Seriously Folks, Don’t Believe The Hype

Flav-o-Flav Says: Don't, Don't, Don't Believe the Hype!

Look, whatever you're hearing now means nothing. Literally. Nothing.

Why?

Well, because even if it's true, there's literally NO WAY for you, or anyone, to verify that it's true. So all the false rumors, at this point, are just as credible as the real deal (which, most likely, hasn't been 'leaked' in any way shape or form because there isn't a real deal yet). So whatever you're hearing, whatever you're passing along, whatever you're wondering about - it's all just as likely to be false as it is true. So why is everyone freaking out? Why are dudes dropping F-bombs about this?

Really, what is going on here?

Jack is keeping this thing locked down. He looked at past searches and saw that they were inefficient, ugly, misguided, and ultimately resulted in the wrong guys getting hired. He also saw that there were way too many hands in the cookie jar. So this time around, it's just Jack and Father Jenkins. They're the only ones with any power here. No donors. No BOT. No one else.

Jack has taken this on himself - there will be no buck to pass at the end of the process. That, to me, makes it a fairly ballsy move. Unlike White, Swarbrick won't be able to point the finger at someone else if he screws this up. It will all be on him. This search will define his career at ND, and he's not leaving himself any outs. He'll be accountable. I like that.

Search committees have yielded sub-par results in the past, and the processes were horrible. Search firms haven't done any better. My guess is that he has one or two people working on his behalf, and he's handling the rest with a locked-down, air-tight search firm/agency - either personally, or within a small group of the Athletic Department.

The search has reached a fevered pitch. Fans are obviously, and legitimately, passionate about this search. People care. That's great. But guess what? Learning 2 seconds earlier isn't going to change the result. Passing along made up rumors, or even believing them at all, won't get us a better coach and it won't get him signed any faster. If anything, all the freaking out can only make the process harder for Jack, and it's certainly going to make it harder on you. Really, whoever our coach will be, will be!

You'll find out when Jack makes an announcement. Not before. Really. I think it's time to accept it. And recognize that that's not such a bad deal. I mean, you'll know just when everyone else does. So we'll all be first to hear! Great!

Some media guys get this, and have put up a few decent articles lately. In particular, ISD sheds some historical light on the search. The message there is that it's probably not who you think it is, even if the rumors are true, because shite happens. And Tom Davis has a good, grounded perspective on the whole thing.

In the end, rumors are rumors. I'm sure some folks have fun with it, and to you folks I say go at it. Enjoy it if it's fun. But if it's cutting into your workday (I'm 100% sure it is), if you're stressing out about it, or if you are really just having troubles figuring out what to believe, do yourself a favor: ignore it all and wait.

We'll have a coach this month, I promise. My guess for an announcement date is 12/14 (it's just a guess), and Swarbrick has said it will take some time. So my reco? Just chill a bit. There will be an answer.

When there's an answer.