Notre Dame (football only discussion)

[BB73]

Akron native Tony Alford has been hired to coach the RBs in Suth Ben.

si.com

Notre Dame hires Louisville's Alford to coach running backs

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Louisville running backs coach Tony Alford has accepted a similar position at Notre Dame.

The 40-year-old Alford replaces Mike Haywood, who was named head coach at Miami (Ohio) in December after four seasons on the Irish staff.
Alford was on the staff at Louisville the past two years, following stints as running backs coach at Mount Union, Kent State, Washington and Iowa State.

Cont'd ...

 

[BB73]

Wherefore art thou, Romeo?

southbendtribune

Crennel a possible Irish hire?

...

You could speculate that Weis is waiting to contact a pro assistant coach that is involved in this weekend's Super Bowl or a college coach who needs to get past Wednesday's signing day to receive permission to talk.

Or maybe, just maybe, Weis is talking to longtime friend Romeo Crennel, the recently deposed head coach of the Cleveland Browns. The 61-year-old Crennel's 24-40 bottom line with Cleveland is hardly flattering, but the rest of his r?sum? fits well as a short-term solution.

And Crennel, who is slated to undergo hip-replacement surgery in February, has expressed an interest in remaining in the coaching business, even perhaps in some capacity with new Browns coach Eric Mangini.

Weis and Crennel coached together in New England, where Crennel served as defensive coordinator and Weis as offensive coordinator. Crennel has five Super Bowl rings and has coached the defensive line with the Patriots, Jets and Giants in the NFL and in the collegiate ranks at Western Kentucky, Texas Tech, Georgia Tech and Ole Miss.

If he is the short-term solution, then who might be the long-term answer?

It is likely to be Bryant Young, recently hired as the defensive graduate assistant. Would it really make sense for the former Irish All-America defensive tackle and retired 14-year NFL veteran to uproot his wife and four kids to move three time zones away if this was a one- or two-year gig at best?

With a veteran like Crennel to groom him, Young could tackle a steep learning curve faster and more effectively. It doesn't matter whether Crennel can recruit or not. It does matter, eventually, if Young can in this scenario.

And coincidentally, one of ND's top targets at its biggest area of need (defensive line) just happens to be junior Chris Martin, a standout at Bishop O'Dowd High in Oakland, Calif., who undoubtedly followed Young's long and celebrated career with the San Francisco 49ers.

Weis continues to build bridges with former Irish players, tapping into ND's rich history to try to improve the trajectory of its future. Chris Zorich, Reggie Brooks, and now Young. Who's next?

For those waiting for Weis to hire an offensive coordinator, the wait has long since been over. It will be Weis. New offensive line coach Frank Verducci is expected to be named running game coordinator in the coming weeks.

 

[Mike80]

Tracked a few pages ago, but now that the bowl matchups are out we can do this officially. These are the 89 teams that have won a bowl game since ND's last. If this list is wrong I'll blame OHSportsFan9 for [censored]ing up my list :tongue2:

Air Force, Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Boise State, Boston College, Bowling Green, BYU, California, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Clemson, Colorado, Colorado State, Connecticut, East Carolina, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida State, Fresno State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Marshall, Maryland, Memphis, Miami, Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, Navy, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, NC State, North Carolina, Northern Illinois, North Texas, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Rutgers, San Jose State, South Carolina, South Florida, Southern Miss, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Toledo, Troy, Tulane, Tulsa, UCLA, UNLV, USC, Utah, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

If Notre Dame loses, the number will rise to 90 as either Western Michigan or Rice goes on the list five days later. It can go as high as 95 with wins by the following teams:

Northwestern over Missouri
Ball State over Tulsa
Louisiana Tech over Northern Illinois
Buffalo over Connecticut
Vanderbilt over Boston College

Well with the tissue paper soft schedule and the knowledge they'll end up in a BCS bowl against someone like Florida or Texas (along with delusional domers screaming that "We're Back!" across the nation), they'll start the streak anew this year I'm sure with a 45 point loss in the Fiesta Bowl.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Crennel a possible Irish hire?

Between Davie, Weis and Romeo thats an impressive trio of "good coordinators don't always make good head coaches" examples all from one school. Can they dig up Buddy Ryan next?

 

[Boilers Fan]

Well, they got Te'o...Hopefully another mediocre season with "5 star" recruits is on the horizon

 

[Taosman]

Will they be patient with this team next year? Or will they pull the trigger on Charlie? One bad loss and things will get ugly......again.

