With news breaking today that Notre Dame will soon name Al Golden as its new defensive coordinator, Marcus Freeman has finished putting his stamp on his first staff as a head coach. There was more churn than anyone expected given a major buzzword of the transition to the Freeman era was “continuity,” particularly on the offensive side of the ball. How well that unexpected makeover works will likely go a long way in determining Notre Dame’s fortunes in the 2022 season at least and possibly well beyond.

When Notre Dame held that triumphant introductory press conference for Freeman, he left no doubt as to what he sees as the most important element of success in college football: recruiting. Over and over again, in that conference and since, he has stressed how critically he views recruiting acumen not just for the program as a whole but for each of the assistant coaches. In fact, when talking about assistants in his first official remarks as the head man, he went so far as to say that if you weren’t an effective recruiter this wasn’t the program for you.

That philosophy is clearly on display in all the moves that Freeman made with this new staff. The one addition who could possibly be seen as not the most elite recruiter coaches a position where (a) technical coaching chops are far more important than other positions and (b) his reputation for development is so massive that elite talent searches him out. Of course it’s a results-oriented business, and the truest test of Freeman’s decisions will be whether these guys actually burn it up on the recruiting trail – and whether he has sacrificed anything in on-field coaching acumen chasing that recruiting ability. Time will tell, but for now, the 18S consensus is that this staff is a clear upgrade on the trail and in wait-and-see mode on the field.

The Staff

Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks

Previous: Tommy Rees
Current: Tommy Rees
Coaching experience: Northwestern GA, San Diego Chargers offensive analyst, Notre Dame QB
Playing experience: Notre Dame, QB, 2010-13

Holding on to Rees was a key element of the transition plan from Brian Kelly to Freeman, in part due to Freeman and Jack Swarbrick’s confidence in Rees and in part due to their desire for continuity within the program. Rees did a couple of media appearances after Kelly’s hasty exit, most notably a couple of interviews with Ryen Russillo and Barstool, in which it was apparent that he was very close to following Kelly to Baton Rouge. Ultimately Rees felt too much of a pull to Notre Dame and the group of kids he was charged with, as he made clear in this impassioned viral speech to the team:

New Miami head coach Mario Cristobal, who interviewed Rees for the Oregon OC job before hiring Joe Moorhead, made a run at Rees for the Miami OC job a couple of weeks ago and reportedly pivoted to land former Michigan OC Josh Gattis when Rees turned him down. There were rumors of potential interest from the Rams for their vacant OC position as well, which isn’t as outlandish as it might seem since McVay and Rees crossed paths in Washington in 2014. And, as we’ve assured many people many times, Rees is thought of much more highly outside the Notre Dame fan bubble than he is inside… It’s far too early to have a good read on what the Rams are going to do but it seems more likely they’ll head in another direction. Even if they do, though, we wouldn’t expect Rees to be at Notre Dame for more than another year or maybe two at the most.

Running Backs

Previous: Lance Taylor, took Louisville OC job
Current: Deland McCullough
Coaching experience: Indiana RB, USC RB, KC Chiefs RB, Indiana RB/AHC
Playing experience: Miami (OH), RB, 1992-96

The loss of Taylor was a major blow to staff continuity, but we believe Freeman hit a home run in replacing him with McCullough. McCullough is widely considered one of the top running back coaches in the country; in fact, Pete Sampson noted that last year McCullough was top five nationally in compensation for the position. Shortly after his rumored hire by Notre Dame the New York Giants made a serious run at him, which he ultimately turned down in the belief that the Notre Dame job provided a clearer path to a head coaching position. If anyone was wondering, other teams making runs at your assistants is a positive sign… Something else to watch with McCullough is that his sons may ultimately come to Notre Dame with him, although that’s far from certain at this point. His oldest, Deland II, is a reserve defensive back at Indiana. His middle son, Dasan, just enrolled for his freshman year; Dasan is an edge rusher who, at #75 overall in the 2022 247 Composite, is Indiana’s highest ranked signing ever. Dasan had a Notre Dame offer and was committed to Ohio State, until Deland got the Indiana job. Finally, his youngest son, Daeh, is a four-star cornerback in the 2023 cycle and could soon emerge as an Irish target.

Also, if you have a few minutes, definitely check out this ESPN profile on McCullough from 2020. And have some tissues ready.

