Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2024 15 turbulent season for the Notre Dame offense ensued. The Irish had trouble moving the ball and scoring points against the upper echelon of teams on the schedule. In three losses, the Irish averaged 326.0 yards per game and 5.1 yards per play. Those numbers were down from 464.1 and 7.5, respectively, in their wins. Denbrock's splits in wins and losses while in charge of the LSU offense weren't as disparate. The Tigers aver- aged 555.4 yards per game and 8.7 yards per play in wins and 524.7 yards per game and 8.0 yards per play in losses. Turbulent just isn't a word Freeman would use to describe Denbrock's capa- bilities as an offensive coordinator. "I've seen with my own eyes the great offensive coordinator he is," Freeman said. "To get him here and a part of our program is exciting." Freeman said there were countless stare-downs across the practice field between him and Denbrock at Cincin- nati. He chalked them up to silent ad- missions of the counterpart's prowess. Signs of respect. From a pure football perspective, Notre Dame is adding someone who just gets it. And he's at his best when he's surrounded by other football minds who just get it, too. The Irish have plenty of those, from run- ning backs coach Deland McCullough to defensive coordinator Al Golden and more. It's worth noting Denbrock and new Notre Dame wide receivers coach Mike Brown also worked together on the same staff at Cincinnati. Freeman fell in love with the way Denbrock operates around coaches like Brown and players like the ones Denbrock made a point of flying to El Paso, Texas, to get to know them ahead of the Sun Bowl on Dec. 29. "You go into the locker room, man, and he's a team guy," Freeman said. "That's what I respect about Mike Den- brock. He is a competitive person. He finds a way to get his best players in- volved in what it's going to take to have success. "That's the thing. It wasn't, 'Hey, here's my system. Let's recruit to it.' It's, 'OK, who are the best players and how do we get them the ball and find ways to do things that fit their skill set?'" That's what allowed LSU to rack up 547.8 yards per game as a season-long average. Notre Dame posted 429.3. Denbrock had a lucrative extension from LSU on the table. He helped make Daniels the best player in college foot- ball. He could do it with someone else here, in theory. Riley Leonard, perhaps? Notre Dame has one year to do with Leonard, the prized transfer portal re- cruit from Duke, what Parker could not do with Sam Hartman coming in from Wake Forest. It was always a gamble asking Parker, with just two seasons of offensive coordinator experience and spotty play-calling duties within those couple of West Virginia campaigns, to be the one to maximize Hartman's sixth and final collegiate season. Freeman didn't have another choice after Notre Dame whiffed on Klein and Ludwig, though. Hiring Denbrock was not a whiff. It also wasn't all Freeman's doing. Free- man had plenty of pull, but Denbrock's draw to the program and place was also in play. He's just as fond of South Bend as he is Freeman. This will be his third stint as an Irish staffer. His previous two times on Notre Dame's coaching staff (2002-04 and 2010-16) spanned 10 seasons. Denbrock had everything he ever needed at LSU. But he didn't have an in- terlocking ND logo on his team-issued gear, and in the end that was enough for him to walk away from something spe- cial and make himself a part of some- thing even more so. "I told him, 'You've had a huge impact in your time at Notre Dame because of the way people talk about you when you were there,'" Freeman said. "He can't wait to get moved back to South Bend and get his family here, too." ✦ "I've seen with my own eyes the great offensive coordinator he is. To get him here and a part of our program is exciting." HEAD COACH MARCUS FREEMAN ON DENBROCK, WHOM HE WORKED WITH AT CINCINNATI FROM 2017-20 Gerad Parker Becomes Head Coach At Troy Gerad Parker was the subject of scrutiny from Notre Dame fans for the Fighting Irish's poor offensive performances in their three losses in 2023. The Troy Trojans must've seen right through those fans' whimpers. Troy made Parker its next head coach on Dec. 18. "Congratulations to Gerad as he takes on this great opportunity at Troy," Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said in a statement. "I have had the chance to work closely with Gerad for a number of years and what stands out to me are his leadership skills and how tirelessly he works to get the most out of his players. We wish Gerad and his family all the best on their new adventure!" Freeman appointed Parker as the tight ends coach on his staff ahead of the 2022 season and el- evated him to offensive coordinator prior to the 2023 campaign. Now he's on the move down South. The Troy job opened up when Jon Sumrall, who led the Trojans to a 23-4 record and two Sun Belt Conference championships in two seasons, left for Tulane. The Tulane job became available when, after eight years with the Green Wave, Willie Fritz left for Houston, which fired former head coach Dana Holgorsen in November. Under Parker, Notre Dame finished No. 29 in the country in total offense and No. 8 in scoring, with 39.1 points per game, in the regular season. The Irish struggled in some matchups against top de- fenses like Ohio State, Duke, Louisville and Clemson, but Parker's offense generated at least 40 points in each of the eight other regular-season games. — Tyler Horka Gerad Parker left Notre Dame to become the head coach at Troy. He spent two seasons on the Fighting Irish coaching staff. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER