Notre Dame Does Its' Fire-Hire Thing

Mark Allen, Domer Sports Report

Notre Dame Football
Breaking News

From und.com:

"Verducci replaces John Latina who resigned Wednesday to pursue other opportunities."

The above quote is the "official" word from Notre Dame. But, does anyone really believe the embattled offensive line coach wasn't fired? The coach, after all, was the coach at the helm of the offensive line that gave up an at-the-time record 58 sacks in 2007. Although, the sack number was a definite improvement in 2008 over 2007, the running game was another story. The Irish averaged 3.3 yards per carry and 109.7 yards per game running the ball.

Latina becomes the third Irish assistant coach to "pursue other opportunities". One, of course, was legitimate. Offensive coordinator, Mike Haywood, left Notre Dame to become the head coach at Miami of Ohio. Defensive line coach Jappy Oliver, like Latina, was, most likely, fired.

Not long after rumors circulated that Latina was let go, the Irish announced the hiring of Cleveland Browns offensive assistant coach Frank Verducci.

So, who is Frank Verducci? For one thing, he has experience at both the professional and college level. Most recently, as mentioned, he was an offensive line coach and assistant for the Cleveland Browns.

Verducci's resume:

1980: Colorado State (grad assistant)
1981-83: Maryland (tight ends)
1984: Northern Illinois (running backs/strength and conditioning coach)
1985-86: Iowa (graduate assistant)
1987-88: Northwestern (wide receivers)
1989-98: Iowa (offensive line, recruiting coordinator, running game coordinator)
1999-2001: Cincinnati Bengals ( tight ends, assistant offensive line)
2002: Dallas Cowboys (offensive line)
2004-05: Buffalo Bills (offensive line/tight ends)
2007-08: Cleveland Browns (offensive assistant coach)

Verducci's most impressive college experience was gathered at Iowa, where he coached under Hayden Fry. In his decade there, the running game averaged 171.5 yards per game. During the 1990, 1994 and 1997 seasons, Iowa averaged 224.9, 221 and 217 yards per game, respectively. He had twelve of his offensive linemen make it to the NFL. Six of those were All-Big Ten players.
Not only was the running game successful under Verducci, but he was also very successful as a recruiter. Tom Lemming named him as a top ten recruiter for 1990. Allen Wallace of SuperPrep named him as a top ten recruiter on four occasions (1990-1992 and 1995).

More recently, Verducci has success with the Browns. In 2007, the Browns' offensive ranked 8th in the NFL. In the 2007 and 2008 seasons, running back Jamal Lewis went over the 1000 yard mark for the season.

Verducci, like Charlie Weis, is a native of New Jersey. That should help Notre Dame in recruiting in the Northeast. His wife, Noel, is a Saint Mary's of Indiana graduate.

Will Verducci be an instant impact hire? Can he turn around the offensive line, thereby improving the running game? Stay tuned!

In other news, Charlie Weis has offered Ohio State linebacker's coach Luke Fickell a chance to coach with the Irish. Domer Sports Report will update that story as information comes in.

In The Trenches – Part II

Starting the first game of his freshman season, Sam Young's presence at the line of scrimmage has become old hat for Notre Dame coaches, players, and fans alike. The now junior right tackle played on the opposite side of the line last season to protect him from further injuring his right wrist, which is now reportedly healthy. There are three keys to further advance Young's development, beginning with leadership, which Young previously displayed by paying a visit to Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis last season (a true ND fan knows the story well). Now he needs to become more vocal (assuming it is within his personality, and it might not be). Next, Young gained about twenty-pounds since last season and tips the scales at around 330. Will that be too much weight to match up with talented speed rushers (think Everson Griffin, Southern California's next great defensive end) that the Irish will face this season? That's the one concern. Conversely, Young's added girth should help him with run blocking by sheer size alone. Finally, Young needs to develop a nasty streak. No, not the old school Oakland Raiders lets get five fifteen yard unsportsman-like conduct calls-type of nasty streak, but the "I'm going to bury my opponent during this next play and there is nothing he can do about it" attitude. Sort of like Aaron Taylor, Tim Ruddy, Jeff Faine, and other past Irish offensive linemen that would go out of their way to send a message to a defender by driving him into the ground whenever possible. For Young to reach his potential, he must develop that mentality. He does that once in a while, but now he must do it consistently. Young possesses the talent. It's up to him.

Overall, right tackle looks good for the 2008 and 2009 seasons, but Young is only the starting point. Redshirt freshman Taylor Dever did not garner preseason High School All-American honors before entering his senior season, but much like many other offensive lineman at the high school level, came into his own as a senior and earned many scholarship offers before the conclusion of his high school career. While he has yet to play a minute of College Football, Dever has earned good reviews by many close to the Notre Dame Football program. Dever will likely be the no. 2 right tackle this season and next, before taking over the starting position in 2010. It's a good situation for Notre Dame offensive line coach John Latina to have. Now coach Latina and the Notre Dame coaching staff just need to land a good right tackle recruit this next Frebruary and the depth chart will be restored to normalcy.

Interior offensive line play will be the next installment…