(First, allow me to apologize for my lack of posting, but I have actually been studying this semester...)
As an Indiana alum and current Domer, I can't help but feel a strong sense of deja vu between the situation currently transpiring at Indiana and what happened last year at Notre Dame.
1. Both were coaches hired in a big hurry by a program with a big black eye.
In Notre Dame's case, it had just fired a mediocre coach (Davie) who had failed to live up to expectations. It bungled the whole search process, being turned down by coach after coach, and then the coach it settled on was fired for lying on his resume. Enter Willingham, an easy band-aid to place over the sucking wound, a character guy from an academic school, with the added bonus that he would be Notre Dame's first African-American head coach, and also the most prestigious college football program to hire an African-American coach. Race shouldn't ever be an issue, but ND learned the hard way that as an issue it's impossible to avoid.
For IU, they had just fired their legendary coach, who was on the brink of becoming the winningest coach in history and had already procured three national championships, in a widely publicized and controversial breach of the "zero-tolerance" policy. Because this firing occurred in September, there was no opportunity to complete a coaching search, and IU needed something to keep their recruits from fleeing the sinking program. Enter Mike Davis, who along with Mike Treloar, was hired as the interim head coach. After a 21-win season, Davis became an easy fix, much like Willingham, with the similar bonuses: he was from the program, a great defensive coach, and also had the added bonus of providing the PR bump that a school's first African American head coach brings.
2. Both coaches had amazing runs early in their careers, providing them with more job security than they ever deserved.
Notre Dame started Willingham's first season 8-0, winning exciting close games on Davie's defense while Willingham's west-coast offense struggled. The amazing run stumbled down the stretch, though, with blowout losses to USC and NC State.
Davis' first year without the interim label saw him literally limp into the NCAA tournament on the strength of two wins in the Big Ten tournament after a solid (but not spectacular) 18-win regular season and a spate of injuries. After a thrilling win over top seed Duke in the Sweet Sixteen during the Cinderella run to the Championship game (which ended in a double-digit loss to the Terrapins), Davis also appeared much more brilliant a coach than he actually was, still coasting on his legendary predecessor's recruiting and coaching acumen.
3. Both coaches turned in pitiful performances for the remainder of their careers, with just enough wins to keep the dogs at bay for a couple of years.
Willingham posted the worst 15-game stretch since 1960 during the period following his 8-0 start. Worse, he lost more games by three or more touchdowns during his three years than Notre Dame failures Bob Davie and Gerry Faust combined.
Davis, who inherited a program with one of the longest streaks of NCAA tournament appearances in history, missed the tournament in his third year after being bounced in the second round in his second.
Now, Indiana's AD, Rick Greenspan, needs to pick up the phone and call the Irish, inquiring about the process that led them to hire Coach Weis, as their coaching search is going to be very similar:
- Notre Dame fans, upon Willingham's dismissal, were clamoring for Urban Meyer, a former assistant at the Irish who was doing well at a lesser school (Utah), and spoke as if his return to the Notre Dame family was a foregone conclusion.
- Indiana fans, upon Davis' rsignation, are clamoring for Steve Alford, a former player who is doing well at a lesser school (Iowa), and are speaking as if his return to the Hoosier family is a foregone conclusion.
- Notre Dame had to deal with media speculation about the desirability of their head coaching position, lamenting about the demise of their program, and a list of candidates that included anyone who had even thought about coaching anything (football preferred).
- Indiana is already in the middle of the firestorm questioning the desirability of the position and a laundy list of candidates that includes anyone who has even thought about coaching anything (basketball preferred).
I don't know nearly as much about basketball coaches as I do about football coaches, but I I were to put my two cents in, I would look for the following attributes in a head coach:
1. A proven history of excelling/winning
Coach Weis improved his team in EVERY position he held as a coach prior to going to ND. As a high school head coach, he won championships, as a position coach, he created pro-bowlers, as a coordinator, he won Superbowls and molded a legend (2-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady).
