The 2023 Football team is exactly what the university has paid for. The entire coaching staff makes less together than the average SEC head coach. The program has some great position coaches, but in terms of coordinators they are not elite since the university will not commit money to pay the elite. If you go cheap on a head coach, you need to pay top end coordinators to make up for it. Right now that isn’t the case which is very unfortunate for Freeman. Hopefully Freeman turns into Dabo, but right now it looks more like Will Muschamp. Dabo surrounded himself with elite coaches, Muschamp did not. Look at Oklahoma in year 2 with Venables with who he is surrounded by including Bob Stoops being right there.

Not only do they not pay coaches elite money, but they will not pay to get end players. Look at the 3 guys everyone knows they missed out on because of NIL - Bowen, Moore, and Keeley. I would argue if Bowen is on this team Notre Dame would be undefeated. Just watch the Oklahoma-Texas and you can see the difference. I know it is an ethical decision in regards to NIL, but that is what college football is today.

You can blame Freeman all you want and he definitely deserves a lot of blame. But the structure is more of the problem and going to become even more of an issue if it is not corrected. 

Jack Swarbrick said everything when they didn't get Ludwig last year.

Ludwig cost too much to bring to SB. And then he told everyone where to go to donate money to the athletic fund.

 

im not saying Ludwig was the home run hire but it's becoming clear Parker ain't that guy and the overall philosophy as a fan has to aggravate you as you spend your time and money on this program.

It's smug and arrogant and his attitude reaks of entitlement. 

im glad he's leaving while also acknowledging he's fighting higher powers on this but someone has to be the catalyst for investment.

 

I tried posting article link unsuccessfully but google Swarbrick Ludwig 247

administration does just enough to stay relevant enough to keep the money flowing in

Edited October 8, 20231 yr by lazard

1 hour ago, JTennant said:

Jack Swarbrick said everything when they didn't get Ludwig last year.

Ludwig cost too much to bring to SB. And then he told everyone where to go to donate money to the athletic fund.

 

im not saying Ludwig was the home run hire but it's becoming clear Parker ain't that guy and the overall philosophy as a fan has to aggravate you as you spend your time and money on this program.

It's smug and arrogant and his attitude reaks of entitlement. 

im glad he's leaving while also acknowledging he's fighting higher powers on this but someone has to be the catalyst for investment.

 

I tried posting article link unsuccessfully but google Swarbrick Ludwig 247

You'll get a kick out of this. I was told by someone who was close to the most senior position at ND that Swarbrick hung around one more year to enjoy the National Championship he thinks we're going to win in football. 

57 minutes ago, Frankus said:

You'll get a kick out of this. I was told by someone who was close to the most senior position at ND that Swarbrick hung around one more year to enjoy the National Championship he thinks we're going to win in football. 

Then I guess he should have made an easier schedule to navigate, instead of this nightmare! Such a moron!

depends how long you are willing to hold the asset. I want to see how freeman's recruits do.

3 minutes ago, FaithInIrish Forever said:

depends how long you are willing to hold the asset. I want to see how freeman's recruits do.

Sadly, if ND loses 4 games this year, recruiting will decline. I’m already nervous enough about the 2024 class.  Not a lot of star power there. Good?  Yes.  Good enough for a Freeman-coached team to win a championship?  I don’t think so.  

2 minutes ago, AnTostal said:

Sadly, if ND loses 4 games this year, recruiting will decline. I’m already nervous enough about the 2024 class.  Not a lot of star power there. Good?  Yes.  Good enough for a Freeman-coached team to win a championship?  I don’t think so.  

I think the 2024 class could, but we’ll have to wait and see.

I like Freeman.  I am confident he can get it figured out.  However, I would really prefer he have a top of the pack OC to help take some of the burden from his plate.  Someone he can leave all Offensive responsibilities to.  I don't particularly have an issue with Parker.  Maybe one day he will be a fine coordinator.  I just don't think it is smart to have your head coach and OC learning on the job any longer.

Freeman has acknowledged that his entire career was on the defensive side of the ball. That he was going to need help learning the offense side. That is why ND knew with a Freeman hire they needed a good OC. When Tommy left that was ND opportunity to help Freeman by spending the money to get the best OC possible.

