2021 ND Football – Page 12 – Syndication Server

Why Tommy Rees is such a key piece to Notre Dame coaching puzzle

If Tommy Rees is a big part of Notre Dame’s future plans does that tell us something more about the next head coach?

Brian Kelly is yesterday’s news as he’s been greeted at the airport by some of the most hospitable the bayou has to offer, and takes on the task of cleaning up the mess Ed Orgeron left behind.

Who from Notre Dame will follow Brian Kelly is the biggest question the Fighting Irish football program will face in short order, and how do they go about combating Kelly’s recruitment of his former assistants?

Pete Sampson shared a tidbit on Kelly’s pursuit of Marcus Freeman Tuesday morning and it got me thinking how Notre Dame simply can’t afford to lose his services, even if that means Freeman being the next head coach.

What about offensive coordinator Tommy Rees? Sampson shared a tidbit on him Tuesday afternoon as well.

Source: Notre Dame will be meeting with offensive coordinator Tommy Rees in an effort to keep the former Irish quarterback in place on staff.

LSU’s proposed offer to Rees is 400k above Notre Dame. Rees’ desire is to stay in South Bend at this time.

— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) November 30, 2021

For conversation’s sake let’s assume Sampson is 100% correct on all of this and quickly dissect to see where it takes us:

Notre Dame wants to keep Tommy Rees as their offensive coordinator
Notre Dame’s new head coach wouldn’t have their choice as to who offensive coordinator is
What established head coach wants to come to a job where they don’t get to handpick their most important assistants?

I think you can see where I’m going here without me saying anything more.

If you’re rooting for a certain heralded Notre Dame assistant to be promoted to head coach then I can only imagine the information Sampson presents above would speak well to that as a possibility.

10 potential candidates to replace Brian Kelly

Will anything happen between Urban Meyer and Notre Dame?

Opinion: The right choice to be Notre Dame’s next head coach

Hand over the keys, Jack.

I grew up in a home where we didn’t have many new cars during my childhood but instead had plenty of new, used cars. That meant more trips to car dealerships than from the majority, if not all of my friends.

One thing I took away from my dad during those trips were that no matter what deal was promised or pressure was applied, he would always go home to sleep on his thoughts before making a decision so big. The next day he’d then either go back if he still liked the deal or carry on looking for that next vehicle elsewhere.

When I went to bed last night I was thinking the same thing in regards to the Notre Dame coaching search. There are clearly a ton of routes to go, but to me there is one candidate that makes all of the sense even if his background doesn’t perfectly fit the mold of what has worked in the past for Notre Dame hirings.

I wasn’t ready to endorse it last night because of his lack of head coaching experience and the parallels I find to Bob Davie’s resume nearly 25 years ago. It’s a concern but it’s not a deal-breaker. Certainly not with what’s at stake.

Marcus Freeman should be the next head football coach at Notre Dame.

Next: Why Freeman?

Pages: 123

Urban Meyer comments on Notre Dame job

Fact: One can’t be rejected if they reject first.

Since Tyrone Willingham was fired at the conclusion of the 2004 season both of Notre Dame’s coaching searches since have featured Urban Meyer as a possibility. Before taking the Bowling Green job and using it as a launching pad to become one of the best coaches college football has ever seen, Meyer was a wide receivers coach on both Lou Holtz and Bob Davie’s staffs at Notre Dame.

Meyer, now the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, tried to distance himself from the speculation and rumors on Tuesday.

Filed to ESPN: Per a league source, Jaguars coach Urban Meyer has no interest in taking another college coaching job and remains committed to rebuilding the franchise.

— Michael DiRocco (@ESPNdirocco) November 30, 2021

My belief is that Meyer did this because he knows he no longer has any chance to be Notre Dame’s head coach. It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book, to reject someone or something before it has the chance to reject you.

Had Meyer’s bar incident not happened earlier this fall I’d think it would have perhaps a 10-percent chance of actually happening but after that it the shock factor would somehow equal that of Kelly’s actual departure if Meyer were to actually be Notre Dame’s head coach.

News of the Day: Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick on Kelly departure

Next: Coaching Search and Brian Kelly related links

Pages: 12

Brian Kelly trying to bring Marcus Freeman to LSU

What do you do if you’re Jack Swarbrick?

