KRK

November 14th, 2008 at 2:51 PM ^

That is a great article. Mainly because I hate him. If he's such a great QB coach, why is Cassell dominating right now. I think the common denominator is Belichik. I don't care if you like him or not, he's a good coach and Weis is not. None of the big coordinators have taken off on their own. Mangini is getting there though.

WolvinLA

November 14th, 2008 at 2:56 PM ^

I like how the article gives Michigan props by saying that ND's football tradition and academic excellence is met only Michigan and USC. As much as a lot of us dislike those other schools, it's pretty good company to be in.

littlebrownjug

November 14th, 2008 at 3:32 PM ^

I think that the list of schools with both good football and academics is a longer one in general (Penn State, Wisconsin, Vanderbilt, Stanford, UVA, etc.), but I can see how how column inch limitations led to his truncated list. The fact that a Chicago paper printed this, especially, given the number of subway alumni therein, is pretty telling. Anchors Aweigh! Go Navy!

WolvinLA

November 14th, 2008 at 3:48 PM ^

None of those schools you listed come close. I think he meant schools that have great academics and great football tradition. None of those schools touch UM, ND, and USC in terms of football tradition, and Stanford and Vanderbilt(?) stack up in academics, they fall miles short in terms of football. I think Penn State and Wisconsin are solid in both, but would be great candidates for Tier 2. Vanderbilt? Did you watch college football before 2007?

mjv

November 14th, 2008 at 3:53 PM ^

I work with a very level headed ND alum and am friends with several others. Their opinion of him has taken a huge step back this season. Prior to the season, the big fella was great, but just made a mistake in not hitting enough during summer camp prior to the 2007 season. The rest could be explained away with terrible Willingham recruiting. Fast forward to this week and the response to the statement, "It looks like Charlie is getting a lot of heat" and all I get is a lot of head shaking and looking down. Most believe that he won't get fired this season, but that next year his large but is on the the chopping block. The other thing that each believes is going to happen is that the offensive staff will get shaken up and that the OC will be replaced.

Engin77

November 14th, 2008 at 4:08 PM ^

let's give Charlie a break; he's on crutches. Charlie has moved to #2 on my all-time favorite ND coaches list ( after Gerry Faust, who was a really, really nice guy; and he loved ND. )

Engin77

November 14th, 2008 at 6:30 PM ^

His teams always played Michigan tough:
97: Eventual National Champions win by 7 in Ann Arbor to stay undefeated; 21-14
98: Tom Brady loses debut in S Bend; 20-36
99: Michigan wins a close one at home 26-22
00,01 : "We were on a break!"
I always thought he was a pretty good coach; ND fanbase expectations were unattainable.

mjv

November 19th, 2008 at 2:45 PM ^

engin77 -- I liked Davie because there was a definite limit on how good his teams would be. Holtz was a far better coach and moving to Davie severly limited ND potential.