19 minutes ago, ND_JACK said:

Freeman has acknowledged that his entire career was on the defensive side of the ball. That he was going to need help learning the offense side. That is why ND knew with a Freeman hire they needed a good OC. When Tommy left that was ND opportunity to help Freeman by spending the money to get the best OC possible.

https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/article/notre-dame-football-jack-swarbricks-response-to-andy-ludwig-contract-blowback-204844967/

I think there are a lot of assumptions here. ND has shown that its been willing to spend on top-flight coordinators the last 5 years.  When ND hired Freeman, they stole him from LSU by upping their final offer. He was one of the highest paid DCs in the country in 2021. When ND retained Rees as OC after Freeman was hired, he received a massive pay bump that made him one of the highest paid OCs out there. ND is willing to spend money. I think the Ludwig thing is overplayed - Freeman could have gone out and hired another top notch OC, but he chose the easiest path and hired his buddy. This is the same thing that got BK in trouble during his tenure - sticking with his buddies when they're not getting the job done. Unless the offense takes a massive leap forward the rest of this season, I don't know how Parker keeps his OC title. My only concern is that Freeman won't make a move because he won't want to demote/fire his friend.

As far as NIL, ND got the best available transfer QB because of NIL. Hartman is one of the highest paid players in the country. ND is willing to pay proven players. They aren't getting in the sandbox for recruits, which has definitely hurt ND. But I'm fine saving NIL money for guys who have shown they can be big time college football players versus recruits who may or may not pan out (look at the Top 100 recruits from any class and assess how many of them actually lived up to the hype - even the sure things aren't sure things).

ND has poured a lot of money into the football program, with more on the way in terms of facility upgrades in the near future. Do they spend as much as SEC schools? No. They don't have insane locker rooms or workout facilities. But that is not stopping ND from seriously competing for a national title. 

@tneun89 I agree with your assessment. I just wish that Freeman knowing his weakness, that he is not an offensive guy, would have tried harder to hire the best possible OC to help him and not settle for an unproven friend. I know that is easier said than done. This is where the AD needed to step in and help the first time head coach realize he needed an experienced and proven OC. 

16 hours ago, ND_JACK said:

@tneun89 I agree with your assessment. I just wish that Freeman knowing his weakness, that he is not an offensive guy, would have tried harder to hire the best possible OC to help him and not settle for an unproven friend. I know that is easier said than done. This is where the AD needed to step in and help the first time head coach realize he needed an experienced and proven OC. 

Don't disagree with you at all. As a young HC, he should have hired a veteran, proven OC. Having a second-year HC and a first-year OC is not a recipe for offensive success when the HC only has a defensive background. He should have gone out and hired someone like Phil Longo, current OC at Wisconsin, with previous stops at UNC and Ole Miss.

It seems like Marcus is still limited in his understanding of the offensive side of the ball. This offseason, ND either needs to cut bait with Parker and hire a proven guy (personally, I don't have faith Marcus would fire his friend after one season), or, more likely, ND needs to hire a veteran offensive analysts. Go the Nick Saban route and hire an old head couch help on that side of the ball. No idea if David Cutcliffe would have any interest in coming out of retirement, much less for an analysts position. But ND/Marcus needs someone like that.

I understand that Marcus is learning on the job. That is what ND signed up for when they hired him. And I still have faith he can lead the program to a national title. It will just take time and patience. But he needs to surround himself with guys who have been there and done that. We have a decent amount of veterans on staff - McCollough, Rudolph, Golden, but we need more. I think the defense is playing so well because Golden is running the ship and has seen everything. ND needs a guy like that to run the offense, or at least work with Parker. 

I'm not giving up on this season. If ND can find a way to beat USC. 10-2 is very achievable. 9-3 at worst - still allows ND to get a 10th win in a bowl game. But to compete for national titles, especially in the 12-team playoff era, Marcus needs to surround himself with the right coaches.

3 hours ago, tneun89 said:

Don't disagree with you at all. As a young HC, he should have hired a veteran, proven OC. Having a second-year HC and a first-year OC is not a recipe for offensive success when the HC only has a defensive background. He should have gone out and hired someone like Phil Longo, current OC at Wisconsin, with previous stops at UNC and Ole Miss.

