Marcus Freeman vs Matt Campbell

[savvyandsassier]

If you had to choose, who do you pick?

Campbell is the prototypical pretty good to maybe very good prospect, who's pretty vanilla, I suppose, but checks most of the boxes in a boring sort of way. As far as I know, he seems like an ideal in unspectacular candidate in a lot of ways. And bottom line is a bright young, capable, proven coach, and we could definitely do worse....

Or Marcus Freeman, a totally unproven HC, and not even all that proven a coordinator, who could very well be the next Lincoln Riley if you will, and who happens to have fallen into our laps, almost as if the football gods want ND to keep winning, so they arranged things so that Marcus Freeman would be right on our doorstep, already within the ND orbit, and there's no excuse for us to overlook him on account of it's just too impossibly big of a risk. We've seen Marcus Freeman up close, and he's absolutely delivered so far his first time on the big stage. We find ourselves needing a coach, there's no other obvious guy to save the day, and so why not??

At this point on a Wednesday morning I'm ready to pull the lever for Marcus Freeman. Don't really know much about Campbell to he honest. Iowa St.'s not bad, though....

 

[Ara64]

I really like Coach Freeman. He goes against my most basic rule for ND football. You never hire a first time head coach at Notre Dame! With the exception of Rockne it hasn't worked out for ND. He's a family man--a big family like I came from. It takes a special man to raise six kids the right way. Did you notice how well behaved they were at the Press Conference? They locked in on Daddy as he spoke. He knows football and is a good communicator. The way he frames his responses reminds me of Ara. If he can coach half that good then ND will be in good hands. The coach decided to leave ND; it was his choice. I'm glad Coach Freeman was nearby. Did I mention six or seven really good coaches decided to stay at ND because they believe in Coach Freeman too. I can't wait for next fall and Ohio State.

 

[Zorich 88]

Dabo never a HC
Riley never a HC
Day never a HC

Thats 3 examples of some pretty good coaches that were never head coaches

 

[mirer03]

Dabo never a HC
Riley never a HC
Day never a HC

Thats 3 examples of some pretty good coaches that were never head coaches

I get the thought process but..

Weis never a hc
Bob Davies never a hc
Clay Belton never a head coach
Steve sarkisian was never a hc when he failed at USC...


The fact of the matter is that examples of success or failure on either side of the argument is not an accurate indicator of the next new hc success or failure.

ND seems well aligned, has a good team, good recruiting, and strong donors.

I think that is a better indicator than past success or failures.

 

[ndnd]

I get the thought process but..

Weis never a hc
Bob Davies never a hc
Clay Belton never a head coach
Steve sarkisian was never a hc when he failed at USC...


The fact of the matter is that examples of success or failure on either side of the argument is not an accurate indicator of the next new hc success or failure.

ND seems well aligned, has a good team, good recruiting, and strong donors.

I think that is a better indicator than past success or failures.

Every good head coach was a first year head coach at one point . Yes head coach success is preferable but this year with the way things broke so quickly Notre Dame made the right decision

 

[iwish]

Dabo never a HC
Riley never a HC
Day never a HC

Thats 3 examples of some pretty good coaches that were never head coaches

I think the point is more around first-year coaches getting a big-time program as their first gig, no?

• Dabo was 4-3 in his first season and then 9-5 in his first full season (19-15 for his first 2.5 seasons) at Clemson where he inherits an avg to poor program
• Riley on the other hand went 12-2 in his first 3 seasons at OK which was already a solid program (but subsequently lost all 3 bowl/playoff games)
• Day inherits a great OSU program and goes 3-0, 13-1, 7-1, and 10-2.

 

[scubastevefl]

Makes no difference at this point. Freeman is the HC and will be for the next 3-5 years minimum. Could Campbell have done the job, we’ll never know.

College football is a changin, gone are the days of Bowden’s and Osborne’s coaching in one spot for 30+ years. The hot 30 something are now the new coaching path other than working your way up the ranks through mid major schools. CFB now has a free agency period with massive roster turnover. Players are now getting paid and making millions. It’s a semi-pro league.

 

[mirer03]

Every good head coach was a first year head coach at one point . Yes head coach success is preferable but this year with the way things broke so quickly Notre Dame made the right decision

I agree.im stating that comparisons are stupid.

 

[tbonesays]

Dabo never a HC
Riley never a HC
Day never a HC

Thats 3 examples of some pretty good coaches that were never head coaches

One floundered for years. The other two had been groomed for the job and had their mentors accessible to start out.

 

[beachcardinal]

I get the thought process but..

Weis never a hc
Bob Davies never a hc
Clay Belton never a head coach
Steve sarkisian was never a hc when he failed at USC...


The fact of the matter is that examples of success or failure on either side of the argument is not an accurate indicator of the next new hc success or failure.

ND seems well aligned, has a good team, good recruiting, and strong donors.

I think that is a better indicator than past success or failures.

Sark was the head coach at Washington before he failed at SC.

 

[bcnd]

It's all about character & leadership at ND, and Freeman is as good as it gets imo on those two counts.

 

[stu4don]

 

[stu4don]

Our new coach just gets it like no other coach since Lou!

 

[NDskins]

With lack of experience I would hope there is a lot of over sight and short leeway. Judging from his recruiting style, we don't have to worry about him looking for golf courses on his recruiting trail. So that is a big plus. Parents and recruits have been positive about him.. so far so good. Will see in 2 or 3 years regarding team development. I like what is happening so far. The guys on the team were pulling for freeman sooo I would choose marcus over campbell. happy team happy life

 

[Kontiki09]

Never Matt Campbell. Never.

 

[BodiTheGreat]

As Nick Saban's end is near--the Marcus Freeman era has begun.

 

[Zorich 88]

Say whatever you will about the examples I gave. Bottom line, their respective universities made the correct hire.

 

[Zorich 88]

I think the point is more around first-year coaches getting a big-time program as their first gig, no?

• Dabo was 4-3 in his first season and then 9-5 in his first full season (19-15 for his first 2.5 seasons) at Clemson where he inherits an avg to poor program
• Riley on the other hand went 12-2 in his first 3 seasons at OK which was already a solid program (but subsequently lost all 3 bowl/playoff games)
• Day inherits a great OSU program and goes 3-0, 13-1, 7-1, and 10-2.

I gave 3 examples where a coach was hired with zero HC experience and all 3 have done well.

Freeman is “inheriting” a program that was 1 win from making the playoffs in back to back seasons.

Freeman is not the new guy coming in. Just like the 3 coaches I mentioned.

The Freeman hire is very similar if not identical to the examples I listed.

 

[Zorich 88]

I get the thought process but..

Weis never a hc
Bob Davies never a hc
Clay Belton never a head coach
Steve sarkisian was never a hc when he failed at USC...


The fact of the matter is that examples of success or failure on either side of the argument is not an accurate indicator of the next new hc success or failure.

ND seems well aligned, has a good team, good recruiting, and strong donors.

I think that is a better indicator than past success or failures.

My point is, this has been done before and has been successful.

The names you listed all walked into a bad to terrible.

Charlie: Took over ND from Ty who came to ND with HC experience from a university that is comparable to the ND academic standards. ND was 11-12 the previous 2 years.

Bob: Took over for Lou that was kinda sneaking out of ND. When he left ND went on a 2 year probation. Not exactly how you wanna start your first run as a head coach.

Steve sarkisian was Washington’s HC before he took the SC job.