With all the negatives about Kelly maybe we should reflect for a minute on where we were a few years ago!----

 

 

 

" Any prospective ND coach who analyzes the roster--and all of them will--will think twice before heading to ND"

 

" The irish say goodbye to 33 seniors after the bowl game as well as there two most productive players, jimmy clause and golden tate---there is only one other scholarship QB on the roster ,dayne crist, and he injured his knee midseason and may not be up to any speed at all this spring....the new coach has a MASSIVE REBUILDING JOB, and his fan base if experience tells us anything won't be patient during that rebuilding---that DOES NOT attract coaches"

 

__________

 

" notre dame is the carnegie hall of universities with a karaoke football program...this is the stark , uncomfortable reality that faces swarbrick as he begins his coaching search...looking for the 5th in 9 years!"

 

"Domers need to quit living in the denial, as well as the past, and accept their program has big problems....just because you think its special doesn't mean recruits think it is."

 

"There's a reason Stoops won't leave Oklahoma--he has a better job--urban meyer has a better job, nick saban has a better job--same goes for harbuagh and I could argue even Patterson at TCU and Fitzgerald at northwestern have better gigs then going to ND"

 

"Swarbrick says he thins ND is still a critical piece of CFB but critical isn't RELEVANT!----maybe its time to adjust expectations , after all this is ND not florida"

 

__________________

 

"Notre dame---16-21 over the last three years--swarbrick says he STILL thinks ND believes its possible to turn ND into a consistent winner---is it harder for us, yes because of the standards we choose to apply to the program but I still think we can get there."

 

------------------

 

"Notre Dame drops in prestiege......notre dame has no speed, even heralded recruit manti teo does not have the speed or quickness needed"

 

"ND is no longer the ultimate job...guys like belotti, Barnett, gruden & meyer, all guys ND was interested in took a pass....part of that has to do with the FISHBOWL the ND coach has to live in---that fan base??? fan is short for fanatic and no coach is more scrutinized then whomever the current ND coach is"

 

___________________

 

 

We are 21-5 over the last two seasons....we were in the TITLE game in 2012 for the first time in 25 years.....we have a terrific looking roster going into 14 and 15......we are recruiting well....

 

YES we always could have done better and beaten bama , but we certainly

could have done worse as well.

 

Its basically a tribute to Kelly that we are now perfectly comfortable EXPECTING & DEMANDING 10 wins every year or else.....that in itself is quite a change from what was DEAD PROGRAM WALKING after the Fiasco that was DAVIE/TY/WEIS....

 

WE HAVE COME A LONG WAY UNDER KELLY ----and I expect we will continue that progress.

 

aloha's

Edited July 25, 201410 yr by hawaiiirish

Absolutely Hawaii!! Expectations are higher than since the Holtz years. Willingham destroyed our roster. Charlie started to build it back but he just didn't have all the tools a head coach needs to succeed. He was learning on the run.

 

Kelly comes in and by the third year has an undefeated regular season. Here we are a full year removed from that huge year and we are better offensively by a long shot. Admittedly the defense is rebuilding and has a new direction, but there is no denying we are going to field the fastest defenses ever seen in the land of the Leprechaun.

 

The loss of Golson last year gave the debbie downers a short reprieve, but it is business back to normal. Double digit wins against the toughest schedule in the country and a shot at the final 4 and a national title run.

I share your optimism about the future of ND football Hawaii and Okie. We've come a long way from the mediocrity of the Davie,Ty,Weis years. I am looking forward to Kelly proving the naysayers wrong, as I believe he will. Anticipating the start of a great year of ND football!

Who is demanding 10 wins every year? Everyone realizes there will be down years. But it isn't crazy to expect 10 wins twice every 5 years is it?

 

It is pretty clear Charlie couldn't coach or build a program, but he did have an eye for talent, that "bare roster" was good enough to make a title game with some coaching.

 

The thing Kelly needs to show is consistency in performance. We all get ND plays a more difficult schedule than most, but I'd like to see a consistent performance week in and week out. Once I see a team playing to their ability every week, it is easier to stomach losses to better teams.

 

But losing to and playing close games against vastly inferior teams will hopefully stop. Right now I'd say Kelly has done a better job coaching the similar level of talent Charlie brought in. To get to that upper echelon, he'll need to coach up a better caliber of player.

