While I find it interesting to debate issues like whether or not the O-line coach should be fired (he should), whether or not Kelly quit last Saturday (he did), or whether starting Pyne would have made a difference (it would not have), what troubles more than anything is the nagging feeling that ND will never win another NC. As discussed below, the reasons for that go way beyond a coach, as unless something fundamental changes about Notre Dame, it is doomed to the purgatory it is currently in.
Let's begin with Father Jenkins. At some point in time in an organization, if a situation persists, it is because the person at the top wishes it to be that way. You see Jenkins looks back on years like 1988 as the bad old days, when Notre Dame was populated, for the most part, with working class students who grew up loving ND. Take one look at Jenkins and ask yourself if he looks like a working class person or not. To Jenkins, succeeding in football was evidence of a lack of academic achievement. ND in those days was looked down upon by the likes of Harvard and Yale, who were pathetic in sports and proud to be so. Jenkins set out to remake ND, as he would worship Ivy League schools by emulating them, and you can't emulate an Ivy League school with a championship football team. Now Jenkins understood that if the team gets too pathetic, a certain percentage of alums will get fed up and stop giving. So Jenkins has to give off the illusion of caring whether the team is good or not. But believe me: he does not care about football success and in fact would prefer to avoid the label "football factory" at all costs. Of course, all Jenkins got by kissing Ivy League butt was a fart in the face. But no matter: he can claim he raised academic standards when all he did was destroy a rich tradition of combining academic achievement with excellence on the football field.
For this reason, Jenkins hires a guy like Swarbrick. Swarbrick was a mediocre lawyer on a good day, but he was clever enough to linger in the shadows of every job he took. Under orders from Jenkins, Swarbrick has emphasized excellence in politically correct sports, with just enough football success to keep the wolf pack of alums at bay. In Swarbrick, Jenkins has the perfect foil, as he improved the "non-revenue" sports across the board while not even trying to achieve excellence in football (or lately, men's basketball, but I digress.) Thus, Jenkins can tell his Ivy League masters about how great the women's sports are, and they pat him on the head while laughing about him behind his back. Jenkins made a homerun hire when he brought in Swarbrick.
That leads us to Kelly. I have long been a critic of Kelly, and I won't repeat those criticisms here. But I will give him this much: Brian Kelly knows how to "manage up." Did you hear his response to the question about "breaking" Rockne's record? Did he thank the players who sacrificed their bodies by engaging in violent collisions for all of those years, when the only violence Kelly meted out was a cheap shot shove of grad assistant David Grimes? Did he thank his assistant coaches who worked extremely long hours (and until recently) were grossly underpaid? No. Brian Kelly kissed the buttocks of his master (Swarbrick) and his master's master (Jenkins). I have to tip my cap to Kelly. That was clever. By pretending to be modest by thanking others, Kelly kissed the asses of his bosses. And there is nothing people of low character (Jenkins and Swarbrick) like more than to have their asses kissed. But it's one thing to be clever and another thing to be wise, as George R.R. Martin wrote. Kelly is clever, but he's not wise. (Throw the ball 30+ times during a hurricane against NC State and you forever forfeit the ability to claim anything other than average intelligence.) Given a sufficiently watered down schedule, he'll accomplish two things: 1) win 10 or so games but no more, thereby keeping the wolf pack from descending on Jenkins, and 2) prevent ND from ever being called a football factory.
In other words, there will be no football championship at ND as long as the 3 individuals above remain in their positions.
Let's begin with Father Jenkins. At some point in time in an organization, if a situation persists, it is because the person at the top wishes it to be that way. You see Jenkins looks back on years like 1988 as the bad old days, when Notre Dame was populated, for the most part, with working class students who grew up loving ND. Take one look at Jenkins and ask yourself if he looks like a working class person or not. To Jenkins, succeeding in football was evidence of a lack of academic achievement. ND in those days was looked down upon by the likes of Harvard and Yale, who were pathetic in sports and proud to be so. Jenkins set out to remake ND, as he would worship Ivy League schools by emulating them, and you can't emulate an Ivy League school with a championship football team. Now Jenkins understood that if the team gets too pathetic, a certain percentage of alums will get fed up and stop giving. So Jenkins has to give off the illusion of caring whether the team is good or not. But believe me: he does not care about football success and in fact would prefer to avoid the label "football factory" at all costs. Of course, all Jenkins got by kissing Ivy League butt was a fart in the face. But no matter: he can claim he raised academic standards when all he did was destroy a rich tradition of combining academic achievement with excellence on the football field.
For this reason, Jenkins hires a guy like Swarbrick. Swarbrick was a mediocre lawyer on a good day, but he was clever enough to linger in the shadows of every job he took. Under orders from Jenkins, Swarbrick has emphasized excellence in politically correct sports, with just enough football success to keep the wolf pack of alums at bay. In Swarbrick, Jenkins has the perfect foil, as he improved the "non-revenue" sports across the board while not even trying to achieve excellence in football (or lately, men's basketball, but I digress.) Thus, Jenkins can tell his Ivy League masters about how great the women's sports are, and they pat him on the head while laughing about him behind his back. Jenkins made a homerun hire when he brought in Swarbrick.
That leads us to Kelly. I have long been a critic of Kelly, and I won't repeat those criticisms here. But I will give him this much: Brian Kelly knows how to "manage up." Did you hear his response to the question about "breaking" Rockne's record? Did he thank the players who sacrificed their bodies by engaging in violent collisions for all of those years, when the only violence Kelly meted out was a cheap shot shove of grad assistant David Grimes? Did he thank his assistant coaches who worked extremely long hours (and until recently) were grossly underpaid? No. Brian Kelly kissed the buttocks of his master (Swarbrick) and his master's master (Jenkins). I have to tip my cap to Kelly. That was clever. By pretending to be modest by thanking others, Kelly kissed the asses of his bosses. And there is nothing people of low character (Jenkins and Swarbrick) like more than to have their asses kissed. But it's one thing to be clever and another thing to be wise, as George R.R. Martin wrote. Kelly is clever, but he's not wise. (Throw the ball 30+ times during a hurricane against NC State and you forever forfeit the ability to claim anything other than average intelligence.) Given a sufficiently watered down schedule, he'll accomplish two things: 1) win 10 or so games but no more, thereby keeping the wolf pack from descending on Jenkins, and 2) prevent ND from ever being called a football factory.
In other words, there will be no football championship at ND as long as the 3 individuals above remain in their positions.
