Has Notre Dame Improved Its Offense For 2023, Or Taken A Step Back?

Irish Breakdown looks at the changes for the Notre Dame offense this offseason, and discusses if the Irish have improved

Notre Dame's offense has been overhauled in recent weeks, and the offense looks incredibly different now than it did a year ago. Notre Dame has zero coaches on the offensive side of the ball that were on staff prior to 2022, so we'll see a very different look on that side of the ball.

The question is this, with all the changes and the overhaul, is Notre Dame moving in the right direction on offense, or did they take a step back? We broke that subject down in great detail in a recent Irish Breakdown Podcast.

The show begins with an overview of the changes. Gone is former coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees, who headed to Alabama. Offensive line coach Harry Hiestand also departed, choosing to retire instead of returning for the 2023 campaign.

Those two coaches were replaced by Gino Guidugli (quarterbacks) and Joe Rudolph (offensive line). Tight ends coach Gerad Parker was promoted to offensive coordinator. For now, running backs coach Deland McCullough and wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey are set to return.

QUARTERBACK - Rees doubled up as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Guidugli takes over that role, and now the quarterbacks have a position coach whose primary responsibility is developing them. Guidugli really only had one pupil at Cincinnati, and that is Desmond Ridder, who went from being the No. 1657 player in the country to the starting quarterback on a playoff team, a third round draft pick and a starter in the NFL. Ridder passed Guidugli's Bearcat record for touchdown passes and total offense.

Ridder was an extremely raw player coming out of high school, and under Guidugli's tutelage he got better each and every season. Although Sam Hartman should benefit by having a focused quarterbacks coach, Guidugli could have his biggest impact with Tyler Buchner. If Guidugli can have the same success from a development standpoint with Buchner that he had with Ridder the Irish quarterback room in 2023 and beyond will be special.

The combination of having a dedicated quarterbacks coach, the arrival of Hartman, the signing of Kenny Minchey and Buchner returning to health has the Notre Dame quarterback room light years ahead of where it was a year ago.

OFFENSIVE LINE - This position is a bit more challenging to evaluate. Losing Hiestand is a major loss, and Rudolph has some major shoes to fill. Evaluating if the offensive line is in a better place isn't about Hiestand vs. Rudolph, or should I say Hiestand or Rudolph. It's about both.

A strong case could be made, and I make it in the show, that Notre Dame is better off along the offensive line now than it was a year ago at this time. The reason is simple, Rudolph is building on the foundation that Hiestand laid a year ago, whereas Hiestand was tasked with overhauling and building up an offensive line that had fallen on hard times.

For Rudolph, it's about taking what Hiestand did and building on it. I've come around a bit on my feeling with Rudolph due to a number of factors. A deep dive into the film room reminded me of some concerns, but also made me feel better about a number of aspects of as well. People in the profession I respect have also advocated for Rudolph and speak highly of him, which eased some of my concerns as well.

But at the end of the day, Notre Dame returns an extremely talented roster, that roster has Hiestand's DNA running through it, and Rudolph is an experienced coach that should be able to take the unit to the next level. 

COORDINATOR - Without a track record to point to it is impossible to say if Parker is a upgrade over Rees. We'll find that out over the next nine months. There are things I expect Parker to bring to the table that should be positives for the offense, but there just isn't the track record with him as a coordinator like we have with Guidugli and Rudolph at their positions.

Here's what we do know, Freeman has a great deal of faith in Parker. If you trust Freeman that should mean something.

Notre Dame returns a great deal of talent at running back and wide receiver, and those units are also significantly better now than they were a year ago. On the whole, it's hard to argue that Notre Dame isn't much further ahead now than it was a year ago on offense. Take the sloppy process out of the equation, and this reality should give Irish fans a lot of excitement about the future on offense.

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Irish Breakdown Content

2023 Scholarship Chart
2023 Football Schedule

Notre Dame 2023 Scholarship Offers
Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense

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