Wide Receivers

Previous: Del Alexander, not retained
Current: Chansi Stuckey
Coaching experience: Clemson GA/analyst, Baylor WR
Playing experience: Clemson, WR, 2002-06; NY Jets, 2007-09; Cleveland Browns, 2009-10; Arizona Cardinals, 2011; Toronto Argonauts, 2012

Alexander was a favorite target of fan ire for, charitably, up and down recruiting results. Landing Lorenzo Styles, Deion Colzie, and Jayden Thomas in 2021 and Kevin Austin and Braden Lenzy in 2018 was good, but there were precious few highlights on the trail outside of that. There are no receivers on the roster now from the 2019 and 2020 classes – all either left the program or moved to defense – and the 2022 class that should’ve had three or four commits ended up with one. Not all of that is Del’s fault necessarily, but as we said above, it’s a results-oriented business and the results just weren’t there. Stuckey is much lighter on experience than Alexander but brings what seems to be a more dynamic personality on the trail and NFL experience that catches the attention of current Irish players and prospects. He earned rave reviews in his one year with Baylor’s wideouts – we’ll see how well it carries over to a bigger stage.

Tight Ends

Previous: John McNulty, took Boston College OC job
Current: Gerad Parker
Coaching experience: Kentucky GA, Tennessee-Martin PGC/RC, Marshall WR, Purdue WR/TE/RC (and interim HC for six games), Duke WR, Penn State WR, West Virginia OC/WR
Playing experience: Kentucky, WR, 2002-06

The loss of McNulty is one that I think could be sneaky-big given his chemistry with Rees. McNulty and Rees first crossed paths in San Diego and really hit it off, which is why Rees wanted him at Notre Dame. McNulty had experience as a coordinator, most notable calling plays for Rutgers during their great early 2000s run under Greg Schiano. He was a valuable, veteran resource for Rees and his presence will likely be missed to some degree. That said, Parker has been around the block too and is well-regarded as a high-energy guy. Neal Brown handled most play calling duties for the Mountaineers last year, so how much he can help with in-game stuff remains to be seen. But he’s a youngish-guy who nevertheless has an extensive resume, including time shared with Freeman on Darrell Hazell’s staff at Purdue.

Offensive Line

Previous: Jeff Quinn, not retained
Current: Harry Hiestand
Coaching experience: How much time do you have?
Playing experience: Springfield College/East Stroudsburg University, OL, 1978-80

Quinn was the other favorite target of fan ire, drawing heat because of his longtime association with Kelly. I’m firmly in the camp that thinks he was an above average position coach and a very good recruiter, with a number of the things that went wrong during his tenure not necessarily due to his own missteps. We don’t need to relitigate all that here, battle lines have been drawn and aren’t changing. What is certain at this point is that while he may not have done a bad job he, in the end, didn’t do a good enough job for a program that virtually has its pick of top offensive line talent from year to year. Quinn was replaced by the man he replaced, legendary OL coach Harry Hiestand, reportedly at the behest of Rees (which you would think would endear him to the crowd that never stopped calling for Hiestand’s return, but alas). The move was also met with acclaim from former Irish players like Deshone Kizer and Brandon Wimbush. The one knock on Harry in his first time around with the Irish was that he wasn’t the most willing recruiter. He would identify guys he really liked and often get them, but if he didn’t he wasn’t that into pounding the pavement for replacements. That’s a bit of a question mark still, but technical acumen is so critical for an offensive line coach and he’ll have so many strong recruiters around him, up to and including the head coach this time around, that it’s less of a concern.

Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers

Previous: Marcus Freeman, promoted to HC
Current: Al Golden
Coaching experience: Virginia GA, Boston College LB, Penn State LB, Virginia DC, Temple HC, Miami HC, Detroit Lions TE/LB, Cincinnati Bengals LB
Playing experience: Penn State, TE, 1989-91; New England Patriots, 1992

This hire was by far Freeman’s most deliberate – he took plenty of time vetting candidates and, eventually, waiting for the one he wanted. We don’t believe Golden was at the top of the board but we do think he was fairly high up, and Freeman was content to wait until the end of Cincinnati’s postseason run to nab his man. Running Freeman’s defense was reportedly a condition of employment; in fact that may have derailed the early candidacy of Iowa State’s Jon Heacock. There’s no worry about another defensive scheme transition for the kids on campus now. Golden had a good reputation as a recruiter throughout his time in the college ranks, and as recruiting ability is somewhat like riding a bike I think he’ll do fine this time around too. As noted by Ashton Pollard, On3’s Notre Dame beat writer:

A sneaky huge element of this hire is the fact that Golden brings a decade of experience as an FBS head coach and can serve as a critical veteran resource for Freeman while he learns how to helm a ship. It’s easy to lose sight through the veiled mists of time of exactly how moribund Temple was before Golden took over the program. In 2005, the year before Golden’s arrival, Temple went 0-11 with – look away if you’re squeamish – a -391 point differential. (That is not a typo.) In 2004 they were 2-9 with a -161 point differential. In 2003 they were 1-10 with a -168 point differential. They lost to FCS Villanova in 2003. They gave up 70 to non-Urban-Meyer Bowling Green in both 2004 and 2005. You get the point. They were really, really bad. Golden went 1-11 in his first season; three seasons later, he posted a 9-4 record and a conference runner-up finish, and garnered the Owls’ first bowl bid in 40 years. That turnaround earned him the Miami job, which ended up being an up and down adventure; given what we saw in December from that administration though, who knows whose fault that was.

