Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM APRIL 2023 21 huskers went 5-7 in Bill Callahan's last season as head coach in 2007. Rudolph still went through a full 12 games in an on-field assistant role for the first time, though, which is another step in any (relatively) young coach's career. Rudolph's career really got going as a tight ends coach at his alma mater from 2008-11. The Badgers enjoyed three of the most successful seasons in program history in the final three of those years; they won 10 games in 2009 and 11 games in 2010 and 2011. Tight end Garrett Gra- ham led the team in touchdown catches with 7 in 2009. He ranked second in both catches (51) and receiving yards (624). Tight end Lance Kendricks led Wiscon- sin in receptions (43), receiving yards (663) and touchdown catches (5) in 2010. Rudolph oversaw their growth. Rudolph spent three seasons as the as- sociate head coach and offensive coor- dinator working with head coach Paul Chryst at Pittsburgh from 2012-14. That was the springboard for his second stay in Madison, Wis. He was the Badgers' as- sociate head coach, run game coordinator and offensive line coach from 2015-21. Wisconsin had five first-team All- Americans in Rudolph's first five sea- sons back with the program. That quintet of players were among the six on NFL rosters in 2020 whom Rudolph coached during their college careers. Wisconsin was a run-heavy offensive product during Rudolph's time there. And a highly successful one at that. The Badgers bludgeoned opponents for 6.22 yards per carry in 2018 and 5.33 yards per tote in 2019, fourth and 12th in the country, respectively. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman's consistent message is for the Irish to be a team built from the inside out with an emphasis on dominating both lines of scrimmage. Rudolph is the man to make that happen. "I always take a lot of pride in our lines," Rudolph told The Athletic in March 2022. "We did a really good job making sure we were sound — assign- ment sound, technique sound. What's that lead to? It put us in a pretty good position in terms of fewest TFLs, sacks, and put us on one of the better programs in the country. And that's something you maintain over time and you fight for. "That, a lot of times, comes from how you structure things and how you create it." ✦ Notre Dame Finds New Special Teams Coordinator, Quarterbacks Coach Success breeds opportunities. Notre Dame isn't a stepping-stone job for most coaches in the country. But there are still ways to advance a career by moving away from South Bend, and that's what former Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees did by taking the same job at Alabama. Let's all be honest; the Crimson Tide are in another stratosphere from Notre Dame in the last decade and a half in terms of on-field results, especially offensively of late. Rees made a decision rooted in self-promotion. And, about a month later, Irish special teams coordinator Brian Mason did so as well. He left March 4 to become the special teams coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts. It doesn't get any bigger than the National Football League. Both departures left vacancies on the Notre Dame coaching staff, even after Gerad Parker was el- evated to offensive coordinator to halfway fill the void left by Rees. The Irish still needed a quarterbacks coach with Parker assigned to the tight ends. They found one in Gino Guidugli, who left Wisconsin after just a couple months on the job. Notre Dame officially announced Guidugli as the program's next quarterbacks coach March 1. Four days later, multiple reports surfaced indicating the Irish will replace Mason with Marty Biagi from Ole Miss. Guidugli spent six seasons with Luke Fickell at Cincinnati before briefly working with him at Wiscon- sin. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was Cincinnati's defensive coordinator for four seasons when Guidugli was the running backs coach (2017) and quarterbacks coach (2018-20) for the Bearcats. Guidugli was instrumental in making former Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder a third-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. "I have seen firsthand his talent in developing quarterbacks and teaching them how to consistently perform at an elite level in college and go on to have success in the NFL," Freeman said in a statement. "He also brings a lot of experience in helping guide an offense to execute at a high level." Guidugli appeared on multiple credible lists as a possible replacement for Rees as an offensive coor- dinator. He was Cincinnati's OC last season. In elevating Parker while still bringing in Guidugli as a QBs coach, Notre Dame essentially got two for the price of one. While Guidugli has the comfortable position of working closely with the ACC's all-time touchdown pass leader in Wake Forest transfer Sam Hartman, Biagi will be pressured to keep up the production of last year's leading kick-block unit. Notre Dame tied with Central Michigan with 7 blocked kicks under Mason's direction. The player who got his hands on three of those in one game, Isaiah Foskey, left this offseason for the NFL Draft. Biagi was a special teams analyst for Notre Dame in 2016. From there he spent three seasons at North Texas and two at Purdue. Ole Miss had the country's No. 99 special teams unit last fall according to the FEI rankings. Notre Dame checked in at No. 6. The personnel and special teams culture Biagi inherits could be better than what he was working with in Mississippi, but there will be a demand for results that comes with that. Biagi also has to over- see the implementation of a new Notre Dame kicker and punter for the second straight sea- son. Punter Jon Sot and kicker Blake Grupe have both departed from the program. Fair or not, coaches are always compared to who they follow. Notre Dame has not been a bastion of quarterback production of late, so Guidugli has a chance to put himself in good graces from the start. Biagi, on the other hand, will have to seri- ously impress the masses to be put on the same pedestal Mason just used as a launching pad to the NFL. — Tyler Horka Gino Guidugli arrives at Notre Dame after six successful seasons as an offensive assistant at Cincinnati. PHOTO COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI