UND-FB-FAN

The players want to win. They desire to be an aggressive team that wins big games. The staff is holding them back. I encourage anyone who has replay capabilities to go back and watch the sequence in the Idaho game when Bubba pulled the offense off the field on 4th&1 in Idaho territory. Ketteringham was hot and even confronted Bubba as he came off. Now, these are all things that regularly happen in the heat of the moment so they don’t mean anything personal, but they do suggest that the coaching staff is dampening any possible momentum and fire in the offense. UND football will always be mediocre if this staff wants to constantly implement a “nice guy” cautious strategy. The players that want to win recognize this.

Very good point. Evidence just continues to mount (as there was plenty well before the Idaho game) that Rudolph has a very limited offense. How can a team that wants to "run the ball" and "be physical" not have a passing game that utilizes the RBs and TEs? It's beyond silly. Again, more and more evidence shows UND's offensive philosophy and leadership is severely impaired.

We can ultimately disagree on this, but whether it’s football or anything else, I have been told and have observed winning as being a habit that is taught over time. Winning embodies characteristics such as positivity/confidence, innovation, proper communication/collaboration, and commitment to excellence. These are coachable/teachable traits and eventually they all need to be actuated. The current staff lacks in some of these areas in my assessment. Specifically, the innovation and confidence areas are lacking. I want to see new teachers of winning on the sideline for UND. You are what your record says you are; hire some qualified DI coaches who know how to win.

I caution this. As per this thread's title, the staff needs new blood. New blood = new ideas and new culture. Freund is a great guy who bleeds green; however, the ideology of the offense and special teams needs to be changed from what it has been the past 5 years. Bubba and Schmidt are tied in strategy/scheme so they come as a package.

Amen

Coaches are teachers. The players need to be better taught how to make said plays in order to win the games. Yesterday, they were not taught how to win in the 4th quarter. Squandering a 10-point fourth quarter lead is essentially the opposite of being a winner. Do you think the current staff are teachers of winning? I do not. Yesterday evidenced this.

Gone

Very interesting indeed. “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”. - Albert Einstein Now, I certainly am not saying Bubba is insane, but at some point changes need to be made with UND consistently not meeting expectations.

I agree with Ira but also see your points as valid. There is certainly a dilemma right now between Bubba and his staff. Bottom line is Bubba isn't going anywhere due to his contract length, commitment to UND, Chaves' early tenure, etc. As such, I see the most likely and effective solution is replacement of Rudolph and Kostich by qualified external DI coaches.

Kostich and Rudolph both need to go. They need to be replaced by qualified DI coaches, not replaced by promotions within the current staff. I understand some may want to see guys like Freund promoted, but he has been a part of the problem whether you want to hear it or not. Bubba NEEDS to implement new ideas and energy into this staff from the outside. The offense and special teams are beyond stale right now in the areas of innovation and discipline.

Happened just 2 years ago in 2016. But under the current football leadership, hosting post season games certainly won’t be a regular occurrence.

Where did Bo Schembechler, the God of Michigan football, spend time as an assistant? Exactly. UND definitely needs to take a hard look at the NDSU coaches.

Man, you can always be better at a position. There is always somebody out there more talented to recruit. Not the major point or issue here though. The point is that the current ability on the roster should be good enough for a postseason berth. But, due to coaching error (schemes, play-calling, aggression vs conservative balance, etc.) they are underachieving. Was that exact same way last season but the injury excuse overshadowed the coaching ineptitude that was also clearly going on.

How about just consistently make the playoffs for starters ... Bubba and his staff can't even do that. 20% (1 in 5) so far ...

It's important to give Chaves credit for being a competent athletics coordinator. This isn't Faison shenanigans we are talking about. Now, it remains to be seen if Chaves would dare do anything this early in his tenure. I highly doubt it so most of this will be a moot point. But, in the event Chaves did see an opportunity to hire someone with DI experience that he knows via his Eastern Washington days, UND absolutely needs to go through with it. You don't worry about 1 year of recruits over the possibility of years of success. How does that even make sense? Its all about the rewards vs. the risks. If you make a big time hire, the reward of winning many games and championships far outweighs the risk of losing a SINGLE YEAR of recruits. This is the logic used all over college football so its far from new.

This team doesn't deserve postseason. Not because of the players - they absolutely deserve it - but because of the leadership/coaches. The FCS playoff committee will look straight through UND and any potential positives; no chance UND gets in. Hell, I'd be surprised if UND finished the season 2-0. The @NAU game will be tough and Portland State is playing good right now.

Again, for UND, move the student section. Absolutely a must given the student turnout and the postseason arrangement rules already in place per NCAA.

NOPE I made this argument last season but got killed for it because the injury situation was the argument of choice at that time.

DoBoer won't come here. He's an FBS coordinator having success; bigger things on the horizon for him.

Would easily be too much. Bubba struggles managing the game the way it is. Leave the Bubba and Schmidt arrangement as is and change the OC and ST coordinator. If Bubba doesn't want to do that, remove Bubba from duties and start anew. Chaves knows good football coaches from his time at Eastern Washington.

This is a very good point. Bubba dropped the ball on this hire from the start.

That was a Farce. They got killed by MVFC UNI in playoffs. PSU simply took advantage of horrible Big Sky opponents.

How can you excuse the consistent failure to score in the second half? That’s been a issue for 5 seasons. Rudolph runs the offense - that falls on him. Special teams has consistently been bad. One could say it lost UND’s only DI playoff game. It most definitely kicked UND out of the playoffs this season by losing their game yesterday with blocked punt for score, missed XP, repeat kickoffs out of bounds, etc. OC and ST coordinator needs to be changed. I would also be perfectly happy if Chaves completely cleaned house though.

History repeats itself. It’s obvious now. It was almost predictable back 5 years ago when the hire was made. Rudolph has NOT been a successful coach nevermind a successful DI coach. Same is looking true for the young inexperienced Kostich. At a minimum, a change is needed at offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator. Hell, I would give Freund the chance to call plays the final 2 games to see what he can do.

Still can’t believe UND lost yesterday’s ball game. Absolutely awful. Really hurts that it is also the loss that kicks UND out of the playoff. In thinking about what’s next, the absolute minimum is a change at offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator. Those units are and really have been pathetic for the past 5 seasons. I’ll give Schmidt and the defense a pass because they do at least pass the eye test.