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?
This is from Phil Taylor over at "Spit5s" Illistrated.
If you notice he has us 6-2
His biggest victory
Weis parlayed a 6-2 record into a 10-year extension
Posted: Wednesday November 2, 2005 3:30PM; Updated: Wednesday November 2, 2005 3:30PM
Apparently Charlie Weis can orchestrate a contract situation as deftly as he manipulates an offense. Weis has turned a 6-2 record in his first season as Notre Dame's coach into a 10-year extension worth a reported $30-$40 million. After eight games -- and granted, one of them was an epic loss to the best team in the nation -- Weis has the school's administration convinced that he's simply indispensable. Maybe the guy really is a genius.
Or, more likely, the powers that be at Notre Dame, who with the possible exception of Weis haven't made a truly smart coaching decision in recent memory, still don't have a clue. That's not to say that they'll live to regret giving Weis the extension. He may turn out to be every bit the savior that he appears to be after -- and we can't stress this enough -- only eight games. But there's also the chance that the Irish haven't really returned to glory, they're just visiting it. Weis could be the second coming of his predecessor, Tyrone Willingham, a fast starter who goes quickly into decline.
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The point is, no one in South Bend knows which description will ultimately fit Weis, which is why the decision to gamble so heavily on him borders on lunacy. You'd think Notre Dame would know better after going through the fiasco with Willingham, who actually had a more impressive start than Weis'. Willingham was undefeated after the first eight games of his Notre Dame career, and he was getting the same kind of love that Weis is receiving now. By the end of his third season his career record was 21-15 and the Irish couldn't get him out of town fast enough.
So why invest so heavily in Weis when you wouldn't do the same for Willingham? Well, that gets us thinking thoughts that we don't want to think, thoughts about how Willingham's skin color is several shades darker than Weis'. But although it would be easy to cry racism -- and it's certainly likely that race is involved on some level -- it's not quite as simple as that. It's hard to accuse the administration of racist thinking when they were color-blind enough to hire Willingham in the first place.
This is really just more bumbling from an administration that's just been guessing ever since Lou Holtz left. Think about it. Notre Dame went from Holtz to Bob Davie, who turned in four mediocre seasons. Next came the debacle with George O'Leary, who was dismissed for lying on his resume before coaching a game. They finally settled on Willingham, but turned that progressive decision into a public relations nightmare by not allowing him to finish out his first contract. Now they luck into an apparently good thing with Weis -- they only hired him after their first choice, Urban Meyer, snubbed them -- and they go overboard.
Notre Dame will tell you that it had to lock up Weis more tightly for fear that he'd leave for the NFL next season, a fear that Weis and his handlers no doubt helped plant in their minds. His original deal had only a $1.5 million buyout, and some pro team would have happily paid that much to get him. But the Irish apparently don't realize that if New York or Chicago or the new L.A. franchise that's sure to come into existence sometime soon wants Weis and he wants them, they'll still make it happen. Coaches break contracts all the time. The Irish haven't really bought themselves much more security with this deal.
But Weis certainly has, which is why he deserves congratulations for being able to parlay 6-2 into about $40 million. Irish administrators had better hope that he continues to outsmart his opponents as easily as he outwitted them.