It seems like Marcus is still limited in his understanding of the offensive side of the ball. This offseason, ND either needs to cut bait with Parker and hire a proven guy (personally, I don't have faith Marcus would fire his friend after one season), or, more likely, ND needs to hire a veteran offensive analysts. Go the Nick Saban route and hire an old head couch help on that side of the ball. No idea if David Cutcliffe would have any interest in coming out of retirement, much less for an analysts position. But ND/Marcus needs someone like that.

I understand that Marcus is learning on the job. That is what ND signed up for when they hired him. And I still have faith he can lead the program to a national title. It will just take time and patience. But he needs to surround himself with guys who have been there and done that. We have a decent amount of veterans on staff - McCollough, Rudolph, Golden, but we need more. I think the defense is playing so well because Golden is running the ship and has seen everything. ND needs a guy like that to run the offense, or at least work with Parker. 

I'm not giving up on this season. If ND can find a way to beat USC. 10-2 is very achievable. 9-3 at worst - still allows ND to get a 10th win in a bowl game. But to compete for national titles, especially in the 12-team playoff era, Marcus needs to surround himself with the right coaches.

Completely agree!

5 hours ago, tneun89 said:

Don't disagree with you at all. As a young HC, he should have hired a veteran, proven OC. Having a second-year HC and a first-year OC is not a recipe for offensive success when the HC only has a defensive background. He should have gone out and hired someone like Phil Longo, current OC at Wisconsin, with previous stops at UNC and Ole Miss.

It seems like Marcus is still limited in his understanding of the offensive side of the ball. This offseason, ND either needs to cut bait with Parker and hire a proven guy (personally, I don't have faith Marcus would fire his friend after one season), or, more likely, ND needs to hire a veteran offensive analysts. Go the Nick Saban route and hire an old head couch help on that side of the ball. No idea if David Cutcliffe would have any interest in coming out of retirement, much less for an analysts position. But ND/Marcus needs someone like that.

I understand that Marcus is learning on the job. That is what ND signed up for when they hired him. And I still have faith he can lead the program to a national title. It will just take time and patience. But he needs to surround himself with guys who have been there and done that. We have a decent amount of veterans on staff - McCollough, Rudolph, Golden, but we need more. I think the defense is playing so well because Golden is running the ship and has seen everything. ND needs a guy like that to run the offense, or at least work with Parker. 

I'm not giving up on this season. If ND can find a way to beat USC. 10-2 is very achievable. 9-3 at worst - still allows ND to get a 10th win in a bowl game. But to compete for national titles, especially in the 12-team playoff era, Marcus needs to surround himself with the right coaches.

I'm right there with you.  As a man, as a person, I love Freeman.  He's leaps and bounds better than the cuck that is in Baton Rouge now.  Is he as good of a coach, that's yet to be seen.  He is a far better recruiter though, no question.  He's a good defensive mind.  He needs help offensively.  I don't know that I would shit can Parker, but, I would at least demote him back to just being the TE coach.  You need to find someone that has more experience to be the OC.  On the other hand, they could go 10-2 and win a bowl game and we'll be laughing at ourselves when we look back at these posts.  We were all lauding Parker for the first 4 weeks of the season.  We have to see how the season pans out.  

1 hour ago, NYGoldenDomer said:

I'm right there with you.  As a man, as a person, I love Freeman.  He's leaps and bounds better than the cuck that is in Baton Rouge now.  Is he as good of a coach, that's yet to be seen.  He is a far better recruiter though, no question.  He's a good defensive mind.  He needs help offensively.  I don't know that I would shit can Parker, but, I would at least demote him back to just being the TE coach.  You need to find someone that has more experience to be the OC.  On the other hand, they could go 10-2 and win a bowl game and we'll be laughing at ourselves when we look back at these posts.  We were all lauding Parker for the first 4 weeks of the season.  We have to see how the season pans out.  

Totally accurate here!

I wait here and wonder how Guduigli would do as OC. He has experience too, right? Or is it similar to Parker?

4 minutes ago, Baldy said:

Totally accurate here!

I wait here and wonder how Guduigli would do as OC. He has experience too, right? Or is it similar to Parker?

From what I recall, his experience is also not very much.

2 hours ago, NYGoldenDomer said:

From what I recall, his experience is also not very much.

Figures! 🙄

Then maybe it’s time to hire a very experienced analyst. Is Tom Herman still available? 😂