The amount of accolades young Sanford is getting is off the charts
Could CBK be setting ND up for his successor and maybe the next great coach at ND?
Is this a moment we will look back at as the renaissance of ND football? First CBK comes aboard and dramatically fixes and transforms a dormant program badly in need of a COACH. Because COACHES MATTER.
And in a few years what might we have in this lad who happens to be Catholic, happens to be the son of a former ND assistant coach, and happens to be a brilliant football mind ala Rockne and Leahy?
A lot of hype I know. But maybe......
I love what his former coach Dan Hawkins of Boise State said about him
.... Hawkins said he hasn't spoken to Sanford about whether or not Notre Dame has offered a job. But as Irish247 reported, the Boise State offensive coordinator is expected to be the Irish's new offensive coordinator. If true, Hawkins believes Irish coach Brian Kelly has made a top-notch hire.
"I think it's lights-out," said Hawkins. "I think it's excellent. I think he's a proven guy who has been around the academic thing, the spiritual thing. His background, the fact that he was a ball boy there with his dad. This is a guy who has been at Yale, he's been at Western Kentucky, he's been at Stanford. Came back to Boise.
"As a recruiter, top-notch. As a coach, as a person, as a spiritual fit there, as an academic fit there. He's the whole deal. I think it's a lights-out hire."
---------- Hawkins: Sanford Would Be ‘Lights-Out’ Hire At Notre Dame.
As Irish247 first reported on Feb. 11, we expect Mike Sanford to be the next offensive coordinator at Notre Dame. The Boise State assistant led a Broncos offense that averaged nearly 40 points per game and tallied slightly fewer than 500 yards of total offense in the a 12-2 season last fall.
Mike Sanford is expected to be Notre Dame's next offensive coordinator.
Sanford was Boise State’s backup quarterback from 2000-04 and played behind Jared Zabransky his senior year. Then-Boise State head coach, Dan Hawkins, didn’t select Sanford to start on the field. But as a coach, Hawkins believes Sanford would be a top-notch hire for Notre Dame.
“To me, I think he’s got the full package and clearly there, being a loyal Catholic guy myself, I think he embodies all the things that Notre Dame is about,” said Hawkins. “And it is football, it’s very good football and it’s winning football, but it’s also other things too. And I think he gets that whole big picture.”
Despite spending most of his time at Boise State on the sideline, Hawkins said Sanford's preparation was second to none.
“He was very steady,” Hawkins said. “He always knew what was going on. He was vey much into it – prepared like he was going to play every snap. You knew that if you went to him he’d be ready. He was very supportive of everybody else on the team. A good leader. All those things that you’d want out of your quarterback.
The background of Sanford's father, who spent time as an assistant coach with Southern Cal, Notre Dame, the San Diego Chargers and Stanford among other stops, also benefitted his son.
“It’s huge,” Hawkins said. “I think he just understands all of it. There are so many subtleties that go along with it. It’s not just the X’s and O’s. It’s the intensity, it’s the competitiveness, it’s the organization, it’s the details.
“All the little nuances that make everything go. He was just a football junkie. He was always around the office. He was a gym rat. And that’s the benefit of him growing up around it and just observing it first-hand.”
Sanford, a former assistant coach at Stanford, was able to play more of a mentoring role from the sideline next to Hawkins. Zabransky ran the plays, but Sanford was able to pick up everything from a different perspective.
“He was always kind of the assistant coach on the sideline,” Hawkins said. “He was always being able to directly help the other guys and knew what was going on and stayed tapped in and be sort of a mentor to the guy who was on the field.”
Through his experiences as a player and assistant coach on a number of teams, Sanford's coaching philosophies have been shaped. That includes being a flexible offensive mind.
“I think he gets the whole concept that it is a players game and it’s about loving those guys up,” said Hawkins. “It’s about making those guys feel good about themselves and he gets the fact that it’s about what the players can do. What can they do and how can you help them do what they do better.
“Clearly he’s been in a very multi-faceted offense. He’s not been branded in one scheme or another. I think he totally understands and believes in the run game and the play-action pass game and the quarterback’s got to be protected.
“I think he understands that the quarterback’s got to be allowed to have a system that allows him to flourish. That’s protection, that’s check downs, that’s reads, that’s decision making. I think he’s got a pretty good background.”
Sanford's personality and background are two areas Hawkins believes would help him on the recruiting trail at Notre Dame.
“He loves the players and he’s a very good person,” Hawkins said. “And yeah, he knows football and yeah, he knows how to win and all of that. He’s a guy that you want your son to play for because you know he’s going to love them and take care of them and be concerned about them as people and off the field, as well as understand how to take care of them as a football player.
“And obviously the parent that wants their kid to go to Notre Dame wants to win football games and go to the NFL but also understands the big picture. There’s an academic side to it, there’s a social side to it, there’s a spiritual side to it.
“Everybody wants to win a national championship and play in the NFL, but you also understand that’s a small snippet of your life. There’s a bigger part of your life. And I think Mike, that’s an authentic part of who he is.”
If Sanford comes to Notre Dame, he would immediately face a quarterback competition that could determine the Irish offense’s identity this fall. Everett Golson who has worked in a spread system.
Hawkins thinks Sanford would handle the competition well and both quarterbacks would take to his role as a mentor on and away from the gridiron.
“He would be great,” Hawkins said. “He’s going to be very genuinely interested in both guys. It’s not just going to be about production for him. I think they’re going to get a sense of how much he cares about them as people and really wants to see them develop as players and as people. And Mike’s not hung up on the system.
“I think Brian Kelly’s going to determine what that is anyway. Mike just wants those guys to be really good at what they do. And then the guy who’s best at what he does will end up being the starting quarterback.”
