It seems like Notre Dame football is at a major crossroads, with significant changes happening after an impressive 14-2 season. Despite the success, it's clear that the program's staff turnover is creating some big challenges for head coach Marcus Freeman. But it also looks like Freeman is working diligently to navigate these changes by bringing in some strong new hires.
Chris Ash replaces Al Golden
The decision to replace Al Golden with Chris Ash seems strategic, especially considering Ash's background with defensive backs and his leadership beside Luke Fickell. Golden's style was clearly popular, so it'll be interesting to see if Ash’s fiery approach can maintain that same level of success. His expertise should complement the strong defensive talent already present, but the transition could still have its bumps.
Ja’Juan Seider is a big get
With the talented trio of Jerimiyah Love, Jadarian Price, and Aneyas Williams at running back, having someone with Seider’s track record will certainly keep that position as a strength. His experience with developing 1,000-yard rushers at Penn State is a major win for the Irish.
A new GM (Mike Martin)
The search for a new General Manager is definitely an intriguing one. The evolving nature of college football’s rules around recruiting, the transfer portal, and NIL demands a savvy, experienced leader. Mike Martin seems like an excellent choice to help navigate this new era, and building out a robust scouting department could help the Irish gain an edge on the competition, especially with such a complex landscape.
Building for Long-Term Success
All in all, Marcus Freeman is making moves to stay ahead of the curve, and while there are inevitable challenges, these hires could help position Notre Dame for continued success. It's exciting to see how these changes will unfold and if they'll pay off in the long run. What do you think of these moves? Does the future of Notre Dame football look bright to you?
Well, to say the least that was two grand I would like to have back...
First of all, why in the h-e-double hockey sticks did we try to fake a punt on the first possession of the game? I have a lot of problems with that, first off we haven't seen their rush formation in person and second we did not exactly intimidate them with our kicking game...they were set up for a return and whoever was responsible for sealing off the backside should be drawn and quartered...BAD PLAY CALL
I will spare you all the time of me pissing and moaning about the officiating and its glaring objection to calling pass interference or defensive holding on LSU...Every play there could have been a holding call on them and I can't believe CW hasn't gone public with this fiasco. Rhema McKnight also showed his desire to yell at the officials more than his desire to play through it, which has been my biggest gripe with him all year...he has so much ability, its a shame he wants to be the diva of the group...
83 played well, but he did have a TD bounce off his helmet which led us to a missed fg...and we need Burkhardt to be ready to play or sign an international kicker that is off the radar, because Giola is painful to watch.
We need to get a big time defensive tackle who will be able to play right away...I don't care if Barksdale is the John Kerry of the recruiting world (flip-flop) we will atleast hold up at the point of attack...Trevor Laws was constantly pushed backwards and on a few plays he was so inept at getting a pass rush, he dropped himself into coverage (and I know the difference between that and a zone blitz)...If he is going to be our anchor, than our defense will only get worse by next season and I may have to take a year away from television to avoid suicide
I hope Chidem Ndukwe is the nicest guy in the world, because as a football player he has the reaction time and first step of a middle schooler...There were 4 times that I counted that the ball was thrown to his side of the field and while the ball was in the air, he had not changed his direction to make a play on the ball or receiver...HOW BAD COULD OUR FRESHMAN PLAYERS BE THAT WE DIDN'T BENCH HIM?
Where was John Carlson??? Freeman got a vast majority of the playing time and I could not figure out why playaction or seem routes by the TE were not incorporated into the offense earlier in the game.
On the positive side...
Our offensive line played like men...Quinn was rarely hurried or even hit and DW had running lanes, that even my fat a$$ could run through.
DW ran hard and with a burst that I haven't seen in a long time...
B Quinn deserved a better send off for his career, but I think he showed arm strength, poise in the pocket. I was lucky enough to sit next to another ND fan who said he has been to every ND game for 20 years and BQ is the best QB he has seen on the field during that time frame...Not ND QB, but QB period...Obviously a bit skewed opinion, but that carried some weight with me...
I read a big article about how JeMarcus Russell may be a top ten pick...Well, unfortunately in the NFL he won't be playing against slow footed defenses and the hanging jump balls he throws will not be completed...He is Duante Culpepper or a larger framed Alex Smith without the track record of success...He can throw the ball a mile, but typically when he does it is not on a line...He could be a boom or bust type, but he is definately not fast enough to be compared to Vince Young and doesn't have the accuracy of McNabb or the arm of Favre...Tough to measure against those guys, but the hype down there was ridiculous for him.
And for the record, I realize there may be a few people from New Orleans on this "forum"...But all of those backwoods, cajun, illiterate snake eating possum pet-owning rednecks who speak with a lisp can take this one to the grave with them...L-esth-U and the entire state of New Orleans is a crowded drunken mess and is the redneck riviera as far as I'm concerned...
Although to be fair, I highly recommend Larry Flint's establishment down there, top knotch ta-ta's and those girls really want to earn their money.