Brian Kelly Backlash Has Already Started

[SuperHornet]

QB Brendan Clark, a Wake Forest de-commit once seen as the successor to Ian Book, has announced his transfer to Old Dominion.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/notre-dame ... 41061.html

[GannonFan]

QB Brendan Clark, a Wake Forest de-commit once seen as the successor to Ian Book, has announced his transfer to Old Dominion.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/notre-dame ... 41061.html

He was the 4th string QB on the roster this year and had announced back in October that he was leaving. I don't think this has anything to do with Kelly deciding yesterday to take the LSU job.

[SuperHornet]

Notre Dame introduces former DC Marcus Freeman as HC.

https://sports.yahoo.com/notre-dame-int ... p_catchall

[89Hen]

Wow. That's a terrible hire IMO. ND HC is a big position and should have attracted a big name.

[UNI88]

Wow. That's a terrible hire IMO. ND HC is a big position and should have attracted a big name.

He was going to be a HC very soon. If he's ready, it could turn out to be a brilliant decision.

The OC is staying at ND and Freeman reportedly relates to players very well which could help keep current recruits and bring him some new ones.

[GannonFan]

Wow. That's a terrible hire IMO. ND HC is a big position and should have attracted a big name.

He was going to be a HC very soon. If he's ready, it could turn out to be a brilliant decision.

The OC is staying at ND and Freeman reportedly relates to players very well which could help keep current recruits and bring him some new ones.

Yup, Freeman was a hot name that was getting hired as a HC somewhere. He had a great reputation coming to ND this year and he's been given credit for getting ND's highly touted recruiting class. He's loved by the players, is young and energetic. Hard to find things not to like about this guy.

[AZGrizFan]

Wow. That's a terrible hire IMO. ND HC is a big position and should have attracted a big name.

He was going to be a HC very soon. If he's ready, it could turn out to be a brilliant decision.

The OC is staying at ND and Freeman reportedly relates to players very well which could help keep current recruits and bring him some new ones.

Well they sure seem to love him in that short video.

[SuperHornet]

Just saw that before Freeman was hired as DC/LBers Coach at Notre Dame back in January, it was reported that he was going to LSU as DC.

https://www.onefootdown.com/2021/1/8/22 ... freeman-nd

LSU ultimately took Daronte Jones, most recently DBs Coach with the Minnesota Vikings; he had five years' experience coaching the secondary in the NFL before going to LSU. Jones was expected to run a 4-2-5 set. I'm not sure how that worked out, or how it will fit into Kelly's plans.

[89Hen]

Freeman was a hot name that was getting hired as a HC somewhere.

Somewhere =/= Notre Dame

[SuperHornet]

People are already bashing Kelly (grew up around Boston) for allegedly faking a Southern accent. One pundit has even gone so far as to assert that he now sounds like "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes. Frankly, I can't hear what they're talking about, and I loved Dusty Rhodes....

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/internet-h ... 22117.html

[UNI88]

Freeman was a hot name that was getting hired as a HC somewhere.

Somewhere =/= Notre Dame

Who could Notre Dame maybe have gotten with more experience and buzz? Fickell. Maybe Mark Stoops. I don't Pat Fitzgerald would leave Northwestern. Outside of those they'd probably be looking at a Billy Napier type hire.

[GannonFan]

Freeman was a hot name that was getting hired as a HC somewhere.

Somewhere =/= Notre Dame

Why does hiring a head coach at Notre Dame have to equal hiring a head coach who's close to or more than 50 years old, with a track record of multiple decades? Those coaches don't automatically equate to success, especially at Notre Dame (worked with Kelly, didn't work with Willingham or Weis). It was a coup when Notre Dame got this guy as an assistant coach, and all he did was exceed expectations while he's been there. Sometimes if you catch a young coach who's destined for a great career right at the beginning that can be incredible. Maybe this guy doesn't meet those lofty expectations, but I don't fault Notre Dame for taking what seems to be a pretty strong hand and tossing their chips in to play that hand and see how it goes. Heck, there are even some people now talking out loud if Notre Dame may have won the switch of coaches. Frankly, I'm just happy they didn't call Urban Meyer or someone like that. And the fact that so many coaches at ND have stayed on with Freeman rather than follow Kelly is pretty interesting.

Oh, and on the plus side, Freeman has at least already turned down LSU once when he picked ND last year to be the DC at rather than LSU.

[89Hen]

Somewhere =/= Notre Dame

Who could Notre Dame maybe have gotten with more experience and buzz? Fickell. Maybe Mark Stoops. I don't Pat Fitzgerald would leave Northwestern. Outside of those they'd probably be looking at a Billy Napier type hire.

Fickell, Campbell, Brohm... I'm just surprised to see a 35 year old with no HC experience. He may turn out to be great, we'll see.

[UNI88]

Who could Notre Dame maybe have gotten with more experience and buzz? Fickell. Maybe Mark Stoops. I don't think Pat Fitzgerald would leave Northwestern. Outside of those they'd probably be looking at a Billy Napier type hire.

Fickell, Campbell, Brohm... I'm just surprised to see a 35 year old with no HC experience. He may turn out to be great, we'll see.

No guarantee Fickell would move - he might have a better chance at Natty with Cincinnati in the Big 12 then he would at ND. Campbell and Brohm might jump at the job but leave after 10 years of scratching at the door of a Natty like Kelly. Are you overestimating how attractive the ND job is based on the past? It wasn't a destination job for Kelly and it might not be one for a lot of coaches anymore.

