For the past few months we had seen a new Head Coach picked to lead the Fighting Irish. We have been introduced to a man with quality, high characteristics, someone that we would be proud to be a leader of our sons. We envisioned a powerful team that was considered a possible National Champion. Suddenly, we have a 3-loss nightmare that stunned us. Now is the time for hardnose leadership. Because of this, there is a "thunderous noise" of "faithful fans" jumping the ship, wailing that JS made a mistake, that Freeman can't handle it, and all other cries of hopelessness. We were all enjoying when we had days of sunshine but when a thunderstorm hits, "Notre Dame will never be the same" is the new fight song.
We all know that Coach Freeman has to make adjustments. There are so many out there that think that he can't. But a man of his essence can do it. He must cut the cord. Some of the hard choices he must address is that he is not one of the boys. Leaders are sometimes hard, not abusive, but totally demanding. They are sometimes at arms length with cold decisions that can lead to success. They must be analytical and not afraid of what they find but damn sure of what they are going to do about it. The players cannot be sucked in by his love for them but rather they will love him by the accomplishments to which he leads them. The Coach might want to stop bringing their kids to practice. But the players and the other coaches must pay their dues also. How can one get a scholarship to play football for Notre Dame with its history and mystic and still come out of the tunnel and play like you have other things on your mind? We have not had a National Championship since 1988, 34 years ago and still maintain in the college football world a strong attraction to the public. Can anyone think of another team that could go through that and still be an attraction to the public? Yes this is the right time to cut the cord.
Many of these comments have been stated before by others on this board. I realize that, and I thought that this emphasizes hope instead of a constant stream of criticism.
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