I think the most telling part of his Sunday Conversation

by scriptcomesfirst , Monday, March 23, 2009, 08:06 (6337 days ago) @ Spesh

was the aspect of realizing the difference between college freshman/sophs and NFL rookies. I'm sure coming in, he subconsciously thought of them as similar. This fact was somewhat obscured because he was fortunate enough to have very few underclassmen issues to deal with in 2005-06, but they bit him in the ass in 2007. From an "on field" perspective, he made his rookie mistakes in his 3rd year rather than his first.

This also contributed to guys like Latina not being perceived as a weakness until late in the game. It was only when ND had youthful players that needed to be taught a considerable amount that some of the coaching weaknesses were identified.

At least that is my take.