What they're saying: Social media reacts to Notre Dame baseball hiring Shawn Stiffler as Irish head coach
Only time will tell if Shawn Stiffler was a home-run hire for Notre Dame baseball. But the immediate social media reaction by those who know him best and by those who will be rooting for him the hardest indicate he will be highly successful in South Bend.
Stiffler was officially hired by Notre Dame Tuesday after a decade and a half with VCU. He spent 10-plus seasons as the Rams’ head coach. He held a record of 352-207 there, including a 42-20 mark this past season. VCU went to three NCAA Tournaments during his tenure and punched a ticket to a Super Regional for the first time in program history in 2015.
He’ll be missed in Richmond.
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“A friend, mentor and brother” tweeted VCU assistant athletic director Danny O’Brien. “I can’t thank you enough for what you and your family have done for me. @NDBaseball got a great one and there’s no one who’s earned this more than @ShawnStiffler29. #GoIrish #RAMS”
“Could not be more excited for the Stiffler’s!” tweeted University of Lynchburg head coach Lucas Jones. “@ShawnStiffler29 is one of the best! Wishing him, Jen, Wade, Scout and Penn the luck of the (Irish)!”
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“I’m not in Richmond anymore, and I’m sad @ShawnStiffler29 won’t be either,” sports anchor Mitch Carr tweeted. “But congrats, coach! Well-earned! I hope you do really well EXCEPT against my ‘Canes.”
“I want to personally congratulate my friend and collegue, the man, @ShawnStiffler29 on his new opportunity,” president and CEO of the National Junior College Athletic Association Dr. Christopher Parker. “Job well done @VCUBaseball and the @NDBaseball is in great hands.”
Notre Dame football and baseball commit Drayk Bowen simply quote tweeted the announcement with a shamrock emoji.
The consensus is Notre Dame played its cards correctly in luring Stiffler away from a program he built from the ground up. He won’t have to do that at Notre Dame like his predecessor, Link Jarrett, but there was certainly worries among the Irish administration that if this hire didn’t pan out everything Jarrett did in bringing the Irish back to baseball prominence would be lost.
There are less such worries after securing Stiffler.
His work will start soon after he’s formally introduced on Notre Dame’s campus at 1 p.m. ET Thursday, if not before then. Five Notre Dame pitchers entered the NCAA transfer portal in the two weeks after Jarrett left for Florida State and Stiffler was hired. A former pitcher himself, his first order of business will be trying to retain at least of few of those valuable arms.