Regardless, the point is, the man can recruit, he can coach, and he’s been there and done that. He’ll be an invaluable shoulder for Freeman to lean on in 2022.

Defensive Line

Previous: Mike Elston, took Michigan DL job
Current: Al Washington
Coaching experience: RPI DL, NC State GA, Slipper Rock DL, Elon LB, Boston College DL/RB/ST, Cincinnati DL, Michigan LB, Ohio State LB
Playing experience: Boston College, DT, 2002-05

Mike Elston sent shockwaves through the Notre Dame fan base when, shortly after turning down Brian Kelly’s ersatz Cajun overtures and publicly declaring his commitment to Notre Dame, he made a lateral move to hated Michigan. He’s a Michigan alum and had been passed over for the Irish DC job for the umpteenth time, so it’s not the hardest move to understand in hindsight, but boy was it surprising in the moment. Freeman wasted little time in targeting Al Washington, who Ohio State had just dismissed as LB coach. Ohio State’s linebackers weren’t great last year, but really their entire defense was a mess and Washington’s more natural fit is on the defensive line. Remember Harold Landry and how he terrorized offenses for Boston College? That was Washington’s work realized. Washington also has elite recruiting chops; his hire was applauded by five-star 2023 DL commit Keon Keeley and top 100 DL commit Brenan Vernon, and they may soon have blue chip company in the class too. We believe the Irish may have upgraded on the field here and definitely upgraded on the trail.

Cornerbacks

Previous: Mike Mickens
Current: Mike Mickens
Coaching experience: Cincinnati analyst, Indiana State analyst, Idaho CB, Bowling Green CB, Cincinnati CB
Playing experience: Cincinnati, CB, 2005-08; NFL practice squads, 2005-09

Safeties

Previous: Chris O’Leary
Current: Chris O’Leary
Coaching experience: Georgia State GA, Florida Tech S, Notre Dame analyst, Notre Dame GA
Playing experience: Indiana State, WR, 2011-14

If you’re curious, yes, Mickens’s one year as a defensive analyst at Indiana State was during O’Leary’s playing days there. Small world. Mickens and O’Leary join Rees to make the only three assistants who will serve in the same capacity for the Irish in 2021 and 2022. We know them, we love them (right?), not much depth needed here.

Special Teams Coordinator

Previous: Brian Polian, took LSU STC job
Current: Brian Mason
Coaching experience: Bluffton DL (D3), Kent State GA, Purdue GA, Ohio State GA, Cincinnati recruiting director (off-field), Cincinnati STC

Polian was one of the few staffers to follow Kelly to LSU – analyst Kerry Cooks and strength and conditioning assistant Jake Flint were the most notable others – but whether he followed Kelly or not, rumor had it that he would not be retained as part of Freeman’s staff. Much like with Quinn, I think Polian was probably fine as a coach and above average as a recruiter, but nothing to get too broken up about one way or the other. Freeman obviously has substantial history with Mason, who also has – you guessed it – a sterling reputation as a recruiter. Interestingly, Mason has brought in a grad transfer placekicker and multiple preferred walk-on specialists, so in addition to his recruiting chops it would seem he intends to significantly increase competition among the specialists.

Other Notable Items

Not an on-field coach, but Swarbrick’s first post-Kelly move and arguably his most important was to retain strength and conditioning coach Matt Balis. Balis is regarded as one of the absolutely best in the business; even so it was a bold move for Swarbrick to lock him in because new coaches typically prefer to bring their own strength coach. Balis has been a huge part of the reconstruction of Notre Dame’s culture and was an essential piece of the offseason puzzle… Chad Bowden, who was brought in before last season as a defensive recruiting assistant, has been elevated to the new off-field position of director of recruiting. Bowden is extremely popular with recruits and families and is a high-energy worker, a rising-tide-lifts-all-boats kind of guy. Big move… Finally, Freeman brought in an old friend from his Ohio State days as an analyst – James Laurinaitis, who won the Nagurski and Butkus at Ohio State, was a three-time consensus All-American, and had a productive seven-year career in the NFL. Is Laurinaitis being groomed for a position on staff? Is an old friend giving him a taste of the coaching life as a favor? We shall see…