Slowly but surely, Marcus Freeman is getting his staff.
When Freeman took over, he inherited Tommy Rees as offensive coordinator.
When Rees left for Alabama, Freeman wanted Utah’s offensive coordinator, Andy Ludwig, but after the information was leaked, Notre Dame failed to seal the deal.
Freeman had to settle for Gerad Parker to be the offensive coordinator. Parker had been the Tight Ends coach. You can easily argue that Parker’s inexperience is why Notre Dame isn’t a New Year’s Day Six bowl. With Parker departing for Troy as their new head coach, Freeman had a chance to identify and get his guy, and he did just that.
Mike Denbrock will be returning to Notre Dame as its new offensive coordinator.
Denbrock and Freeman worked together as coordinators at Cincinnati. He joins Gino Guidugli and Mike Brown as coaches who coached with Freeman before coming to Notre Dame.
Denbrock led the number one offense in the country, with starting quarterback Jayden Daniels winning the Heisman Trophy.
Notre Dame’s offense struggled despite having quarterback Sam Hartman. Hartman was saddled with an underachieving wide receiver unit. Most of that unit entered the transfer portal when the university let wide receiver coach Chansi Stuckey go.
Duke transfer Riley Leonard will have more of a fighting chance than Hartman. Denbrock has shown he can leverage a quarterback’s mobility in the passing and running games.
The wide receiver unit has changed. Beaux Collins (Clemson) and Kris Mitchell (Florida International) are veteran wide receivers who will be with the Irish next season.
Even with the changes, Freeman should be comfortable with the familiar faces.
