The loss in ’64 to USC was compounded by the no-bowl policy. We wanted to play Alabama so badly but it was not to be. So sad…..

We lost to Tulsa because the coach eschewed an in-range field goal attempt by a kicker who had yet to miss that season in favor of a backup QB throwing a pass into the end zone when he’d already thrown two interceptions.

We lost to Navy because our defensive coordinator got flummoxed by the veer.

They’re playing better, no doubt about it. But they’re still making mistakes. The difference is instead of flying off the handle at those mistakes, Brian Kelly is talking to them.

Cause and effect.

So, nothing. You haven’t learned anything.

The kids who were playing like crap in year one — those losing to Tulsa, getting trounced by Navy and humiliated by Stanford — needed to be yelled at. That is teaching. I’m sorry. If you want to have a tea party or you want to play cards, fine. If you want football, expect coaches to yell at you.

This year’s kids are more mature and they’re playing much better. That’s why Coach Kelly isn’t screaming at them week in and week out. This year’s kids aren’t fumbling after going on 90 yard drives time and time again. That’s why Coach Kelly isn’t screaming at them.

Cause and effect, Mike. Think about it.

I have no problem with a coach being an asshole provided that he or she is adding some value. But when you ask a player to do something beyond their skill set and then scream at them because they failed, that’s being an asshole to no valid purpose.

If it would have made things clearer to say “start teaching instead of screaming on the sidelines”, I’ll do that next time. I figured the rest of the sentence went without saying, as the sidelines is the only place the screaming was public.

Your exact words were “start teaching instead of screaming.” That’s a classic example of a false choice. If that’s not what you meant then choose your words more carefully next time.

I think a lot of people are pantywaists on the screaming issue. Sadly most great football coaches are miserable SOBs. The day they hired Kelly I told a coworker “He seems like an asshole – and I think that’s exactly what they need!” His demanding personality, warts and all, was necessary to change the culture and change it he did.

Nowhere did I say he hasn’t done any teaching the last two years. And I’ve watched enough and taught enough that I’m comfortable saying I recognize out-of-control when I see it. There’s a reason he’s calmer on the sidelines this year, and a suggestion by higher-ups at ND to him that he be so probably had something to do with it. But I give him a lot of credit for having the self-awareness to recognize a problem and fix it. It’s a skill his three predecessors lacked.

By “more balanced” I mean correcting an imbalance towards the pass he showed the last two seasons. When you have an immobile quarterback who doesn’t have a strong arm, any offensive gameplan where you pass more than you run is not a good idea. Not only are you’re making yourself one-dimensional and easier to defend, if your fastest player is a running back, you’re removing him from the equation unnecessarily. We saw that a lot of the last two seasons. This year, they seem to be taking advantage of their stable of running backs, not to mention a quarterback who makes the defense account for him. That’s not “running the crap out of the ball”, that’s making use of all your tools to win games, not just some of them because it’s the way you feel comfortable. That’s smart game-planning. That’s winning football. That’s good coaching. Again, I give Brian Kelly full credit for recognizing the error and correcting it.

Oh he hasn’t done any teaching the last 2 years? Damn, you really DO sound like that know-it-all fan from Hoosiers. That coach also screamed like an a-hole a lot more at the beginning of the story than he did towards the end. I don’t know this for a fact but I’d wager Kelly screamed much more his first 2 seasons at Cincy than he did in his 3rd. We’ve seen this movie before (figuratively and literally). It’s Management 101.

By “more balanced” I think you mean “more imbalanced favoring the run.” I don’t mean that sarcastically. Many people prefer that strategy, and many others prefer getting the ball in your best player’s hands. Neither opinion is inherently wrong, both have merits for open minded fans. In the end, I don’t care much for overanalyzing playcalling. I’m sure there is some alternate universe where the 2011 Irish run the crap out the ball and still finish 9-3 or 8-4, while a portion of the fanbase is irate that their stupid coach stubbornly wasted the talents of the best WR in college football.

Well, the next time a new coach decides after two years to run a more balanced offense, allow his defense to carry the team when it’s a strength, and start teaching instead of screaming, we’ll think he’s doing just fine.

It’s not that you (not you personally, but “yous guys”) ask too much of the program, it’s that you sometimes ask for the wrong things and even more often lack the humility to recognize that people who come up with different answers aren’t stupid or less passionate. The same lack of humility as the guy in Hoosiers who tried to get Coach Dale fired (coincidentally played by the same actor who played Dan Devine in Rudy). “Are you sayin’ Jesus Christ can’t hit a curveball?!?!”

This isn’t intended to be an “I told you so” post. It’s a question of whether anyone’s learned anything. What will the reaction be the next time a new coach only improves the regular season record by only 1 game increments in his first 2 years? Will we focus too much on micro issues like playcalling, soundbites, and sideline demeanor or will we focus on the macro changes that are going on behind the scenes?