What Is Broken With Notre Dame Football?

There are certain truths in life that you have to accept regardless of any opinion. Truths such as: no one can live forever, too much television is bad for anyone at any age, the United States Declaration of Independence to Great Britain states that all men are created equal, and the college football playoffs have diminished the regular season.

Another truth is that Notre Dame football ended the 2016 season with a 4-8 record.

While many fans of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have gracefully accepted this record and have declared that the Irish will be much better next year and beyond, there are also those that are much more skeptical of the situation.

What both (or any side) can agree on is that the 2016 season was awful and the team was broken. The difference is that some think things can and will be fixed quickly, and others think it will take much longer (especially if Brian Kelly is still roaming the sidelines).

So, here’s the deal... from now until Signing Day, we will be examining all that is broken or perceived to be broken with the program. These won’t be “take-down pieces” to quote the Newsroom episode I am watching right now, but they will be a genuine investigation into: what, why, and where we go from here.

Perhaps your memory needs a little reboot, and if that’s the case, here is a small reminder of some of the many things we can look into:

• The offensive line unit playing like an actual unit.
• The defensive line depth.
• Culture.
• Special teams miscues.
• Offensive play-calling.
• Fundamentals- or the lack there of.
• Proper use of a running back.
• Short-yardage cures.
• Brian Kelly,
• Program variables such as schedules, academics, recruiting, and perception.

Those are just some of the many things we could be exploring. I’m using this space, right now, as a bit of a warning. It’s going to seem like an absolute lovefest of negativity here while dealing some of these issues, but I view it much differently. Things are broken- so let’s talk about what is broke and how Notre Dame can fix it, and at the same time, identify the steps took already to address such things.

Let’s have an honest discussion moving forward, and hope that levity trumps scorn.

Editor’s note: Rather than write a lengthy preamble to each piece, this article serves as that preamble.