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What’s old is new again for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame is reportedly set to hire LSU offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock to fill the vacant OC role in South Bend after Gerad Parker became the head coach at Troy.
“Denbrock has accepted the coordinator job, according to sources, and an announcement is expected soon,” ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg reports. “He has spent the past two years as LSU’s offensive coordinator under coach Brian Kelly, who came to LSU after 12 seasons leading Notre Dame.”
He returns to Notre Dame after two prior stints with the program. Denbrock served at the offensive tackle and tight end coach for Tyrone Willingham from 2002-2004. He then returned to South Bend when Kelly was hired in 2010.
Denbrock began his second stint as the tight end coach, helping develop stars Tyler Eifert and Kyle Rudolph. He later switched to wide receiver coach before being named the offensive coordinator when Chuck Martin left to coach Miami University (OH) in 2014.
His track record with the Irish was spotty at best as the offensive coordinator. But there’s no arguing his recent success. Denbrock helped coordinator the nation’s top scoring offense with the Tigers in 2023. He also helped lead quarterback Jayden Daniels to the Heisman Trophy.
Daniels is projected by some to be a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The hire is a big one for head coach Marcus Freeman entering his third year. Freeman initially named Tommy Rees his OC in 2022. But Rees, who struggled in the role, left following the season to join Nick Saban and Alabama.
Freeman then tried to hire Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig. But Ludwig’s buyout prevented the move and Notre Dame eventually settled on Parker.
Parker’s offense was solid, but unspectacular. Which is why many Fighting Irish fans celebrated when he left for Troy.
Now Denbrock is tasked with fixing the unit that has been Freeman’s biggest issue in his first two years.