Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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98 MARCH 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED S uddenly, Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman has his own coaching tree, and a formidable one at that. Yet more significant to the big picture than the churn of assistant coaches the Notre Dame head football coach has had to deal with for the fifth straight offsea- son, is the consistent quality hires that creates that kind of demand. Consider that of the 10 full-time coaching hires Freeman has made since the 2022 offseason who have since moved on — including, most recently, longtime defensive assistants Al Wash- ington and Mike Mickens — seven will be coaching in the NFL next season. And four of those seven will be doing so at a coordinator level. Of the other three, one coach is re- tired (offensive coordinator Harry Hi- estand), one is a college head coach (of- fensive coordinator/tight ends coach Gerad Parker) and only one was a miss. That was purged wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey, who is bouncing back at Marshall, after being fired in Decem- ber 2023, and heading into his second season with the Thundering Herd. Two others were grad assistant/line- backers coaches when they were hired — James Laurinaitis and Max Bullough, the latter spending the final two years of his three-year Notre Dame run as the full-time linebackers coach. Both of those coaches are at their re- spective alma maters now, Ohio State and Michigan State, with promotions. Bullough was recently replaced by new defensive line coach Charlie Partridge, with Washington shifting to coach line- backers for Notre Dame for less than a month before joining new Miami Dol- phins head coach Jeff Hafley in Miami. THE COACHING CHURN CONTINUES Freeman quickly filled the vacant line- backers and defensive backs coaching jobs with replacements laden with coordinator experience as well as positional expertise. Brian Jean-Mary, just off a two-year run at Michigan, is Notre Dame's new line- backers coach and run-game coordinator. Illinois defensive coordinator Aaron Henry is Mickens' successor. He'll carry the nameplate of pass game coordinator as well as defensive backs coach. Mick- ens, after six years at Notre Dame, is joining the staff of new Baltimore Ra- vens head coach Jesse Minter. All of which can make some in the fan base feel uneasy, particularly when it comes to recruiting continuity. "I think the fans overreact to every- thing at Notre Dame," longtime re- cruiting analyst Tom Lemming offered. "Mike Mickens leaving is a big loss. But you look at Marcus' track record, and it's easy to have confidence he'll get someone who not only can coach but who can recruit as well. "Marcus doesn't have the national championships Nick Saban has, and they have very different personalities. But there are a lot of similarities there, including assistant coach turnover. They hire assistant coaches who work hard, have talent and have ambition. And those guys aren't going to stay in one place. "Why it works is Freeman is and Saban was the face of their recruiting opera- tions, so there's continuity there. They're not just closers. And when it comes to finding the next great guys, they have a backup list and are ready, because they know their assistants aren't going to stay forever. And Marcus supports that." Saban — the retired coaching icon from Alabama — did too, but he did a lot more pushing assistant coaches out the door than did Freeman. "They both hold their assistant coaches to a high standard," Lemming said. "But Nick is just hard to work for. Yet, guys felt like that was a fair tradeoff for what you'd learn in two or three years." Tommy Rees, one of three assistants Freeman retained from former Irish head coach Brian Kelly's staff, worked for both coaches, spending the 2023 season as Al- abama's offensive coordinator/quarter- backs coach before moving on to the NFL. Mickens and safeties coach Chris O'Leary were the other two retainees. O'Leary was recently hired as the Los An- geles Chargers defensive coordinator af- ter knocking on Notre Dame's door, per a source, after Al Golden left his job as Notre Dame's DC following the 2024 season. Washington was the last of the original 2022 Freeman coaching staff to depart. TRUSTING THE PROCESS "One thing people overreact to is when Marcus doesn't land who is perceived to be a No. 1 candidate," Lemming said. "He pivots well and finds the right guy. "Remember, Al Golden wasn't the first name you heard for a coordinator in 2022 and yet he goes on and wins a Broyles Award [in 2024 as the nation's top college assistant coach]. "Look at the general manager position after Chad Bowden left. They went after the guy at Texas Tech [James Blanchard] but ended up with Mike Martin. I can't think of a better fit for Notre Dame than Mike. "People will always want to come coach at Notre Dame, because of the prestige of the school. But what Notre Dame football is becoming under Mar- cus Freeman makes it even more at- tractive. You've got to feel good about what's next." ✦ Al Washington (above), who took a job with the NFL's Miami Dolphins in late January, was the last of Marcus Freeman's original coaching staff in 2022 to depart. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER Marcus Freeman's Growing Coaching Tree Is A Positive Eric Hansen covers Notre Dame athletics for On3, with a focus on Irish football. He can be reached on X @ EHansenND THE DEEP READ ERIC HANSEN