If Golson had played last year, we would not be having this type of discussion.

 

Now he has to make up for it and I think he will.

8-10 to guys going to the nfl and were worried about talent level? Look at the schools with same amount of first round picks and total picks over the last 3 to 5 years and I'd say we're top tier.

 

That's the important list. Not the high school kids ranking.

Cory i'm not criticizing expectations going higher---its good IMO, and a symptom of better recruiting , a 12 win regular season, etc--- So I also am expecting 20 wins or more over the next two years.

 

I will say I have more flexibility then some in that expectation--I am very willing to take 10 out of 13 rather the 12.....

 

I guess that's generous--but since the RANKINGS that count , from the NC to the top 25, all finalize AFTER the post season---to me that counts.

 

 

If we go 10-2 and lose a bowl to 10-3 I will not see that as any better then 9-3 regular season with a bowl win to 10-3.

 

The season is the season in my view so I look at the full slate of 13.

 

In any event when I reread lots of the stuff written about ND in 2009--IT WAS UGLY---a lot of what I posted was the nice stuff----- so ,geez, I am overall thrilled I can look for big seasons again....something that crashed and exploded over charlies last 3 years. And Kelly , who is far from a perfect coached , has nonetheless revitalized the program and the expectations.

 

aloha's

Who is demanding 10 wins every year? Everyone realizes there will be down years. But it isn't crazy to expect 10 wins twice every 5 years is it?

 

It is pretty clear Charlie couldn't coach or build a program, but he did have an eye for talent, that "bare roster" was good enough to make a title game with some coaching.

 

The thing Kelly needs to show is consistency in performance. We all get ND plays a more difficult schedule than most, but I'd like to see a consistent performance week in and week out. Once I see a team playing to their ability every week, it is easier to stomach losses to better teams.

 

But losing to and playing close games against vastly inferior teams will hopefully stop. Right now I'd say Kelly has done a better job coaching the similar level of talent Charlie brought in. To get to that upper echelon, he'll need to coach up a better caliber of player.

 

I'm demanding 10 wins a season. When you get 6-7 gimme games every season, play a majority of your games at home or on a friendly field, you should win ten games. Tough schedule argument is a joke. You play 3-4 hard games a year. Win half. 10 win season.

I feel like this same thread gets posted every week.

I'm demanding 10 wins a season. When you get 6-7 gimme games every season, play a majority of your games at home or on a friendly field, you should win ten games. Tough schedule argument is a joke. You play 3-4 hard games a year. Win half. 10 win season.

 

Right, 10+ should be the expectation yearly, but I wouldn't want a coach fired if he only won 10+ four out of five years. Every team has a bad year now and then.

 

But nor should be be waiting on a second 10 win year in a coaches 5th year and having statues erected for all the "greatness" he has returned to the program.

Agreed. Time to show us how good we are...

I think expecting 10 wins every season is fair, there will always be down years. The goal is to make those down years few and far between.

The key is getting to the point you have two very good quarterbacks both with some seasoning. For many reasons we haven't hit that peak, but it isn't because of recruiting. I think we are about to reach that mark this very year as Malik gets some experience behind Golson.

I was actually watching this 35 minute highlight film of the 2012 season, and I'm even more convinced that Kelly is the right guy...I especially LOVE the shot of Kelly raising his finger in the air under the rain, during the Stanford game (at 12:36)...but for full effect, go to 12:10

 

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Absolutely Hawaii!! Expectations are higher than since the Holtz years. Willingham destroyed our roster. Charlie started to build it back but he just didn't have all the tools a head coach needs to succeed. He was learning on the run.

 

Kelly comes in and by the third year has an undefeated regular season. Here we are a full year removed from that huge year and we are better offensively by a long shot. Admittedly the defense is rebuilding and has a new direction, but there is no denying we are going to field the fastest defenses ever seen in the land of the Leprechaun.

 

The loss of Golson last year gave the debbie downers a short reprieve, but it is business back to normal. Double digit wins against the toughest schedule in the country and a shot at the final 4 and a national title run.

 

Those recruiting classes by Willingham were dreadful. I think Justin Tuck, and Ryant Grant were about the only two recruits he had that added any value. Keep in mind, Brady Quinn was a Bob Davie recruit going back to his jr year in '01-'02.