I'm not as familiar with the candidates in basketball that meet this criteria, but some that stand out are: Mark Few, Gonzaga head coach; Bruce Pearl, Wisconsin-Milwaukee head coach; Karl Hobbs, George Washington head coach
2. A connection with the program
With Weis, we hit the jackpot on this one as well, a Notre Dame alum who gets Notre Dame. Indiana also needs a coach that understands the history of the program.
Coaches that fit this mold: Steve Alford, Iowa head coach; Isaiah Thomas, Knicks President; Larry Bird, former Indiana State and Celtics player, former Pacers coach.
3. Dedication to the program
This one is harder to measure quantitively, but if you want to know why I think this is important, look at how Willingham was talking to Washington long before the Irish canned him, and consider the following words form Davis' press conference:
"When I took over the head coaching job here at Indiana, I never planned on being here for a long time. It was my first year as a head basketball coach, and I was a young coach and we won 21 games. As I said before, I stayed here because when Coach Knight was fired, the majority of the basketball players wanted to leave. I stayed here to keep a basketball team together. That is why I stayed for that reason. Not one player left, everybody stayed. I felt like I did my part when everyone stayed. We had a good season and won 21 games. The next year, we played for a national championship. The year after that, we won 21 games. I never felt like I would be the basketball coach here for the rest of my career. I just felt like it was time for me to step aside. When you love something and you know it is better without you, to step aside is the best thing to do. That is what I am doing. I am stepping aside, but I am still coaching these guys. This is my basketball team. These guys have a chance to make it to the (NCAA) tournament. Our guys are going to fight. It is time for them to clear their minds about me as a basketball coach. I just feel like it is the best thing for us."
I hope the Indiana brass will take their time and hire the RIGHT coach, not simply the popular one.
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Fiesta Bowl Analysis
With the long-awaited Fiesta Bowl only days away, it is now time to begin breaking down the matchups for the Big Game.
Rather than doing one large article, I am going to try and do several, smaller articles over the next few days.
First up:
Ohio State Quarterbacks and Receivers
v.
Notre Dame Secondary
Ohio State Starters:
Troy Smith, QB
1,940 yds, 62% completion, 14 TDs, 4 INTs
Ted Ginn, Jr., WR
43 receptions, 636 yards, 3 TDs
Santonio Holmes, WR
48 receptions, 853 yards, 10 TDs
Notre Dame Starters
Tom Zbikowski, FS
62 tackles, 1 sack, 5 INTs, 4 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble
Chinedum Ndukwe, SS
50 tackles, 2.5 for loss, 2 INTs, 5 pass breakups, 4 forced fumbles
Mike Richardson, CB
62 tackles, 5 for loss, 3 sacks, 3 INTs, 7 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles
Ambrose Wooden, CB
67 tackles, 2 INTs, 5 pass breakups
Matchup:
Ohio State has two extremely talented and fast wide receivers, but neither is particularly tall. Trpy smith consolidated his position at QB this year, but Justin Zwick has also started for the Buckeyes, and if Smith isn't being particularly effective, or is injured, Zwick will not miss a stride should he have to play. Xwick has played in 7 games, completing 72% of his passes.
The dropoff after the first two receivers is steep. Anthony Gonzalez is next on the team with 27 catches for 358 yards and 3 TDs. Roy Hall rounds out the receiving corps, with 14 catches for 112 tds.
Notre Dame has struggled against the pass again this year statistically, but this secondary plays much better than the numbers show. Also, this unit has been not just opportunistic, but have created turnovers deep in their own territory, costing opponents sure points.
Overall, if the Irish can keep Holmes and Ginn in front of them, they will be able to control this passing offense. Expect a couple of big plays, however, as both starting receivers are deep threats.
Rather than doing one large article, I am going to try and do several, smaller articles over the next few days.
First up:
Ohio State Quarterbacks and Receivers
v.