This post was edited on 2/13 3:08 PM by theskibro
This post was edited on 2/13 3:15 PM by theskibro
Could CBK be setting ND up for his successor and maybe the next great coach at ND?
Is this a moment we will look back at as the renaissance of ND football? First CBK comes aboard and dramatically fixes and transforms a dormant program badly in need of a COACH. Because COACHES MATTER.
And in a few years what might we have in this lad who happens to be Catholic, happens to be the son of a former ND assistant coach, and happens to be a brilliant football mind ala Rockne and Leahy?
A lot of hype I know. But maybe......
I love what his former coach Dan Hawkins of Boise State said about him
.... Hawkins said he hasn't spoken to Sanford about whether or not Notre Dame has offered a job. But as Irish247 reported, the Boise State offensive coordinator is expected to be the Irish's new offensive coordinator. If true, Hawkins believes Irish coach Brian Kelly has made a top-notch hire.
"I think it's lights-out," said Hawkins. "I think it's excellent. I think he's a proven guy who has been around the academic thing, the spiritual thing. His background, the fact that he was a ball boy there with his dad. This is a guy who has been at Yale, he's been at Western Kentucky, he's been at Stanford. Came back to Boise.
"As a recruiter, top-notch. As a coach, as a person, as a spiritual fit there, as an academic fit there. He's the whole deal. I think it's a lights-out hire."
---------- Hawkins: Sanford Would Be ‘Lights-Out’ Hire At Notre Dame.
As Irish247 first reported on Feb. 11, we expect Mike Sanford to be the next offensive coordinator at Notre Dame. The Boise State assistant led a Broncos offense that averaged nearly 40 points per game and tallied slightly fewer than 500 yards of total offense in the a 12-2 season last fall.
Sanford was Boise State’s backup quarterback from 2000-04 and played behind Jared Zabransky his senior year. Then-Boise State head coach, Dan Hawkins, didn’t select Sanford to start on the field. But as a coach, Hawkins believes Sanford would be a top-notch hire for Notre Dame.
“To me, I think he’s got the full package and clearly there, being a loyal Catholic guy myself, I think he embodies all the things that Notre Dame is about,” said Hawkins. “And it is football, it’s very good football and it’s winning football, but it’s also other things too. And I think he gets that whole big picture.”
Despite spending most of his time at Boise State on the sideline, Hawkins said Sanford's preparation was second to none.
“He was very steady,” Hawkins said. “He always knew what was going on. He was vey much into it – prepared like he was going to play every snap. You knew that if you went to him he’d be ready. He was very supportive of everybody else on the team. A good leader. All those things that you’d want out of your quarterback.
The background of Sanford's father, who spent time as an assistant coach with Southern Cal, Notre Dame, the San Diego Chargers and Stanford among other stops, also benefitted his son.
“It’s huge,” Hawkins said. “I think he just understands all of it. There are so many subtleties that go along with it. It’s not just the X’s and O’s. It’s the intensity, it’s the competitiveness, it’s the organization, it’s the details.
“All the little nuances that make everything go. He was just a football junkie. He was always around the office. He was a gym rat. And that’s the benefit of him growing up around it and just observing it first-hand.”
Sanford, a former assistant coach at Stanford, was able to play more of a mentoring role from the sideline next to Hawkins. Zabransky ran the plays, but Sanford was able to pick up everything from a different perspective.
“He was always kind of the assistant coach on the sideline,” Hawkins said. “He was always being able to directly help the other guys and knew what was going on and stayed tapped in and be sort of a mentor to the guy who was on the field.”
Through his experiences as a player and assistant coach on a number of teams, Sanford's coaching philosophies have been shaped. That includes being a flexible offensive mind.
“I think he gets the whole concept that it is a players game and it’s about loving those guys up,” said Hawkins. “It’s about making those guys feel good about themselves and he gets the fact that it’s about what the players can do. What can they do and how can you help them do what they do better.
“Clearly he’s been in a very multi-faceted offense. He’s not been branded in one scheme or another. I think he totally understands and believes in the run game and the play-action pass game and the quarterback’s got to be protected.
“I think he understands that the quarterback’s got to be allowed to have a system that allows him to flourish. That’s protection, that’s check downs, that’s reads, that’s decision making. I think he’s got a pretty good background.”
Sanford's personality and background are two areas Hawkins believes would help him on the recruiting trail at Notre Dame.
“He loves the players and he’s a very good person,” Hawkins said. “And yeah, he knows football and yeah, he knows how to win and all of that. He’s a guy that you want your son to play for because you know he’s going to love them and take care of them and be concerned about them as people and off the field, as well as understand how to take care of them as a football player.
“And obviously the parent that wants their kid to go to Notre Dame wants to win football games and go to the NFL but also understands the big picture. There’s an academic side to it, there’s a social side to it, there’s a spiritual side to it.
“Everybody wants to win a national championship and play in the NFL, but you also understand that’s a small snippet of your life. There’s a bigger part of your life. And I think Mike, that’s an authentic part of who he is.”
If Sanford comes to Notre Dame, he would immediately face a quarterback competition that could determine the Irish offense’s identity this fall. Everett Golson who has worked in a spread system.
Hawkins thinks Sanford would handle the competition well and both quarterbacks would take to his role as a mentor on and away from the gridiron.
“He would be great,” Hawkins said. “He’s going to be very genuinely interested in both guys. It’s not just going to be about production for him. I think they’re going to get a sense of how much he cares about them as people and really wants to see them develop as players and as people. And Mike’s not hung up on the system.
“I think Brian Kelly’s going to determine what that is anyway. Mike just wants those guys to be really good at what they do. And then the guy who’s best at what he does will end up being the starting quarterback.”
This post was edited on 2/13 3:08 PM by theskibro
This post was edited on 2/13 3:15 PM by theskibro
