The recent Michigan coaching search is still fresh in our minds. Talk about a roller-coaster; It was a Michigan Man, then it was at Rutgers Man, after that who was left? At the time it looked like maybe Kirk Ferentz (who is now on the hot seat) or even the Ball State Head Coach. Yikes! It seemed Sailboat Bill had little to no options when he pulled Rich "the Rabbit" Rodriguez out of his hat. Problem solved - all forgotten.
Ohio State had similar problems before they hired "the vest". Looking back, that was a pretty big risk giving the Ohio State head coaching job to the head coach of Youngstown State. It would have been similar to Michigan hiring the Grand Valley head coach. That risk paid off and Tressel has done quite well for himself.
One of the worst coaching searches in history had to be the Notre Dame search after George "the resume" O'Leary left the program. They interviewed and supposedly offered the job to everyone from Lombardi to Ditka. Many high profile coaches in college and pro turned down the job in South Bend. Even the Lions, Steve Mariucci turned it down. (Steve you want to re-think that now?). ND finally settled on the Offensive Genius of the New England Patriots, Charlie Weis. At the time, I thought it was a great hire. Charlie was a ND grad and was winning Super Bowl on what seemed like a yearly basis. Here was a guy that wanted the job and was one of the hottest coaching prospects in the NFL.
With what we know now, would you consider that a good hire? I think Charlie has proved he is a good recruiter, I also think Charlie can X and O against anyone. But that maybe it. We know now that the Patriots "were reading the other teams mail". Which meant, Charlie knew what was coming. It's pretty easy to ace the test when you know the questions.
Charlie is skilled at taking professional athletes and putting them in the proper position to make successful plays. This is the part that doesn't translate to college football. In college you have to be able to see that a running back is a step slow but would make a good Linebacker. You have to see that your speedy WR will never see the field and turn him into a cover corner. You also have to take the 3, 4, and 5 star recruits and teach them how to play/excel in their positions. Can Charlie do that?
I think this is one area Tressel does very well in. AJ Hawk was a 3 star linebacker from outside of Dayton that he turned into a top NFL first round draft pick.
We also know that RR over achieved with his recruiting classes at WVU. Does Charlie have that skill?
Here is what we know so far:
- 2007 Final Record 3-9
- Most Losses in Notre Dame History in a Season
- Longest Home Losing Streak (6)
- 2 of the Programs Top 10 Worst Losses (38-0 to Michigan and USC)
- Lost to Two Military Academy's in 1 season for first time since 1944
- Notre Dame has lost their last 9 Bowl Appearances
- Over their last 9 Bowl losses they have averaged a deficit of 17 points
You make the call if this was a good hire or not. Maybe it's too early to tell but I don't think the ND faithful is going to take too many more 3-9 seasons before they find a way to get out of that 10 year contract extension.
The new ND Athletic Director is a lawyer right? Well, that might come in handy.
ND fired George O'Leary for having "a creative resume". With what we know now about Charlie's success at New England, wouldn't you say he had a "creative resume" as well?
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