First of all, I want to say that I have been reading DomerDomain for a couple of years and it is hands down the best site for Irish information. There are a couple of posters that provide incredibly insightful information, especially IrishCalves! I also want to point out IrishZiggy, Rock and HawaiiIrish. Great work guys.

On a side note, I actually played college ball at one point with Polian so if anyone has any questions on him, I might be able to answer them.

Go Irish!

Welcome to DD and a good first post. I am glad you mentioned some of our guys. We too think DD is the best.

 

Yes I have a question. There has been chatter that Polean is a great recruiter but bad position coach? Any remarks he ever let you in on?

SJ

Welcome to DD, glad to have you sign up as well! If you have any questions, feel free to contact me or any of the other staff.

Thanks guys. Actually I agree very much that Polian is a great recruiter but very average positions coach. I think it's obvious that Weis knows that too because he has moved him around and has tried to mask his coaching deficincies by appointing himself as the special teams assistant last year. Simply put, coaching wise, Polian was not ready for the big stage at Notre Dame yet. He was unproven but obviously had the name, which is what got him the job. I'll be honest, it was the exact same way in college. I think he lettered as a freshman. Did he deserve it at the time? No. But, like everything, politics has its role. Now I do think he turned out to be a decent Division 3 linebacker but he definitely played before he should have. I think the same thing is happening to him at Notre Dame. He wasn't ready for the stage but he is learning.

As for recruiting, he is a personable person with a huge sale.......POLITICS.....He can definitely get your foot in the NFL if you have the talent and drive to do it. IMO, that's the biggest reason he recruits so well. .

Edited February 10, 200916 yr by irishrb

Who cares...he can recruit. The best coaches need great players. Use him where you can and cut him losse bringing in the personnel

Welcome to the board RB, thanks for the kind words!

 

*Insert incredible insight here*.

As for Polian, a lot of what you say sounds legit. I'm not sure its a, "I'm a Polian, I can get you to the pros with my connections, buahahahaha..." so much as a group message. Its Charlie Weis, its not like he doesn't have connections himself. Heck, when the chips were down, his NFL guys were his confidants and advisers on how to fix things - they're his friends. So, between Polian, Corwin, and Charlie, there are a lot of names on the staff that can recommend a kid to any franchise that comes calling.

 

As a side note, I've heard one anecdote suggesting that Charlie's pitch has gone away from the hard driving NFL man, and more towards the academics side of the Irish, zeroing in on the parents - maybe too far to that extreme actually. Sometimes it works, and he probably got burned with his PT/NFL pathway pitch with the first class (see 7 transfers for details), but it might be that he needs to find the right balance between what attracts the parents (education) and what gets the kids excited (football, NFL pipeline, etc).

 

As for Polian's coaching ability, it is rather average. His coverage definitely improved, and I also think that our return units have the arrow pointing upwards (first KR for TD in how long? don't answer that, I don't want to think about it), but there are obvious problems still in special teams (couldn't develop a snapper, haven't found a reliable kicker in spite of two scholarships, poor fundamentals from our onside unit). I think his arrow is pointing up in that department, but I won't pretend to call his coaching a strength.

 

All in all, when the guy leads the charge in getting big time upsets in Dayne Crist, Manti Te'o, and Shaq Evans, while helping to bag other key recruits like Cierre Wood and Ethan Johnson, you take the bad with the very, very good. With the way USC has been dominating, we shouldn't "expect" to pull one 5 star recruit out of the west coast every year, but so far he's done it (Chris Martin too), and shows no signs of stopping.

As usaual great post Calves. I totally agree with you that you take the bad with the good and Polian's recruiting abilities definitely override his mediocre coaching at this time. I also believe that he is learning on the job and will only continue to get better. Obviously Weis has shown this year that he thinks special teams are worth the scholorships so hopefully we'll continue to see a rise out of the special teams this year. I expect all 3 specialists the Irish signed to play immediately...long snapping, punting, and kickoffs.....hopefully the Irish will see consistent improvement....

Oh God!! Calves with a huge head. That's all we need! LMAO!!

 

Welcome to DD rb!!

Welcome to DD rb !!! Incredible insight Calves !!!! :)

ALOHA irishrb----- to be mentioned along with posters like calves and zibby-- is an honor-- it does show though that you too are VERY INSIGHTFUL!!--- now i'd like to take a moment in response to this honor to thank a few people-- it all started back in st michaels with sister mary francis-- she pointed me in the direction of raising my hand and speaking out-- of course id like to thank Notre Dame for the great education and 4 years of rewarding athletic entertainment that would eventually lead me to DD--of course id like to thank all the mods who have realized and accepted that i need all by dashes instead of punctuation in order to exercise the full flower of my creativity and insightfulness--- i'd like to thank the academy and all my other posters-- and i'd also like to thank---- " what "---" hey lorraine im posting insightful here"-- " what do you mean take out the garbage"---- geez---- well got to go aloha and welcome to DD!!!

welcome irishrb

Don't get too full of yourself there Hawaii. Notice you were the last person I mentioned!

great news these guys do a fantastic job on this site as for polian he get the task at hand , heck look at obama he has old Joe to run the offense , ha ha go irish

Hey I am from USC. Who is that Joe guy you mentioned with Obama. Cousin, Uncle, or brother????

You are kidding aren't you Beach? If you can't figure that one you must be from u$c! Glad you are taking the time to relish in all things Irish.