Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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IN THE TRENCHES ANDREW OWENS Notre Dame offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach who served in that same capacity at Boise State last sea- son. He has never worked with Kelly, but his reputation has risen as one of college football's brightest minds in recent years. Prior to Notre Dame courting him, national champion Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer also ap- proached him. "I can't tell you how important it is for Coach Denbrock in his role [as as- sistant head coach] for him to oversee our offense and the development of that. Then to have somebody like Mike Sanford with obviously the energy and the ideas that he brings to the room; the day-to-day responsibilities that they have; and the collaboration necessary where there are no big egos but just one thought — whatever it takes to be successful. You can only do that with the right kind of guys, and we've got them on our staff." While Denbrock and Sanford dem- onstrated an initial lack of egos to put together the best offensive staff, the primary ego worth watching is Kelly's. He deserves credit for going outside the box this offseason and pursuing a bright mind in Sanford. It's natural to wonder, however, just how much the offense will actually change. Kelly has been a head coach for 24 seasons and the play caller for 23 of those campaigns. "That's something we're still kind of working through at this point," Kelly replied when asked which coach will call plays in 2015. "I don't think we've made a definitive deci- sion. "We're still in the process of really working through the offense, making any improvements to it. That's not re- ally on the priority list. We'll get to that. I think we want to get through the spring before we make any final deci- sions on that." If Sanford were going to call plays, it would've likely been promised to him during the hiring process. It seems unlikely that Kelly will relinquish that role considering the importance of 2015 for him personally and for the Irish program. Even if Sanford or Denbrock were to begin the season as the play caller, what happens if Notre Dame comes out sluggishly against Texas? How about a couple weeks later when there will be pressure to score points against Georgia Tech's triple-option attack. "My biggest thing is I want to con- tribute any way I can," Sanford said. "I know that's the company line, but I want to help enhance this offense and hopefully find, alongside Coach Denbrock and the rest of the offensive staff, the best ways to do things. I'm honestly not all that concerned with the other stuff. I want to win a cham- pionship." The smart money is on Kelly call- ing plays in the season opener and throughout the 2015 season while ac- cepting input from the fresh voice in the room. ✦ Andrew Owens has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since August 2013. He can be reached at aowens@blueandgold.com