Notre Dame Secondary
Ohio State Starters:
Troy Smith, QB
1,940 yds, 62% completion, 14 TDs, 4 INTs
Ted Ginn, Jr., WR
43 receptions, 636 yards, 3 TDs
Santonio Holmes, WR
48 receptions, 853 yards, 10 TDs
Notre Dame Starters
Tom Zbikowski, FS
62 tackles, 1 sack, 5 INTs, 4 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble
Chinedum Ndukwe, SS
50 tackles, 2.5 for loss, 2 INTs, 5 pass breakups, 4 forced fumbles
Mike Richardson, CB
62 tackles, 5 for loss, 3 sacks, 3 INTs, 7 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles
Ambrose Wooden, CB
67 tackles, 2 INTs, 5 pass breakups
Matchup:
Ohio State has two extremely talented and fast wide receivers, but neither is particularly tall. Trpy smith consolidated his position at QB this year, but Justin Zwick has also started for the Buckeyes, and if Smith isn't being particularly effective, or is injured, Zwick will not miss a stride should he have to play. Xwick has played in 7 games, completing 72% of his passes.
The dropoff after the first two receivers is steep. Anthony Gonzalez is next on the team with 27 catches for 358 yards and 3 TDs. Roy Hall rounds out the receiving corps, with 14 catches for 112 tds.
Notre Dame has struggled against the pass again this year statistically, but this secondary plays much better than the numbers show. Also, this unit has been not just opportunistic, but have created turnovers deep in their own territory, costing opponents sure points.
Overall, if the Irish can keep Holmes and Ginn in front of them, they will be able to control this passing offense. Expect a couple of big plays, however, as both starting receivers are deep threats.
Friday, December 09, 2005
Notre Dame Players snubbed
In college football awards, hype and bias often outweighs actual performance, and Notre Dame players got snubbed in three of the top awards this year.
At the Home Depot College Football Awards show this year, Notre Dame got snubbed in every category they were nominated in.
The Davey O'Brien Award, which goes to the Quarterback of the year, went to Vince Young of Texas. Vince Young had a spectacular year this year, and is deserving of consideration for this award, leading the nation in pass efficiency rating.
However, Brady Quinn had a higher completion percentage, yards, touchdowns, total offense, and lower interceptions. Young benefitted from a weak schedule and an offense that used Vince's legs as much as his arm. And his team went undefeated.
The Biletnikoff Award goes to the Receiver of the Year, and was awarded this year to Mike Haas of Oregon State. In a situation opposite the O'Brien Award, Haas won because his team sucked, and was playing from behind much of the year, and he was their only weapon. He led the nation with almost 140 yards per game. However, he didn't do much to help his team win - for all those yards, he only had 6 touchdowns. Jeff Samardzija, on the other hand, tied with Dwayne Jarrett of USC (another finalist) for the most touchdowns this season with 15, and finished with 108 yards per game (10 yards/gm ahead of Jarrett). He also wasn't the only target on his team, as he had to share catches with Maurice Stovall as well (93 yds/gm, 11 TDs).
Another snub this year was from the Heisman trophy, which hasn't even been awarded yet. I'm not saying that Brady should win it, as Reggie Bush made it clear that he is head and shoulders above the rest of the country. However, Leinart's 2004 Heisman and Young's undefeated record bumped them above Brady, even though they had worse numbers. I could deal with all of that. However, every year, the Heisman invites the top four or five finalists to the award ceremony. For no apparent reason, the Heisman trophy decided to pare down the list of invitees to only three this year, leaving Brady Quinn at home.
The worst snub, however, came from the Walter Camp Foundation All-American team. Instead of choosing Quinn or even a worthy Vince Young for Quarterback, last year's Heisman mesmerized them into picking Leinart as teh first-team QB.
Worse than that is the receivers. There are two receivers chosen at receiver, and Walter Camp chose to choose Dwayn Jarrett as their second wideout.
