Notre Dame Defensive Staff Has A Golden Opportunity To Shine In 2021

There are challenges in front of the Notre Dame defensive staff, but if they thrive it could mean big things for them

Notre Dame must replace five important starters and the defensive coordinator that fueled the team's success the last three seasons. Those losses create major challenges for the Notre Dame defensive coaches, who are now led by coordinator Marcus Freeman.

But where there are challenges there are also opportunities. Notre Dame returns plenty of talent, and keeping the defensive success going - or making it even better - could cement several coaches as truly the best in the business at their positions.

In the latest Irish Breakdown podcast we talk about the challenges that await the Notre Dame defensive coaches and why we are so optimistic that those challenges will be met, and the Irish defense will continue playing at a high level.

This episode begins with a discussion about the expectations for the Notre Dame defense, followed by what challenges await Freeman as he looks to build trust with the players on that side of the ball. That is followed by a breakdown of the defensive line, and how strong play from that unit this season could - and should - vault Mike Elston into the upper echelon of defensive line coaches.

We then talk about cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens, and how his presence will make the transition into the Freeman defense much easier. During the talk about Mickens we also discuss freshman cornerback Ryan Barnes, who is a big-time sleeper in the 2021 class.

The conversation then moves onto first-year safeties coach Chris O'Leary, and we wrap things up by discussing Brian Polian and the Notre Dame special teams.

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