‘A very bad look’: Notre Dame booster Tom Mendoza speaks out on offensive coordinator debacle
A prominent Notre Dame graduate and university booster sounded off on the circumstances surrounding the Fighting Irish’s search for an offensive coordinator. He’s just as displeased as the rest of the fan base.
Tom Mendoza, a business mogul and the namesake of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, sent out a series of tweets Wednesday morning to voice his opinion on how the Irish handled the courting — and eventual parting of ways without ever signing paperwork — of Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig in the last week.
Notre Dame brought Ludwig to campus in South Bend and put him in the public spotlight at an Irish hockey game with head coach Marcus Freeman last Friday. At that point, a deal with Ludwig to replace Tommy Rees as the program’s OC felt like a matter of time. It wasn’t. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Monday that Notre Dame ran into the obstacle of Ludwig’s buyout, reported to be $2.8 million.
The Irish were chastised on social media, message boards and in the mainstream media Monday night and all through the day Tuesday. Wednesday, Mendoza chimed in.
“Many have asked my thoughts,” he tweeted. “To be clear, I have not been involved & this simply my opinion as a fan. In business, when a critical decision had resulted in a poor outcome, we first focused on the process. If it was flawed we fixed it. In this case it was clearly flawed.
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“Simply put, before anyone is out in a plane or shown in public as “the guy,” all facts should be known and the decision agreed upon. Clearly that was not the case & the result was a very bad look for all involved on ND’s side.
“The only thing that will change that is a great hire. After the Eagles devastating loss Jalen Hurts impressed all by saying “You either win or learn.” Knowing Marcus as I do I am sure he agrees. The only thing that matters now (and sure his focus) is what happens next. #GoIrish.”
Not only are the Irish trying to clean up the mess made in not securing the deal on Ludwig, they still have an offensive coordinator — and offensive line coach hire, for that matter — to make with spring practices rapidly approaching.
Calmer waters have been had for the Blue and Gold.