With the exception of being thrown to more (not catching a higher percentage, though), there are NO statistical categories that Jarrett led Samardzija in. Zip. Zero. Zilch. He managed to tie him in touchdown catches, largely due to Coach Pete Carroll's tendency to run up the score. USC beat teams by 53, 47, 46, 42, and 30 points this year. Coach Weis, on the other hand, called off the dogs as soon as the Irish got up by three scores, CHOOSING never to beat their opponents by more than 24 points. (he had opportunities to do so 7 times this year).
Some other snubs include Brandon Hoyte not finishing as a finalist in any defensive awards, Fasano not winning the Mackey Award (won by UCLA player), and that Coach Weis' amazing turnaround of this team was overshadowed by JoePa ressurecting a team that HE had killed in the first place.
Hopefully, Coach Weis will use these snubs to motivate the team into kicking the tar out of the Buckeyes this year in Tempe.
At the Home Depot College Football Awards show this year, Notre Dame got snubbed in every category they were nominated in.
The Davey O'Brien Award, which goes to the Quarterback of the year, went to Vince Young of Texas. Vince Young had a spectacular year this year, and is deserving of consideration for this award, leading the nation in pass efficiency rating.
However, Brady Quinn had a higher completion percentage, yards, touchdowns, total offense, and lower interceptions. Young benefitted from a weak schedule and an offense that used Vince's legs as much as his arm. And his team went undefeated.
The Biletnikoff Award goes to the Receiver of the Year, and was awarded this year to Mike Haas of Oregon State. In a situation opposite the O'Brien Award, Haas won because his team sucked, and was playing from behind much of the year, and he was their only weapon. He led the nation with almost 140 yards per game. However, he didn't do much to help his team win - for all those yards, he only had 6 touchdowns. Jeff Samardzija, on the other hand, tied with Dwayne Jarrett of USC (another finalist) for the most touchdowns this season with 15, and finished with 108 yards per game (10 yards/gm ahead of Jarrett). He also wasn't the only target on his team, as he had to share catches with Maurice Stovall as well (93 yds/gm, 11 TDs).
Another snub this year was from the Heisman trophy, which hasn't even been awarded yet. I'm not saying that Brady should win it, as Reggie Bush made it clear that he is head and shoulders above the rest of the country. However, Leinart's 2004 Heisman and Young's undefeated record bumped them above Brady, even though they had worse numbers. I could deal with all of that. However, every year, the Heisman invites the top four or five finalists to the award ceremony. For no apparent reason, the Heisman trophy decided to pare down the list of invitees to only three this year, leaving Brady Quinn at home.
The worst snub, however, came from the Walter Camp Foundation All-American team. Instead of choosing Quinn or even a worthy Vince Young for Quarterback, last year's Heisman mesmerized them into picking Leinart as teh first-team QB.
Worse than that is the receivers. There are two receivers chosen at receiver, and Walter Camp chose to choose Dwayn Jarrett as their second wideout.
With the exception of being thrown to more (not catching a higher percentage, though), there are NO statistical categories that Jarrett led Samardzija in. Zip. Zero. Zilch. He managed to tie him in touchdown catches, largely due to Coach Pete Carroll's tendency to run up the score. USC beat teams by 53, 47, 46, 42, and 30 points this year. Coach Weis, on the other hand, called off the dogs as soon as the Irish got up by three scores, CHOOSING never to beat their opponents by more than 24 points. (he had opportunities to do so 7 times this year).
Some other snubs include Brandon Hoyte not finishing as a finalist in any defensive awards, Fasano not winning the Mackey Award (won by UCLA player), and that Coach Weis' amazing turnaround of this team was overshadowed by JoePa ressurecting a team that HE had killed in the first place.
Hopefully, Coach Weis will use these snubs to motivate the team into kicking the tar out of the Buckeyes this year in Tempe.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Check out my new Bowl game information page
This took me a while to put together, so humor me and at least click on the link:
Bowl Game Information Page
Bowl Game Information Page
More BCS mess...
The BCS rankings accidentally got the matchup right this year, an undisputed #1-#2 matchup between USC and Texas.
