Tracer Bullet

Poop in it. done done and done

Is Maryland that much better of a gig than UConn?

I think Weis deserves another shot at some point. Yes, he didn't get it done, but I think it likely that many who would fail at ND could be solid in another situation, perhaps with the benefit of the perspective and experienced gained at ND. Especially when it was his first shot. I still view him as HC potential. He may end up being a great HC. If he was a HC at a different program for a few years, he probably would have been much better at ND. But ND has so much that goes into it, in addition to the unreasonable expectations of some of its fans, that it's not the place for a first time HC (imo). And Weis was willing to learn and he did in some ways. But he was also doing a lot of trial and error at ND (the Tenuta/Brown situation in Y4). T&E that doesn't work gets you fired at a place like ND. I guess I'm not even sure he'll want to be a HC again. There's a lot of stuff that goes into it that he didn't seem to enjoy (though some of that - glad-handing, banquet speaking, etc - is worse at ND than most places). He wasn't so terrible at ND that he could never get another HC job. I think he was offered other HC jobs in '09, actually.

His biggest short comings were hiring and leading a staff, which lead to disastrous player development (he also had to learn that recruits lie/flip, but he figured that out quickly). He hired a bunch of "names" while still working for the Pats. And when he went to replace those guys, he replaced them with more "names" (Tenuta) instead of considering cohesion and scheme. So he ended up, for example, with co-DCs with polar opposite schemes that openly fought in practice in '09. Not having to hire staff and instill a strength/conditioning program will help. He also didn't know the importance of forcing 18-20 year old to exercise, eat right, etc, so he didn't know what to ask for (compare: a dealbreaker for Kelly before he accepted was a training table, which is common but ND didn't have - guys were eating pizza twice a week during the season last year - imagine an OL trying to win in November on the Bum's diet). If he knew how to build a staff and lead them with 1 goal/message, the players could have developed. And he developed QBs quite well (Quinn and Clausen were solid/great college QBs that excelled in his system). If he has to hire the offensive staff, I guess he could struggle. But I think it's more likely that Muschamp runs that show and Weis just comes up with the overall plan and implements it while focusing on QB development. I think it'll end up being a solid fit for both. He loved the college coach life when things were going well and he's a stud recruiter. He's still the best or among the best pro-style OCs in all of football. Plus, his son, who wants to coach and was on the sidelines at ND, is going to enroll at Florida and I imagine be an assistant of some sort. He'll get more family time and focus on the things he likes/excels at. Florida gets a stud OC, a recruiting machine, and a standup guy (he's got a huge ego, no doubt, but he's not a slimy guy like Kiffen, for example).

Well sorta. Notre Dame isn't entitled to make the right hire or anything. EJ - Ty landed 4 OL in his time. total. 4. He'd recruited so poorly, he effectively gave ND the Death Penalty as a self-inflicted wound. Weis wasn't a bad hire. But he took over a program that no other coach wanted b/c it didn't take a brain surgeon to see what 2007 was going to be. I had co-workers, many of them, taunting me with how terrible 2007 was going to be...in 2004. Hiring Davie was dumb, but the administration was dumb then. Firing him was impatience but they thought they had a handshake deal with Meyer to come back to ND. Once your Pres and AD fly your private plane to Utah to meet with a coach in the middle of the season and that flight gets tracked and covered by the online and print media, you can't really stick with your current coach. It was completely bungled. Heck, firing Lou was impatience too. But Weis had to go b/c he couldn't get it done. He was very good in some ways, but wasn't ready to be a head coach and may never be. But what he did was stabilize the program, stock the cupboard again (with a few holes - like DL depth), and leave the job better than he found it. That's why Meyer took a hard look at it, Stoops agreed to take it and then backed out, etc. Those guys weren't even answering the phone when Ty was fired. Sorry for the length, but like I said, EJ - your post makes no sense. Firing Rich Rod now isn't the same as any of ND's moves. [ETA: I moved this from the bowl game thread]

Who knows? We're becoming ND. We think we're special and have no patience. you keep saying this. it doesn't make any sense.

really up and down year, but undefeated in Nov/Dec against some solid competition (admittedly, Miami wasn't that interested yesterday). Haven't been able to say that about and ND team in...years? decades? But the final evaluation of any coach is record. For Kelly, 8 wins/2 deaths. Not a bad ratio. Hoping for closer to 10/1 next season.

sounds like verne and gary had a great time in El Paso. I wonder if they realized there was a bowl game going on.