Brian Kelly’s plane to Baton Rouge doesn’t land until Tuesday afternoon but he’s already trying to take a very key piece of Notre Dame’s football program with him to LSU.

Defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman, who plenty of players and fans alike want to be the next Notre Dame head coach, seems to be main priority for Kelly to take with him to LSU according to Pete Sampson of The Athletic. Sampson was part of The Athletic report on Monday night that originally linked Kelly to LSU and on Tuesday morning Sampson shared the following on Twitter:

Source: LSU head coach Brian Kelly reached out to Notre Dame defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman on Monday in an effort to bring him to Baton Rouge. Kelly would intend to make Freeman the highest paid defensive coordinator in college football.

— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) November 30, 2021

This is not at all surprising as Freeman appears to be a star in the making both in-game and as a recruiter.

Does this expedite Jack Swarbrick’s plan in hiring the next head coach?

Does it make Freeman more likely to be that hire?

Jack Swarbrick is a smart guy and had to have seen this coming from Kelly as soon as he knew he was leaving.

What I think this means is that we’ll know very soon if Freeman is a legitimate candidate for the head coach position or not and the only hire that I could possibly imagine him staying at Notre Dame with is if it were his old boss Luke Fickell from Cincinnati.

The pursuit of Freeman is hardly surprising but how Swarbrick and Notre Dame respond will have a massive impact on the future of the football program.

Kelly’s text to Notre Dame players about departure

So who’s next? 10 possible targets to be Notre Dame’s next head coach

Photo gallery: Brian Kelly through the years at Notre Dame

Notre Dame’s latest national bowl projections

Notre Dame assistant breaks silence on Brian Kelly

Not always the easiest to take the high road…

In the tidal wave that Brian Kelly leaves at Notre Dame upon him taking the LSU job we’ve heard from the first member of the Fighting Irish coaching staff in regards to the move.

Notre Dame special teams coordinator Brian Polian took to Twitter to share the following in the early hours of Tuesday morning:

As coaches, we enter this profession knowing that transition is inevitable. That is not the case for the players. My main concern is for the guys that have worked so hard to get our team to this point. They are the best part of this job ~ #NDFamily ☘️

— Brian Polian (@BrianPolian) November 30, 2021

For those that don’t know, Polian is a football-lifer. He’s the son of Bill Polian, the man responsible for building the Buffalo Bills dynasty and was GM of the Indianapolis Colts when they won Super Bowl XLI.

Brian has bounced around the college ranks for more than the last two decades and is certainly aware of how quickly life as a coach can change.

One day you’re plotting out recruiting trips while wondering about College Football Playoffs chances and the next you’re left wondering if you’ll have a job whenever a new head coach is officially hired.

Polian was also a member of Charlie Weis’s staff at Notre Dame from 2005-2009 before becoming an assistant for Jim Harbaugh at Stanford.

Kelly’s text to Notre Dame players about departure

So who’s next? 10 possible targets to be Notre Dame’s next head coach

Photo gallery: Brian Kelly through the years at Notre Dame

Notre Dame’s latest national bowl projections

How Mike Brey found out about Brian Kelly leaving

Where were you and what did you immediately do when the Brian Kelly to LSU news broke?

Where were you when you heard the news about Brian Kelly accepting the LSU job?

In terms of shocking Notre Dame news this one rivals the night we found out Lennay Kekua didn’t actually exist. That’s how we feel but now imagine you worked indirectly with Kelly for the last dozen years and have an incredibly unique perspective as to what it’s actually like to be a notable head coach at Notre Dame.

Mike Brey was getting ready to coach Notre Dame’s basketball team as they traveled to Illinois for the ACC-Big Ten Challenge Monday night when he spoke to Illinois coach Brad Underwood before the game.

#NotreDame coach Mike Brey was approached by Illinois coach Brad Underwood just before Monday's game.

I see you're losing your football coach, Underwood said.

What the #$%& are you talking about Brey said.

And that's how the Brian Kelly news traveled in Champaign.

— Tom Noie (@tnoieNDI) November 30, 2021

Simply incredible as anyone who claims to have seen this coming is lying.