This does not mean, however, that the process is without controversy. For the first time, the final coaches poll ballots of each coach were revealed. [The ESPN/USA Today poll is composed of 62 current college head coaches] The bias and outright hypocrisy in the system became evident.
The closest thing the BCS has to a controversy is that a 9-2 Notre Dame team got into the BCS with an automatic bid, but 10-1 Oregon did not.
Looking at the final coach's polls, it wasn't for lack of trying by the Pac-10. With the exception of first year head coach Walt Harris (who had the Irish at 5th), the Pac-10 coaches dropped Notre Dame in their rankings and inflated the Ducks to try and squeeze out some of the $14.5 million payout from the Fiesta Bowl for themselves.
The coaches of the Pac-10 voted as follows:
Bellotti - Oregon: Oregon #4; Notre Dame #9
Doba - Washington State: Oregon #5; Notre Dame #12
Tedford - California: Oregon #4; Notre Dame #10
Willingham - Washington: Oregon #4; Notre Dame #9
The SEC, hoping to get a 9-2 Auburn team in the mix and inflate Georgia's ranking, did the same thing. Phil Fulmer, who actually played ND and got spanked, and Sylvester Croom, whose ballot seemed more concerned with inflating SEC schools than deflating other schools, had the Irish ranked close to normal (5 & 6, respectively):
Brooks - Kentucky: Auburn #4; Georgia #7; Notre Dame #9
Nutt - Arkansas: Georgia #3; Auburn #6; Notre Dame #7
Richt - Georgia: Auburn #6; Georgia #7; Notre Dame #8
Spurrier - South Carolina: Georgia #4; Auburn #6; Notre Dame #14
Tuberville - Auburn: Auburn #4; Georgia #7; Notre Dame #9
The SEC is the worst offender as to incredulous rankings. Houston Nutt had West Virginia, a 10-1 BCS conference champion unranked. He had 7-4 South Carolina, sixth in the SEC, ranked 25th. Steve Spurrier dropped Notre Dame down to 14 (the lowest ranking ND received from any coach), while inflating his barely-bowl-eligible team to 21st.
Interestingly, the only coach that Notre Dame faced this year that ranked the Irish lower than 6th was Tyrone Williingham (talk about an agenda). Carr ranked us 6th, and the other teams we played all ranked us 5th.
As a matter of fact, over half of the coaches that voted placed us at or above 5th. Fourteen coaches with an axe to grind against Notre Dame dragged them down to 6th.
Some examples:
Bob Stoops of Oklahoma, who used to be the highest paid coach in college football and wants to believe that Oklahoma is the most storied program in college football with their 12 claimed championships. Problem is, if Notre Dame counted National Championships the same way Oklahoma does, we would have 18 championships, instead of the 11 consensus championships we actually claim.
Tom O'Brien of Boston College, who is bitter that Notre Dame discontinued their series after BC bolted the Big East for the ACC, then accused Notre Dame of dropping BC 'cause they don't like losing. In fact, the Irish dropped them for unsportsmanlike behavior (trashing the visitor's locker room) and lack of conference loyalty (ND is Big East in everything but football).
Tyrone Willingham of Washington, who wants the Irish to fail miserably without him, to prove that his coaching was the only thing giving Notre Dame any credibility. His bitterness is almost palpable.
Larry Coker of Miami, the Notre Dame - Miami (Catholics v. Convicts) hatred is strong. Despite winning so much over the past two decades, Miami still can't fill its stadium and is constantly in trouble with the NCAA for recruiting violations and player misconduct. The Irish, however, have a national following and pristine reputation regardless of record, although the Irish still are effectively tied with Michigan for winning percentage.
Joe Tiller of Purdue, who hates the entrance of Charlie Weis into the recruiting area. The Irish have already signed the Gatorade Players-of-the-Year from Indiana, Illinois and Ohio, as well as the top 2 running backs in Indiana. The Boilers have yet to get a commitment from a top 15 Indiana recruit.
Screw the rankings, why not have a playoff?