 

Weis never learned that to win you need defense. He would have been an amazing offensive coordinator, but the guy never bothered with defense. That's how you end up with those horribly undersized dlines from 5-6 years ago.

 

I am so glad the Willingham and Weis eras are over. I am not a glass-half full kind of guy, but looking at this purely objectively, it's easy to see Kelly has done a good job. Now, if they only win 7 or 8 games this year, my tone will change quite a bit, but I don't see that happening.

Double digit wins against the toughest schedule in the country and a shot at the final 4 and a national title run.

 

Other than that, OklahomaIrish has pretty tempered expectations. Just bustin chops, bud. We all love your attitude here.

I feel like this same thread gets posted every week.

 

Absolutely...wasn't this a thread title last week?

I feel like this same thread gets posted every week.

 

It's Groundhog Day every day. I'm going to go fire up my toaster and take a bath.

Here is a review of where the pundits have us placed going into fall --

 

 

ATHLON--13th

LINDYS--14th

USA TODAY-16th

SPORTING NEWS--14th

PHIL STEELE_17th

 

aloha's

BK has and is doing a great job. We need him to stay as long as possible. Recruiting has been going really well. I'm happy.

 

This recruiting cycle is definitely a dip and this cycle needs to get better in a hurry. We need some key players in key positions asap. If we can get some big time recruits soon, then we'll be ok. But this cycle is hurting us. Kelly will still do more with the current 2015 crop than any past ND coach would do with their respective best class. That's because he's an awesome coach.

 

That whole situation with Philly and the vacation was a disaster. Anzalone leaving makes sense. He felt he made a connection with this man who would be his mentor/friend for the next stage of his life, and then it seemed as though this man just lied to him for months. You can't blame him for having a bad taste in his mouth. However leaving for Florida and Muschump....and the type of kids they attract to their program...well have fun. That's one locker room I'd never want to be a part of. Stanford and ND players are the type of kids I'd want to associate and be friends with. All in all, ND football is so much better than it was half a decade ago. Even when we lose, we're still in the game. And last year was a punch to the gut....and that's because we hold our kids accountable. We all dealt with it, and I understand why Golson was gone. That's on him. Now we can finally play football again. Unfortunately our defense is a huge concern. And we need to reload the D-line with players because we have none. Not when compared to other top schools. We just need some more players...I can't stress that enough. It's killing me because we're so close to being a legitimate program. We need to take this last step, and this cycle could really make that step larger when combined with last cycle and some of its gaffs in recruiting. 2 cycles in a row missing out on vital positions is a recipe for disaster. In hindsight these supposed "gaffs" could turn out to be strengths rather than weaknesses, but if we're looking from a numbers/ratings point of view, then we're not going to make the grade and that 2012 group could be forced to shoulder far too much. Unfortunately I think we're just stuck where we are now, because of recent recruiting (last 10-12 months worth). And obviously I may be dead wrong...and I really hope I am. But at least we're much better today. There's no doubt our program is more stable.

 

I love the optimism from Hawaii and Okie, but I think we need to be realistic as well...more so Okie because he's so positive about everything. I think your just a positive person in every aspect of life, which is refreshing but I don't think we're as good as you believe. We're definitely good, but we could be so much better. That's all because of Kelly and Swarbick and company, so its hard to knock them when they're the reason we're respectable again...but they've come this far and I wish they could just do a little more. Closing the deal with legit top level talent has not been kind to Kelly. They seriously need 5-7 awesome recruits at certain positions; QB, RB, DT, DE, another LB or two on top of Barajas, another safety on top of Prentice (even though I LOVE Tranquill who feels like a dynamite specialist...a nickel OLB/FS hybrid), and perhaps 1 more solid offensive lineman for this cycle. The lineman isn't a huge concern because the past cycles have been loaded beyond belief, but defensively we need some bulls. If we land 1 monster DE or DT, possibly Cowart, then he would most likely be the #1 as a sophomore. Maybe the #2 as a true freshman. That wouldn't happen at a lot of other schools. That's how short we are in that position. Morgan could play as a freshman...that shouldn't even be a conversation unless he comes in and can't be denied as a true freshman. You see where I'm going. Just a little more and I'll be happy.