That would make a lot of sense, considering McDaniel's affection for Cassel, and the ability to rub it in Denver's face. Maybe Haley is pushing Weis out and Charlie knows it. Rumors I'm seeing are that Haley doesn't like sharing the credit with Weis and wants to run the show himself. Also, Weis has said he prefers the CFB schedule to the pro schedule so he has more time with his family. He was also pretty happy those first 2 years at ND. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the next couple of #1 HS QBs go to Florida. ETA: we should also keep in mind that Charlie has made a ton of money in the last 12 months so the difference in money is probably not the #1 factor.

So if you're running out of time, you just need to get the C and QB lined up and have your entire bench run on the field. As long as the ball is snapped and spiked with 1 second left, you effectively get a time out & 5-yard penalty? Good to know.

awesome

So now a man who has had one season of a ERA+ of over 130, three years ago and has a WHIP consistently in the 1.3's is a ace of the caliber of cliff lee? LOL 14 mill for the rich man's Jason Marquis. But he's since he's considered funny it doesn't matter. Dempster hasn't had a WAR under 3.5 since 2007. That type of consistency probably makes him one of the 20-30 best SP in baseball. But he struggles with walking people sometimes so it doesn't matter. they don't call it WHIP for nothing

whoa, slow down nostradomus. what are your thoughts on mark prior making 30 starts for the Yanks this year?

How about "Six" and "Half-Dozen"

sure thing. for now there is only a mountain of convincing facts you may be convinced, but it's not because of facts that prove AU was involved. people are going to make fun of Auburn for this. You can either try to ignore it or play a losing game of whack-a-mole. your call.

He basically only comments on anything I post that's Cubs related by poking fun at it and providing this heir of superiority for being a White Sox fan. His status after the Cubs signed Wood was... Which makes no sense whatsoever. He's from the south side of Chicago so he's a lifelong Sox fan, but he's just a typical Sox fan who focuses on the rivalry between them and the Cubs. Even if Kerry Wood wasn't a hero to Cubs fans, and was just another reliever on the market, this is still a good signing no matter how you slice it. To ridicule it is stupid because there's not really anything bad about it Just tell your friend that he's clearly too stupid to be a fan of any team but the White Sox and never speak to him again. I can't imagine being friends with someone who not only thinks this, but would send it to me in an email.

so LSU violated some recruiting restrictions, eh? Maybe Arkansas too, according to the article.

it's not only not perfect, i'd say it's far from perfect and maybe even misleading. WHIP would suggest that Garza was better in '10 than '09. I guess saying he put up a WHIP of 1.25 in the ALE for the last 3 years is nice. But there are so many better stats to point to.

$12m for 1 year? you've lost your mind, TT.

With Wood coming on board, we need to clear some $ off the books. Soto should be able to net us a couple A-ball pitching prospects, shouldn't he?

He's younger, healthier and not crazy? but z is much better. this whole trade z movememnet upsets me greatly. he's never gone near 100 in terms of era+. I don't know how you can argue that Z is better. Garza just put up 3 consecutive WHIPS of roughly 1.25 in the AL East; Zambrano hasn't done that in 5 years in the NL Central. WHIP? Come on.

apparently Haywood was offered the job. Holy moley.

Former ND OC Mike Haywood is reported leader for Pitt gig. Wow. I like Haywood, but 1 terrible season and 1 good season at Miami (OH) and you're ready for Pitt? Was Wanny really that bad?

Muschamp killing the spread at Florida http://m.jacksonville.com/sports/college/florida-gators/2010-12-15/story/gators-spread-offense-likely-dead-under-coach-will

yeah, he's holding out for a better job. If he doesn't get the head coaching offer he wants this offseason, then Auburn will be willing to give him 1.3-1.5 million/season to remain the offensive coordinator. I'd prefer Malzahn over Chizik as AU's head coach. He's staying at Auburn. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5915527&campaign=rss&source=ESPNUHeadlines yeah, i'm hearing Auburn will pay him 1.3 million a year, and he will sign an extension. If true, this would probably just delay his move to head coaching by one year. However, this doesn't sound like a move an intelligent guy would make if he thought new evidence was going to surface that would lead to Auburn being penalized in some fashion. how much would an Auburn penalty really impact his job credentials. Unless it's an SMU-death penalty, he'll have the same or better options next year.