Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1517388
18 APRIL 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY JACK SOBLE M ike Denbrock enjoyed Baton Rouge, La. He had a good job as LSU's offensive coordinator un- der a leader, former Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly, whom he respects and considers a friend. He got to work with three first-round picks at quar- terback and wide receiver last season and almost certainly had more in the pipeline. And, most importantly, he was in a position to compete for national championships. When Irish head coach Marcus Free- man called in December, though, Den- brock picked up the phone. "It's Notre Dame," Denbrock said Feb. 23. "I think you [reporters] that have known me forever know how much I love this place and what it means to me." Denbrock is from Homer, Mich., about an hour and a half from South Bend. His wife grew up in Buffalo, N.Y., which is certainly closer to Indiana than Louisiana. Those were factors in his de- cision to leave LSU and return to Notre Dame, where he previously spent 10 years as an assistant. He also remembered his experience working with, in his words, "the type of student-athletes that are attracted to this place, the high achievers that come through here." And he believes in Free- man's vision and leadership, which he saw first-hand at Cincinnati. When Freeman called, Denbrock had agreed to a new three-year contract with LSU that could have made his buyout too large for the Irish to handle. Everything was done, except board approval. Den- brock never put pen to paper. "The timing just happened to work out in our favor," Denbrock said. It worked out in Notre Dame's favor, too. Denbrock is all in on the Irish, and he's implementing a new brand of foot- ball, even if he's a familiar face. "He said the reason why he chose to come back to Notre Dame is the students, the athletes and being able to coach these guys," Freeman said March 7. "That meant a lot for me to hear, and I'm sure it meant a lot to our players here. "I'm excited to see him as the leader of our offense and excited to see what can happen with this offense." GETTING WITH THE TIMES For years, Notre Dame built its of- fense on its pro-style run game. The Irish liked nothing more than to line up with seven to eight NFL-caliber offen- sive linemen and tight ends, all but an- nounce a run was coming and dare the defense to stop it. Expect that to change under Den- brock. "We'll be probably a little bit more of a spread-looking football team than they've been the last couple years," Denbrock said. Under its new offensive coordina- tor, expect Notre Dame to deploy much more 11 (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers) personnel than it has in the past. That, Denbrock believes, will let the Irish run the ball against a lighter box. "The reason for [more 11 personnel] is — it sounds weird — to help out the run game," Denbrock said. "To help out the play-action game. To help out get- ting our athletes out in space and giving them the ability to make some explosive plays. That's what we're going to try to create." TAKING HIS TALENTS NORTH Mike Denbrock is back at Notre Dame, and he's ready to do things his way as offensive coordinator Denbrock plans to deploy more 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers) in an effort to get his playmakers out in space and give them the ability to make some explosive plays. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER