Notre Dame football: Irish swing and miss on Ludwig

After a week of speculation, Andy Ludwig will not leave Utah to join the Notre Dame football program. According to one of the top reporters in college football, Pete Thamel, there were obstacles in securing a buyout for Ludwig. If true, that’s a horrific look for the program and those behind the scenes.

By all accounts, it looked like Marcus Freeman was on the verge of landing his guy for offensive coordinator in Andy Ludwig from Utah. But, according to Thamel and other league sources, the buyout proved too big an obstacle. Suppose Freeman wanted Ludwig, and the school was unwilling to cooperate in a buyout. In that case, that’s a terrible look for the program. Not supporting your head coach in his first extensive search for a coordinator on the opposite side of the ball that he focuses on is a bad look.

If you thought Rees leaving for Alabama was a bad look in what you could argue is a lateral move, this has to hurt nearly as much. How a program wouldn’t support a new, young, up-and-coming, and hard-working head coach is beyond me. I’m hoping there are other details we have yet to learn that prevented this from getting done. If not, fans should let Jack and the higher-ups hear it.

Ludwig would have been the ultimate slam-dunk hire for the offensive coordinator position, given his experience and success. Not only has he had 10+ years on the job, but he has won at every step of his career. How the school could allow a miss like this for a young thriving head coach is a poor job of supporting your guy.

Freeman has done everything the school has asked of him and more. He’s leading the Notre Dame football team and the recruiting efforts, much more than the last guy did. I’m unsure if we have the entire picture, but if we do, there must be an explanation.