Brian Polian met with the media yesterday and was in a particularly reflective mood. Having watched the video of his interview a dozen or so times, it’s very clear that the coaches are well aware that the end may be near.
No comments I’ve seen up until know have been as telling as these by Polian.
There’s no doubt that Polian’s iPod must’ve been playing much of the past two weeks because the whispers have turned into shouting. Yet there isn’t a coach that knows the business side of things better than Polian, who has lived a life in football.
Still, for a coach that came to Notre Dame with only a recruiting pedigree, it’s amazing to see the man Polian has become. While the punt game has been atrocious this season, Polian has done a solid job coordinating a special teams unit, and has been dynamic on the recruiting trail, becoming one of the true “closers” on staff. Weis spoke candidly about Polian’s skills in the living room.
As these final two games approach, it’s amazing that the football program could be at a major crossroads that brings wholesale changes. While the team hasn’t achieved as much as many of us thought it could, the staff Weis put together has to be one of the best Notre Dame has put together since the early Lou Holtz years.
While none of the coaches were willing to admit it, it’s going to be a bittersweet moment for many of them if this is the last game they ever run out of the tunnel at Notre Dame Stadium.