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Normally, when a team’s offensive or defensive coordinator leaves to become a head coach somewhere else, fans quickly begin to worry about how their team will replace them.
But that’s not the case with Notre Dame fans and former offensive coordinator Gerad Parker.
Parker, who became the Fighting Irish OC last offseason when Tommy Rees left for Alabama, was named the head coach of the Troy Trojans on Monday.
Troy hired him to replace to Jon Sumrall, who was recently named the head coach at Tulane.
But Parker didn’t exactly endear himself to fans in South Bend.
Notre Dame hired him only after botching the hiring of Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig. And it didn’t take long for Fighting Irish fans to turn on the clear second choice.
Notre Dame finished the season eighth in the nation in total offense. Which doesn’t seem too shabby for a first-year coordinator.
But the underlying numbers revealed an issue.
The Irish ranked 29th in the nation in yards per game. Again, not too shabby. But nothing too incredible either.
Their passing offense, led by transfer QB Sam Hartman, was even further down the line in 49th. Both red zone and third down efficiency numbers were middle of the pack and, as a whole, Notre Dame didn’t scare much of anyone offensively.
So, when it came time to announce Parker’s departure for Troy, Fighting Irish fans were ready to celebrate.
“Thank you! You will most certainly not be missed,” one fan tweeted.
“It’s a Christmas miracle,” wrote multiple others.
Notre Dame is now in the market for the new offensive coordinator for the second time in as many years.
But this time around, fans seem more than happy to be in that position. Whether that remains true after the hire is yet to be seen.