This does not mean, however, that the process is without controversy. For the first time, the final coaches poll ballots of each coach were revealed. [The ESPN/USA Today poll is composed of 62 current college head coaches] The bias and outright hypocrisy in the system became evident.
The closest thing the BCS has to a controversy is that a 9-2 Notre Dame team got into the BCS with an automatic bid, but 10-1 Oregon did not.
Looking at the final coach's polls, it wasn't for lack of trying by the Pac-10. With the exception of first year head coach Walt Harris (who had the Irish at 5th), the Pac-10 coaches dropped Notre Dame in their rankings and inflated the Ducks to try and squeeze out some of the $14.5 million payout from the Fiesta Bowl for themselves.
The coaches of the Pac-10 voted as follows:
Bellotti - Oregon: Oregon #4; Notre Dame #9
Doba - Washington State: Oregon #5; Notre Dame #12
Tedford - California: Oregon #4; Notre Dame #10
Willingham - Washington: Oregon #4; Notre Dame #9
The SEC, hoping to get a 9-2 Auburn team in the mix and inflate Georgia's ranking, did the same thing. Phil Fulmer, who actually played ND and got spanked, and Sylvester Croom, whose ballot seemed more concerned with inflating SEC schools than deflating other schools, had the Irish ranked close to normal (5 & 6, respectively):
Brooks - Kentucky: Auburn #4; Georgia #7; Notre Dame #9
Nutt - Arkansas: Georgia #3; Auburn #6; Notre Dame #7
Richt - Georgia: Auburn #6; Georgia #7; Notre Dame #8
Spurrier - South Carolina: Georgia #4; Auburn #6; Notre Dame #14
Tuberville - Auburn: Auburn #4; Georgia #7; Notre Dame #9
The SEC is the worst offender as to incredulous rankings. Houston Nutt had West Virginia, a 10-1 BCS conference champion unranked. He had 7-4 South Carolina, sixth in the SEC, ranked 25th. Steve Spurrier dropped Notre Dame down to 14 (the lowest ranking ND received from any coach), while inflating his barely-bowl-eligible team to 21st.
Interestingly, the only coach that Notre Dame faced this year that ranked the Irish lower than 6th was Tyrone Williingham (talk about an agenda). Carr ranked us 6th, and the other teams we played all ranked us 5th.
As a matter of fact, over half of the coaches that voted placed us at or above 5th. Fourteen coaches with an axe to grind against Notre Dame dragged them down to 6th.
Some examples:
Bob Stoops of Oklahoma, who used to be the highest paid coach in college football and wants to believe that Oklahoma is the most storied program in college football with their 12 claimed championships. Problem is, if Notre Dame counted National Championships the same way Oklahoma does, we would have 18 championships, instead of the 11 consensus championships we actually claim.
Tom O'Brien of Boston College, who is bitter that Notre Dame discontinued their series after BC bolted the Big East for the ACC, then accused Notre Dame of dropping BC 'cause they don't like losing. In fact, the Irish dropped them for unsportsmanlike behavior (trashing the visitor's locker room) and lack of conference loyalty (ND is Big East in everything but football).
Tyrone Willingham of Washington, who wants the Irish to fail miserably without him, to prove that his coaching was the only thing giving Notre Dame any credibility. His bitterness is almost palpable.
Larry Coker of Miami, the Notre Dame - Miami (Catholics v. Convicts) hatred is strong. Despite winning so much over the past two decades, Miami still can't fill its stadium and is constantly in trouble with the NCAA for recruiting violations and player misconduct. The Irish, however, have a national following and pristine reputation regardless of record, although the Irish still are effectively tied with Michigan for winning percentage.
Joe Tiller of Purdue, who hates the entrance of Charlie Weis into the recruiting area. The Irish have already signed the Gatorade Players-of-the-Year from Indiana, Illinois and Ohio, as well as the top 2 running backs in Indiana. The Boilers have yet to get a commitment from a top 15 Indiana recruit.
Screw the rankings, why not have a playoff?
Monday, November 28, 2005
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