 

[NFBuck]

Tom Luginthbill just said he doesn't think the golden emu is the answer at QB for n_tre _ame.

 

[tsteele316]

Tom Luginthbill just said he doesn't think the golden emu is the answer at QB for n_tre _ame.

if I was a domer fan, this statement would give me confidence.

 

[NFBuck]

if I was a domer fan, this statement would give me confidence.

Ain't that the truth...

Of course that came during a feature asking "is NoD ready to take the next step after their BIG bowl win".

 

[OregonBuckeye]

Not really sure where to put this but here's a chat wrap from Beano Cook and there's lots of good material.

ESPN: Chat with Beano Cook - SportsNation

Alex (Tuscaloosa): Who is going to give Alabama its best run for the SEC West? LSU or Ole Miss?

Beano Cook: I think the problem with any SEC team, it's awful tough to finish the season 13-0. LSU goes to Alabama but Bama has a shot. If Alabama was in the Big Ten they would go undefeated but their not. If you asked me how the following teams .. FL, Bama, LSU, Texas, OU and PSU .. which team has the best chance of finishing with a perfect record I would take Penn State. They have the best chance. Ivan Maisel, Sr. Writer for ESPN.com, thinks it would be Texas. But he agrees PSU would be No. 2.

He never even attempts to answer the original question. Just goes on rambling.

If the Irish goes into the USC undefeated they will win and have a shot at the title.

Take your pills, Beano.

chris (Clearwater, Florida): How do you think Auburn will finish this season. After a bad 08 season I dont see it getting much better, what is your take?

Beano Cook: The Auburn administration is unrealistic. They play in the toughest conf. and they have to play Georgia, LSU and Alabama every year. That's awful tough. Alabama is going to dominate Auburn as long as Nick Saban is there.

Beano Cook: The Auburn officials should be ashamed of how they handled the Tuberville situation.

Like I said, lots of great material.


Forgot to post this gem

But if he thinks it was tough in the NFL, that was kindergarten compared to the SEC.

Just retire already.

 

[NFBuck]

Senility is a horrible thing.

 

[CleveBucks]

Let's get Keith Jackson and Beano Cook in the broadcast booth together.

 

[jwinslow]

Jim Stefani - Class of 2010: Musings

3/10

Breaks down the top national QBs & Texas & ND's recruiting class thus far.

 

[BB73]

Andy Staples serving up some green Kool-Aid.

SI.com

This spring, Weis shaping young Irish D into BCS bowl-worthy unit

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis considered it an ideal teaching moment. During last Saturday's Irish Eyes drill -- they're not going to call it the Oklahoma drill at Notre Dame -- defensive tackle Tyler Stockton, a four-star, early enrolled slab of fresh meat, lay prone on the Loftus Center turf. Senior guard Chris Stewart stood over Stockton, not-so-gently reminding the youngster that Division I-A football games are won with a steady diet of pancake blocks.

Weis stopped the drill, but he didn't discipline the senior. Instead, he got in the freshman's ear hole. "You're never going to make it around here if you let that happen," Weis said later. "Not that I'm looking to instigate, but at the same time, it was a perfect coaching point for him. I was saying, 'You're going to have my blessing in that situation. ... Don't count on [junior linebacker] Brian Smith to come to the rescue. Stand up and defend yourself.'"

Weis knows his greenhorns must learn to defend themselves, because while the Fighting Irish return 10 offensive starters, the defense will rely on a host of youngsters. That's especially true for the front seven, where only two players started more than six games last year. In fact, this defense may finally offer a solution to the nature/nurture conundrum that has dogged Weis and his staff throughout their tenure: Now that a full complement of their own highly touted recruits are old enough to contribute, can they develop them into a unit that can help Notre Dame reach a BCS bowl for the first time since the 2006 season?

The defense, which John Tenuta and Corwin Brown co-coordinate, will officially switch from a 3-4 to a 4-3 this year, but the Irish were a 3-4 in name only last season. For much of the 2008 campaign, Notre Dame used "under" looks that act an awful lot like a 4-3. So the players should be familiar with the scheme, but the onus will still be on the experienced few to help their younger teammates understand what they must do to help Notre Dame improve on a 7-6 season that ended with a win over Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl.

Cont'd ...

 

[NFBuck]

Andy Staples serving up some green Kool-Aid.

SI.com

Isn't this a story just recycled from 2006?