Notre Dame is coming off their bye week ranked No. 11 in the country with their eyes now set on Stanford. Throughout the first part of the season, the coaching staff has been a point of contention for a lot of fans. This has been prompted by Notre Dame's inconsistent play and an inexcusable loss to NIU. Here, I'll take a look at Marcus Freeman, Mike Denbrock, and Al Golden and review how each coach has been fairing so far this season.
Photo by The Irish Tribune
Head Coach - Marcus Freeman
Freeman's third year came with a lot of expectations. These expectations were born from a very talented roster and a rich history of success for Notre Dame coaches during the third year of their tenure. Freeman, now accustomed to the job, has brought in a new, vibrant energy to the program, and that showed in the opening game at Texas A&M where Notre Dame got this season off to a fantastic start. In that game, Freeman displayed a lot of growth as a coach. He showed his ability to motivate and encourage the players, a willingness to take chances, and all the nuance it takes to win a game like that. All of the praise Freeman earned from that win quickly dissipated when Notre Dame was stunned by NIU the following week. In a loss of that caliber, the blame often rests on the shoulders of head coach, and rightfully so. These are the type of games Freeman no longer has the luxury of sleepwalking through as he had done in the past. It is his job to have the players mentally and physically prepared for each and every game, and Freeman has shown a pattern of failure in this regard. Whether it was the players and coaches listening to all the hype, or overlooking their opponent, it is Freeman that must ensure consistency on a game-to-game basis. This has been the main critique of Freeman's coaching prowess throughout his short career as a head coach. He has shown that he can beat high level teams, but he seems to have a hard time getting his players to play above their competition when they are the superior team. There is no better proof of this than this than the loss to Northern Illinois. Before week six, Notre Dame was the only team in the country to have two ranked wins, but it is hard to celebrate that feat when their only loss is to NIU. After that very large hiccup, Freeman has done a good job weathering the storm. Notre Dame has managed to bounce back, and has now found themselves back in contention for a playoff spot. Freeman does deserve credit for the team's resilience, a trait that the seems to be able to instill in all his teams. As of now though, it still feels like this Freeman-led Notre Dame team has yet to take that next step.
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Offensive Coordinator - Mike Denbrock
Well, to start the season, this offense has been confusing to say the least. After a promising performance against Texas A&M, this Irish offense has been bogged down and very one-dimensional. Many of the offensive problems stem from Riley Leonard's struggles throwing the ball downfield. This has forced the offense to be predictable with its main source of points coming through the ground game. Denbrock came back to Notre Dame after a very successful stint at LSU, where he conducted one of the best offenses in college football history. Many were hoping that this high-powered offense would translate over to Notre Dame, but Denbrock and the rest of the offense is still trying to find their footing, ranking only 74th in total offense. Denbrock's offense does operate better with a mobile quarterback, which Notre Dame has, but there has not been a real downfield threat to keep defenses honest. In Notre Dame's most recent game, Denbrock may have figured out some things, though. The first half against Louisville was the offense's most complete half of the season. The combination of the pass and run was keeping Louisville on their toes, and Leonard even found Jaden Greathouse for a big play, resulting in a touchdown. Denbrock's offense was dynamic and hard to keep up with for a lot of the first half, but the second half showed a lot of the same old Notre Dame attack that was predictable and hard to watch. In the second half, Denbrock did have a stroke of genius that resulted in a Jeremiyah Love touchdown on a well executed screen play. It is this sort of play-calling and timing that this offense will need to continue to find to keep things fresh and explosive. One silver-lining has been Notre Dame's rushing attack, which ranks 13th in the country. Denbrock must find ways to continue to free up space for Love, Jadarian Price, and Leonard as defenses start to key in on them. The next challenge for Denbrock and this offense will be finding a way to play like they did in that first half of the Louisville game consistently. That offense is good enough to beat a lot of teams, especially paired with a suffocating defense. As of where things stand, it's not much of a stretch to call Denbrock's tenure thus far disappointing. Of course, recognizing that Riley Leonard is not Jayden Daniels, and that Notre Dame's weapons on the outside aren't up to par with what LSU has been producing are certainly a big part of why this success hasn't translated. As the season goes on, I wouldn't be surprised to see Denbrock adapt a lot faster to what is and isn't working for Notre Dame, and at the very least, produce a product that isn't nearly as one-dimensional.
Defensive Coordinator - Al Golden
Al Golden continues to be one of the most impressive coordinators in the entire country, as he coaches another dominant Notre Dame defense. This defense has been the biggest bright spot of this team, and continues to find ways to win games. Yes, this unit is loaded with talent at almost every position, and it is now showing its impressive depth due to Notre Dame's recent injury bug. Golden's defense has proved that it is also an incredibly disciplined and intelligent defense. If you watch closely, this defense is constantly in the right place at the right time, and there is not a single defender that is hesitant to make a play. This all comes down to coaching. Golden has given these defenders the confidence to play well, and they seem to believe in him. He's done an incredible job in preparing some of the underclassmen such as Drayk Bowen, Adon Shuler, Leonard Moore and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, who are now featured more prominently on a stout Irish defense that looks scary for years to come. Although offenses has proven this defense can give up yards at times, they quickly adjust and limit explosive plays. So far this season, Notre Dame's defense ranks ninth in the country in points per drive. Along with this, they rank eighth in scoring defense, only allowing 12.6 points per game. Notre Dame faced a dynamic offense in their most recent game against Louisville, but it was the defense that made the winning plays late in that game. This is the theme of Notre Dame's season thus far. It will be interesting to see if Golden and this defense can keep it up, but there has been no evidence this defense has any plans of slowing down. Golden's defensive scheme's and game-planning have been highlighted as some of the more intricate and difficult to face in the entirety of college football. Outside of a few injuries, it's hard to imagine this season could be going much better for coach Golden and his defensive staff.
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