Tag: Notre Dame (Page 8 of 12)

      Is Notre Dame still an elite coaching job?

      November 23, 2009 /

      Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports thinks so:

      Anyone who thinks Notre Dame isn’t still an elite job doesn’t know anything about how college football works. By beating USC, Florida and Texas for more than his fair share of coveted prospects the last few years, Weis dispelled the theory that top talent no longer want to play at a tradition-rich, academically strong school that’s on national television every week.
      He had enough players to go 10-2 this year. He just couldn’t coach them.

      Weis’ recruiting work is why this is actually a better job today than five years ago.

      I don’t think there’s any question that Notre Dame is still an elite job. The program is always in the national spotlight and a head coach could become one of the kings of college football if he wins in South Bend.

      But the problem is that the job has become a black hole for failure and the microscope that head coaches are constantly under while coaching at Notre Dame can certainly wear on someone. (Although maybe that was only true for Weis given the way Tyrone Willingham was ushered out before him.)

      Wetzel references Cincinnati’s Brian Kelly as the perfect replacement for Weis. Given how Kelly has won everyone he’s gone, that certainly wouldn’t be a bad fit – especially if Jimmy Clausen (who could put up even better numbers in Kelly’s offense) sticks around another season. Plus, considering the way Kelly had no qualms about leaving Central Michigan in the lurch to join Cincinnati, I’m sure he’d have no issues about pulling the ripcord on the Bearcats in order to coach in South Bend.

      College Football

      Notre Dame should cut its losses with Weis and move on

      November 16, 2009 /

      Notre Dame should fire head coach Charlie Weis at the end of the season and I don’t write that only because the Irish lost to Pittsburgh on Saturday night.

      Anyone that has watched a decent amount of Big East football this year knows that PITT has a good team – much better than Notre Dame anyway. The Panthers’ passing attack might not be as potent as ND’s, but they can certainly put points on the board and they play much better defense.

      So it isn’t surprising that the Irish lost last weekend in Pittsburgh. What would be surprising is if Weis kept his job now that one of his teams is once again underachieving.

      At Notre Dame, everything is set up for the Irish to at least make some kind of a run at a BCS Bowl bid – if not a national championship. They play a cupcake schedule (more than other collegiate teams, that is), they play most of their games at home and they play on national television every week so that voters can overrate their performances.

      But despite all of these benefits, the Irish continue to flounder under Weis. It’s not enough for the Irish to lose at home to Navy, but they also lost to a dysfunctional, horrible Michigan team in Ann Arbor and were never really in the game against Pittsburgh even though the final score would indicate otherwise.

      Oh, they did have a chance to tie and possibly beat USC this year. But big freaking deal. The past couple weeks have proven that this is the worst Pete Carroll-led Trojans team ever, so sniffing a win against USC is hardly grounds to keep Weis for another season.

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      College Football

      Clausen waiting until after season to discuss NFL

      October 31, 2009 /

      According to a report by the Chicago Tribune, Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen won’t discuss his possible future in the NFL until after the Irish’s regular season is over.

      So the Notre Dame coach laid out the plan for discussing an NFL future with junior quarterback Jimmy Clausen: It won’t be discussed until the regular season is over.

      “We’re not even going to address the subject until the first week in December,” Weis said Thursday night. “We’ve already addressed the fact that we’re not going to address it. So we’re just worrying about the next five games, starting with Washington State. First of all, let’s see how we play. But we’ll revisit it then.”

      Clausen is currently the nation’s No. 2-rated passer. After the jump, there are more Weis words on Thursday’s pertinent topics, including who will punt for the Irish this weekend…

      I agree with Weis in that Clausen should wait until the season is over to figure out whether or not he wants to enter the draft. With a month left in this year’s college season, Clausen has enough on his plate these days and doesn’t need to worry about the NFL quite yet. (Even though he’ll obviously need plenty of time to make a decision like that.)

      Whenever Clausen does decide to turn pro, I hope he’s ready for all the comparisons to Brady Quinn. I’m not saying they’re the same player, but the media will immediately compare the two and how Quinn has struggled so far in the NFL.

      College Football

      2009 Week 9 Heisman Barometer

      October 30, 2009 /

      DRAFT ZOO released their latest Heisman Barometer and notes that Tim Tebow and Jimmy Clausen’s stock has dropped recently.

      3. Tim Tebow, Florida
      Ouch. It’s been a rough go of it for Superman over the last two weeks. The Arkansas game was too close, despite a decent day from Tebow, and his shoddy play in Starkville nearly cost the Gators a chance at the title (that’s strangely difficult to type). Twice Tim was picked by Johnthan Banks, and twice Banks took it to the house. Still, Florida is undefeated, and we’ve all seen what the Gators and their QB can do once they get on a roll. If the Georgia
      game is a stat-heavy blowout, Tebow can get back into the thick of the stiff-arm talk. At least he’s still putting up solid rushing numbers.

      4. Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame
      If Notre Dame had beaten USC, this would be your Heisman frontrunner. It’s hard to find a quarterback with a better statline. For the season Clausen has thrown for 2050 yards, 16 TDs, and only two INTs. He’s got Notre Dame flirting with a consistent top 25 ranking (a bigger feat than it used to be), and he’s garnering some serious consideration as the top pick in next April’s draft. It’ll take some losses from a few other teams, but if Clausen can somehow play the Irish back to the BCS, he could become the Golden Domers first Heisman winner since Tim Brown in 1987. It’s never a bad thing when a 250+ yard 2 TD day is considered “average” for your season.

      For the rest of their top 5, click here.

      It’s amazing how some pundits still claim that Tebow is the frontrunner to win this year’s Heisman. Are you serious? Have you not watched the young man play the past two weeks? He was good against Arkansas, but the refs bailed him and the Gators out with two horrible fourth quarter penalties and the only reason why Mississippi State was in that game last week was because Tebow threw two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns.

      I like Tebow, but he hasn’t been the nation’s best player this year – far from it, in fact. Truth be told, a clear-cut favorite hasn’t emerged for the Heisman yet, but I like DRAFT ZOO’s choice of Mark Ingram as the frontrunner at this point. He has essentially carried Alabama’s offense while the passing game continues to sputter. If ‘Bama goes on to win the SEC and takes over the No. 1 spot in the rankings, it’ll likely be because of Ingram and their defense.

      College Football

      Notre Dame’s Clausen pushes BC player after game

      October 24, 2009 /

      Following Notre Dame’s 20-16 win over Boston College on Saturday, Jimmy Clausen went to shake the hand of Eagle player Rich Gunnell, who appeared to have a few choice words for the Irish quarterback.

      So Clausen said, “Hey Rich, let’s be cool here. We both tried really hard today and sportsmanship is my life. I think the world of you and I appreciate your friendship.”

      Okay, so Clausen didn’t say any of that. He actually pushed Gunnell and the whole incident was caught on television. (Thanks to SPORTSbyBROOKS.com for the video tip.)

      Now, who knows what Gunnell said and who knows what the players said to each other during the game. Obviously the moment isn’t good for Clausen, but these aren’t choirboys here. A push seems kind of mild in the grand scheme of things.

      The bigger story is how Notre Dame continues to struggle against Boston College. The Irish’s victory was ugly at best.

      College Football, Video

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