Iowa State. People on the dumb board are calling this a Carrol like hire. First, Carrol had NFL experience and was a defensive coach, whose defenses we’re always underlooked as the stars shined on Bush/Leinhart etc. Riley has never built a program from the ground up and LA is vastly different from Norman Oklahoma, where football is king. I’m not saying he can’t be successful, but this is a challenge beyond anything he’s ever faced. He’s coming from a shoot em up offensive minded conference. That’s not going to cut it if he they expect Carrol like success.

Too bad Brunelle is always hurt. At a lighter weight I was hoping she was going to have a great year. She’s a versatile player and a very good shooter. Still might, but it seems like she’s always got some kind of health issue.

1. Except for the one int, Coan was incredibly efficient. 2. It’s too bad we uncharacteristically turned the ball over so much against Cincy….but 3. For the first time in a long time our skill position players are better than our offensive line. Lugg needs to play guard next year and Alt and Fischer need to develop more and hopefully Patterson comes back. We have a lot of skill position players coming back…but 4. I still think we need a transfer QB like Coan. Coan with our skill position players and some of our former O-lines would have been more NC competitive… but 5. I like What Freeman did with the defense, but let’s face it, our back 7 does not have NC like talent. Hopefully, more recruiting success will get us there. We’re as close to being truly NC competitive as we have been since Holtz. Not there yet, but gaining ground.

1. Great to see all phases of the team play well in a much needed blowout. 2. I hope we bring in a transfer QB. I do not think we have a NC caliber QB on the roster and our brand has never been better. We should be able to be one of the top schools to get the pick of the litter. Buchner reminds me of a Boise State QB when Boise was great That’s not enough to win a NC. 3. I think we’d beat Cincy in a rematch. Cudos to Rees to realizing Coan works better uptempo. Our defense looks much more aggressive within the system than earlier in the year. 4. I will be surprised if Lugg starts at RT next year. His foot speed is too slow. The biggest question mark will be center if Patterson leaves I’ve never been sold on Correll who is small We’ve got a lot of impressive young talent 5. Estime looked great. We’re loaded at RB next year. With an elite QB, next year will be exciting.

I know everybody has soft schedules at times, and November is a problem, but I still believe a seasonal slate of Michigan, MSU and Purdue, with occasional early season games- like this and next year- with Wisconsin, Ohio State and Penn State is preferable both from a competitive fan experience and from a barometer of how good we are than what we’re getting from this ACC alliance. We likely will be playing Wake Forest in our bowl game. Some reward huh? It’s awful.

This makes no sense to me. I wish we were going on the road to play tradition rich football programs like Ohio State, or Penn State, or Michigan to play competitive, tough games against worthy opponents in awesome stadiums with rabid football fanbases. It’s the equivalent of an ACC basketball game at Duke. Winning away games at those places is what gets us into Ohio State territory as a program, which is where we need to be.

1. This looked like a scrimmage to me. UVA had way less talent. Kelly put on the brakes offensively at halftime. Buchner fumbling the running back exchange in the red zone is troubling. Hope he cleans that up. 2. It’s hard to assess the defense, as UVA started a true freshman QB and had a tight end that couldn’t catch. They couldn’t run, but didn’t have the running back speed or a capable WB to exploit our slow linebackers and ok secondary like Cincinnati did. I would have enjoyed watching the game -and had a better assessment of the D-if their QB had played. 3. It’s fun to watch players make plays like Mayer and Kyren consistently do. Austin had a nice night as well. The right side of the O-Line , with a senior and grad student, is weak. Hopefully the young players are better, or develop better. 4. I may be wrong, but it looks like we’re going to play Wake Forest in our bowl game due to our ACC alliance. In a way it is fitting to this season. Another boring game against another basketball school with way less talent. Who wouldn’t rather see us play Michigan, MSU, Oregon or the next best SEC team after Alabama/Georgia? 5 Hopefully Freeman’s more talented recruits can take us to the next level, though we still need some monster DT’s like Georgia/Alabama have. I’m not sold on Quinn as a developer of talent , but it looks like our upcoming skill position players are solid. I’m not sold on Buchner and hope we bring in another transfer QB

I go by the eyeball test. I think we would have 2-3 losses if we were in the SEC and another loss if we were in the B1G. A lot of our ground game is Kyren making gains out of nothing. This would not happen against more physical teams with better depth and faster linebackers Defensively, our linebackers are slow, which better teams would exploit.

I agree. I miss the MSU and Michigan rivalry games and would love to watch us regularly play OSU, Penn State, Iowa and Wisconsin They all have rabid fanbases, great gameday atmospheres and home and road games would be awesome. I’d keep the USC rivalry and dump Navy which isn’t a rivalry and we’ve more than made up what we owed them by playing them all these years.

1. We keep chugging along. Weak schedule, but wins matter. 2. Navy was surprisingly undisciplined, but Kelly incorporating defending their option all year long has helped a lot. I wish he incorporated an offense as well. Perhaps a standard I formation with a bulldozing fullback. Kyren would run for 200 yards and play action would crush Navy. 3. Hopefully Freeman will get defensive lineman as well as linebackers. We need them just as badly to beat Alabama. 4. Coan is an accurate QB who protects the ball. My only complaint is he should be allowed to keep the ball more on zone reads. 5. Very promising group of freshman talent on offense. I’m going to miss Kyren who is one of the most exciting players in my 52 years watching ND. He is a joy to watch.

1. Coan was really impressive. If he can continue to increase his mobility, and Rees uses him well with QB runs, our offense wil continue to improve. 2. Kyren’s run was arguably the best TD run in my ND history. 3. ND needs to go back to the basics regarding tackling 4. The 3 man front continues to get shredded. 5. It would be fun to watch us play Michigan, MSU or one of our old Big 10 rivals in a bowl game.

1. When I saw Kelly jawing Buchner I knew he would only get worse. He did. 2. Coan is clearly the best passing QB. Rees’ offense to support him is unimaginative and predictable. 3. That call on the Freshman Tight End was awful. 4. Swarbrick said Notre Dame was at the apex of its value. We’re a middling ACC football team. 5. 11 years into Kelly’s regime we barely beat teams with far less talent. We’ve been living a lie for a long time. No more evident than this year.