Brian Kelly says his time at LSU would have been easier if Freeman and Rees came along
On one hand, I can see how having Coach Freeman as the DC would have helped LSU, since Matt House's defenses were rather suspect, and it took a couple of years for Baker to get the defensive side of things in order.
I strongly doubt that Tommy Rees as his OC would have done better than what Mike Denbrock did. If anything, I suspect that Jayden Daniels wouldn't have exploded like he did in 2023.
Denbrock actually let Daniels toss that ball downfield, and with great results, and once he left, the offense at LSU fizzled out against the stronger opponents.
Link: https://www.on3.com/news/brian-kelly-says-lsu-wouldve-been-easier-transition-if-marcus-freeman-tommy-rees-joined-him/
Replies to: “Brian Kelly says his time at LSU would have been easier if Freeman and Rees came along”
Marcus was torn between LSU and ND
Recently watched an interview that Marcus did with his former head coach Jim Tressel, about a year ago. Marcus reached out to Tressel during that time for advice. It really could have gone either way. Slicing what Marcus said, it seems that it came down to the ND brand and the proximity to OH, as he and is his wife are both from OH.
While I am loath to give Jack credit for anything, he stepped up here to ensure that ND would match LSU financially so that money was never a factor in the decision.
Brian revived ND. His EGO is too big. He needs to STFU and move along...
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I second Denbrock over Rees, but legendary coaches regard Rees very highly and he's an alum
He never had a good QB at ND to run the offense. He ran into a similar problem with Milroe at Bama, and adjusted well to win the SEC and reach the playoff.
His first year playcalling in the NFL was terrible, but it's the Browns. Interested to see how he does in Atlanta - much better weapons on offense.
He didn't make those adjustments by choice
Nick Saban basically put his foot down, and told him how to call plays, taking advantage of Milroe's powerful arm (he's a very good downfield passer) instead of forcing him to be a dink 'n dunker.
Rees had tried to make all three QB's (Milroe, Simpson, and Buchner) into copies of himself, and the results at the beginning of the year show how terrible the offense was.
Once Saban told Rees to throw downfield, suddenly, the offense got much better in all aspects. Opposing teams didn't have to simply drop 7 into short coverage every play.
Rees has done nothing so far.
I remember him yelling " Do your f***ing job!" at Drew Pyne.
This coming from a guy who was responsible for one of the most humiliating losses in ND history.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyxw3-IVD_c
To no one's surprise, just another way of saying "It wasn't my fault."
"Get used to it".
…because Kelly isn’t a good coach and needs good assistants. But he’s so obnoxious, nobody wanted to
follow him. When Denbrock left, the dam broke., and Kelly could no longer lure anyone good enough to help given well earned rep.
“I want our fans to know, the Notre Dame fans, that I’m 100 percent supporting what they’re doing."
He wants to visit the team during the preseason.
To re-establish a connection that he alone severed.
I would never let him do that.
A loser trying to stand in the glow of others.
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Hey BK, no statue for you.
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Consent Management