JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat Jan. 20, 2022

Notre Dame Football Live Chat Jan. 20, 2022

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Eric Hansen

12:38

It's not unusual for head coaches to try to stay involved on the side of the ball where they have expertise. Luke Fickell was heavily involved in the defense when Marcus was at Cincinnati. Marcus plans on doing the same. ... There is a blend of experience and younger coordinator candidates, but at least all of them have coordinator experience. I do think adding some experienced coaches as analysts will help balance things out.

12:33

Hi Marie. I enjoy interacting in the chats and will always prioritize that. Once we expand our staff later this month and the news cycle slows, I hope to interact more on the message board as well. ... Jon Heacock turned the job down as it was presented to him to stay at Iowa State. There was match in terms of Heacock and Marcus having worked together before and that Heacock is a pretty strong tactician. What didn't align were some other philosophical things, particularly that Heacock didn't also want to coach a position group. That would mean eliminating another position coach, just so he could do that. Wasn't going to happen. ... Again it's a great job, but there are a lot of conditions that might not appeal to some candidates, including not being able to hire any of his own staff members. They are already in place. (more)

Marie from Atlanta

12:27

Hi Eric, I hope you are having a great week and are not too exhausted from covering the ND coaching carousel. Can you offer any insight as to why it did not work out with Jon Heacock? I understand the need to make sure the new DC fits the with the current Defensive scheme, and it seems that maybe Coach Freeman is going to be more involved with the defensive as a head coach than he originally thought, which my be a deterrent to hiring an experinced DC, resulting in a younger less experienced hire. All that being said are you at all concerned about the overall lack of experience on the coaching staff and do you think it will result in some significant and costly growing pains in the next couple of years? Do you see ND hiring some older experienced analysts to try to help speed up the learning curve? If the new DC is very inexperienced do you see Freeman calling the plays? Thanks for keeping the chats going even when we all know you must be buried in work right now, it is greatly appreciated.

Eric Hansen

12:26

Thanks Jeff. If anyone's interested, here's the link to the column that Jeff mentioned. ... It's safe to say Swarbrick supports expansion. He made the initial presentation back when it looked like a lock to happen. He still is very much in favor of it for the good of college football. ... I haven't had a chance to ask Marcus about it. We'll get a chance to catch up with him in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, there is player availability on Friday. That includes some of the seniors who elected to return for 2022 as well as incoming transfers Brandon Joseph and Blake Grupe, so be sure to check out those stories Friday evening and into the weekend.

Jeff from Phoenix

12:20

Hey Eric, first, I truly enjoyed your goodbye column on the SB Tribune site, and no spoilers but other chatters will certainly enjoy the message. My question is about the outcome of the Jan 10 CFP Board meeting. I read that no expansion of the playoffs was agreed on, but did not hear specifically where Swarbrick landed with respect to ND's stance on expansion after this meeting. Did he publicly comment on how he voted ? Several head coaches have weighed in on proposals, but do you know where Freeman stands on expansion (I realize he is currently kind of busy....). Thanks again for continuing the chats.

Eric Hansen

12:19

From what I'm hearing there is a conditional path for C'Bo Flemister to return to the Irish roster in 2022. That said, he could decide to parachute out anyway. And there's a chance he does not meet the conditions. So for now, he's in limbo.

John - Elkhorn, Ne.

12:18

Hey Eric, any official word on C’Bo? Doesn’t sound like he will be returning. What the story there ? Thanks!

Eric Hansen

12:18

He sounds bitter in the interviews I've seen. I think he'd like to prove to ND that they made a mistake. He'll be very competitive on the recruiting trail in trying to lure prospects that he had relationships with at ND. I think in time he'll look back at his 12-year run at Notre Dame more fondly. But this isn't the time.

12:16

I don't think Marcus Freeman ever considered Mike a candidate this time, but I believe Mike thought if he did a great job with the Fiesta Bowl prep and play-calling that he'd perhaps change his mind. Mike had done a great job in 2016 picking up the pieced after VanGorder was fired following Game 4 of that season. Greg Hudson was the front man as interim DC, but Mike called plays and was the real interim DC. Things did not go well at all in the Fiesta Bowl, and both Marcus and Mike knew Marcus wouldn't go in that direction. So Mike contradicted what he said in December about staying and left for Michigan. (more)

12:09

Tim, thank you for the support. We really appreciate it. The question is simple, The answer is a bit more complicated. Let me preface my answer by saying Mike Elston made the Notre Dame football program better during his 12 years in a number of ways and especially at very critical junctures. ... Mike has aspirations to be a head coach someday. He also didn't want the journey there to negatively impact his family. He's 47 years old now. During his time at ND, he was technically passed over for the defensive coordinators job five times. When Brian VanGorder replaced Bob Diaco in January of 2014, I don't think Mike was seriously considered, though. He did have a chance to go with Diaco and be his DC at UConn and turned it down. He's turned a lot of jobs down to stay at ND. (more)

Tim Vancouver WA

12:04

Hello Eric and Tyler, I made the switch with you guys and I’m excited to see all you’re going to do with this new platform. I really appreciate you guys. My question is simple, what happened with Coach Elston? He had, very recently, made it sound like he was staying at ND for his kids to attend ND.

Eric Hansen

Let's get rolling.

12:02

A reminder, please include your NAME and HOMETOWN with your question.

Also no 17-part questions and no manifestos.

12:01

Here are the rules.