Brey and the Irish lost to Underwood and the Illini, 82-72.

So where were you when you found out the Kelly news? Share it with us on Facebook or on Twitter and we may share your story in an upcoming post.

So who’s next? 10 possible targets to be Notre Dame’s next head coach

Photo gallery: Brian Kelly through the years at Notre Dame

Notre Dame’s latest national bowl projections

Notre Dame players react to Brian Kelly’s departure

How did you react when you first heard the shocking news?

The college football world was already losing its collective mind Monday afternoon as Lincoln Riley was getting set to be introduced as USC’s new head coach after leaving Oklahoma just a day before.

Then reports of LSU being in pursuit of Brian Kelly began to circulate.

And then reports that Brian Kelly was taking the LSU job came through.

It’s a night Notre Dame fans won’t soon forget and leaves everyone with more questions than answers.

Now imagine being a Notre Dame player and finding out your head coach is leaving while you could quite possibly be headed to the College Football Playoff in a matter of days.

Here is how Notre Dame players from the past and present reacted to the stunning Kelly news:

Brian Kelly sends text to Notre Dame players, will hold meeting

How would you respond to this text if you were a player?

Imagine just enjoying your night scrolling through social media when you suddenly come across news that affects you personally. No one in your inner circle told you this was happening, and you’ve suddenly found out that your life is changing drastically at the same time as everyone else. That’s what happened Monday as nobody at Notre Dame, including the football players, knew that Brian Kelly was leaving for LSU.

In what appears to be Kelly’s version of damage control, the soon-to-be-former Irish coach sent out the following message to the team:

Just now Brian Kelly messaged Notre Dame’s roster in Team Works that “I will be leaving Notre Dame.”

The plan is for Kelly to meet with the team tomorrow at 7 a.m.

Here is the full message pic.twitter.com/sqAl2txZIy

— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) November 30, 2021

Oh, to be a fly on the wall during that meeting. It has to be hard to believe that Kelly hasn’t lost the respect of at least some of his players. All Kelly had to do was communicate the news before it was made public, and the blowback that is certain to come could have been avoided or at least lessened. Instead, Kelly has a big mess on his hands, and it might be too big for him to clean up before he heads south.

Tweet: Notre Dame personnel “stunned” by Kelly’s departure

Oh yeah, actual football still remains for 2021 – Notre Dame’s latest national bowl projections

Notre Dame joins college football coaching carousel – track it all here

Brian Kelly to make crazy money at LSU

He’s going to make how much more than Saban? Mercy

Brian Kelly was asked just last week if he’d ever leave Notre Dame for a reason besides to retire. His response made it seem like he’d be staying under the golden dome for a long time but did leave himself somewhat of an out.

“No, I mean, look, I think Mike Tomlin had the best line, right? Unless that fairy godmother comes by with that $250 million check, my wife would want to take a look at it first. I’d have to run it by her.” – Brian Kelly

The fairy godmother showed up in the form of LSU and now Kelly is headed to the bayou. He won’t quite reach that $250 million mark but he’ll be making a ton.

According to Dennis Dodd of CBS, Kelly’s deal is expected to pay him annually around $15 million. Even if its a little less than that like Matt Fortuna of The Athletic reports, it’d still be more than what Nick Saban was making entering this season.

Long story short: Brian Kelly got paid.

Tweet: Notre Dame personnel “stunned” by Kelly’s departure

Oh yeah, actual football still remains for 2021 – Notre Dame’s latest national bowl projections

Notre Dame joins college football coaching carousel – track it all here

Brian Kelly to leave Notre Dame: 10 potential replacements

Who should Notre Dame now target as their next head coach?

The collective college football world is in shock over developments the last two days as Lincoln Riley left powerhouse Oklahoma for USC and now Brian Kelly is leaving Notre Dame for LSU.

Notre Dame fans and certainly their athletic department and team have to be stunned by this move. Just a year ago it was Brian Kelly recruiting Marcus Freeman away from LSU’s pursuit and now Kelly is on a plane to Baton Rouge.

So who replaces Kelly in the coaching search that nobody saw coming?

Here are 10 names to keep an eye on: