Blue and Gold Illustrated

March 2014

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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BY DAN MURPHY B rian Kelly's search to fill the holes in his coaching staff started with himself. Where did he want his offense to go? Who was going to take it there? The fifth-year head coach decided it was time to go faster, and he was the one to put his foot on the ac- celerator. In 2014, Kelly will take even more of a public ownership stake in the offense he designed at previous suc- cessful stops. He believes he, at long last, has the players he needs to make it work in South Bend. And now he has a fresh supporting cast around him to try to put into action. In January, he hired Matt LaFleur, a young quarterbacks coach with a his- tory of tutoring athletic signal-callers in the National Football League. Kelly then gave the keys of his day-to-day operation to longtime assistant and new offensive coordinator Mike Den- brock, who has spent decades learn- ing the ins and outs of Kelly's offense. "If you've watched Coach Kelly's offenses in the past, they encompass an offense that's more in an attacking style," Denbrock said. "He likes to go fast. He likes to keep the defense on their heels. He likes to be very aggres- sive with what he does, and I think that's the direction we're certainly moving." Denbrock has coached a number of positions on Kelly-led staffs — from defensive coordinator at Grand Val- ley State in the 1990s to wide receiv- ers most recently. He jumped from tight ends to wide receivers in Notre Dame's last significant staff shuffle prior to the 2012 season. That year, Kelly focused his choices on creating a stronger offense. He added offensive line coach Harry Hiestand and flipped defensive as- sistant Chuck Martin to offensive co- ordinator. The result was a 22 percent increase in rushing yards per game (from 166 yards per game in 2011 to 202.5 in 2012) and an offense that could grind out wins while protecting rookie quarterback Everett Golson. Golson is done incubating now, and the Irish will rely on him to be the difference-maker in the high-paced offense. The nation's most potent of- fenses in recent seasons have been quarterback-centric. Schools such as Oregon, Texas A&M and Baylor rely on the new breed of dynamic, playmaking quarterbacks to rack up points and wins. Part of LaFleur 's new job will be to strike a balance between teaching fundamentals and ON THE ATTACK Notre Dame's revised offensive coaching staff wants to pick up the pace

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