[89Hen]

What do you mean by overestimating the ND job? It has to be one of the top spots in CF.

[UNI88]

What do you mean by overestimating the ND job? It used to be one of the top spots in CF.

FYP

Why would Kelly leave "one of the top spots in CF"?

ND isn't a top 5 coaching job in CF. It might still be a top 10 but it's trouble matching the talent of the big boys limits its appeal.

[SDHornet]

What do you mean by overestimating the ND job? It used to be one of the top spots in CF.

FYP

Why would Kelly leave "one of the top spots in CF"?

ND isn't a top 5 coaching job in CF. It might still be a top 10 but it's trouble matching the talent of the big boys limits its appeal.

Yeah I think he left based on shot at CFP. ND isn't getting in ever, unless they run the table and the best of the rest has 2 losses.

And Riley left OU for a similar reason. OU will be 3rd best in the SEC, meaning shot at CFP is gone. He'll immediately compete for CFP access at USC.

[UNI88]

FYP

Why would Kelly leave "one of the top spots in CF"?

ND isn't a top 5 coaching job in CF. It might still be a top 10 but it's trouble matching the talent of the big boys limits its appeal.

Yeah I think he left based on shot at CFP. ND isn't getting in ever, unless they run the table and the best of the rest has 2 losses.

And Riley left OU for a similar reason. OU will be 3rd best in the SEC, meaning shot at CFP is gone. He'll immediately compete for CFP access at USC.

I think ND has a shot at making the CFP but no shot at winning it. They almost made it this year but they don't and won't have the talent to beat Alabama, Georgia, etc. LSU is the big dog in a talent-rich state with lower admission standards. They've proven they can compete in and win the SEC, they just need the coaches to get the most out of the talent.

In 5 years at Oklahoma, Riley coached 2 Heisman Trophy winners & #1 draft picks. Now he's coaching in QB-rich California. More athletes are going to want to stay home and play for him rather than going to Alabama and other places.

[SuperHornet]

If the selection committee does what I expect, they will screw Cincinnati by seeding the CFP as follows:

1. Michigan
2. Alabama
3. Georgia
4. Notre Dame

The RIGHT seeding, IMO, would be:

1. Michigan
2. Alabama
3. Cincinnati
4. Georgia

But they're so set in their ways, that they'll do the other one....

[UNI88]

If the selection committee does what I expect, they will screw Cincinnati by seeding the CFP as follows:

1. Michigan
2. Alabama
3. Georgia
4. Notre Dame

The RIGHT seeding, IMO, would be:

1. Michigan
2. Alabama
3. Cincinnati
4. Georgia

But they're so set in their ways, that they'll do the other one....

They didn't seed it either way but you did get the matchups you wanted.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

[SDHornet]

Yeah I think he left based on shot at CFP. ND isn't getting in ever, unless they run the table and the best of the rest has 2 losses.

And Riley left OU for a similar reason. OU will be 3rd best in the SEC, meaning shot at CFP is gone. He'll immediately compete for CFP access at USC.

I think ND has a shot at making the CFP but no shot at winning it. They almost made it this year but they don't and won't have the talent to beat Alabama, Georgia, etc. LSU is the big dog in a talent-rich state with lower admission standards. They've proven they can compete in and win the SEC, they just need the coaches to get the most out of the talent.

In 5 years at Oklahoma, Riley coached 2 Heisman Trophy winners & #1 draft picks. Now he's coaching in QB-rich California. More athletes are going to want to stay home and play for him rather than going to Alabama and other places.

Yup. Listened to someone, can't remember which talking head, basically saying Riley is going to show up to top recruits house, point to all the guys he got to the NFL and tell them how he can get them there too, and then land most of these 4 and 5 star recruits. USC is going to be a complete monster in the near future.

[BDKJMU]

People are already bashing Kelly (grew up around Boston) for allegedly faking a Southern accent. One pundit has even gone so far as to assert that he now sounds like "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes. Frankly, I can't hear what they're talking about, and I loved Dusty Rhodes....

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/internet-h ... 22117.html

Come on, its pretty clear he was trying to sound southern..

[89Hen]

Yeah I think he left based on shot at CFP. ND isn't getting in ever, unless they run the table and the best of the rest has 2 losses.

You mean like had UGA beaten Bama Saturday?

[UNI88]

Yeah I think he left based on shot at CFP. ND isn't getting in ever, unless they run the table and the best of the rest has 2 losses.

You mean like had UGA beaten Bama Saturday?

I think ND has a shot at making the CFP but no shot at winning it. They almost made it this year but they don't and won't have the talent to beat Alabama, Georgia, etc. LSU is the big dog in a talent-rich state with lower admission standards. They've proven they can compete in and win the SEC, they just need the coaches to get the most out of the talent.

ND used to be a destination job.

[GannonFan]

You mean like had UGA beaten Bama Saturday?

I think ND has a shot at making the CFP but no shot at winning it. They almost made it this year but they don't and won't have the talent to beat Alabama, Georgia, etc. LSU is the big dog in a talent-rich state with lower admission standards. They've proven they can compete in and win the SEC, they just need the coaches to get the most out of the talent.

ND used to be a destination job.

Hard to say there are any destination jobs anymore. Someone can and will always offer more money.