Gerad Parker Gives A Glimpse Into The Notre Dame Offense Moving Forward

Notre Dame offensive coordinator Gerad Parker gave a first glance look at what the offense will look like moving forward

Notre Dame fans were introduced to new offensive coordinator Gerad Parker, and the tight ends coach turned coordinator gave those fans an initial glimpse into what things will look like moving forward. 

Parker did an admirable job of making sure any discussion about what he wants to do moving forward isn't about a negative view of the coach he's replacing, Tommy Rees. He laid out a vision about what he believes an offense will and should look like, and it wasn't looking backwards.

This focus on the future without being critical of the past gave us a good view of what he believes, even more than any specifics of how different it will be. In fact, some things will remain the same while also looking to make the offense better.

"By formation, by the way we line up, by the way we get things going in and out of the huddle, those things will look similar and to adjust and grow is one of our golden standard things, and we'll do that," Parker explained. "We'll find ways to make sure it fits what we do. But also, there's ways we can enhance what we're doing and take a step in our passing game or our run phase or how we operate against highly-loaded boxes in the run game, and all those things will come up."

When Parker talks about operating against highly-loaded boxes in the run game he's partly referring to running more RPO (Run Pass Option) concepts, something we didn't see much of in 2022.

Of course, the foundation of the offense will look very familiar to Notre Dame fans. It's what any great Notre Dame offense must be about ..... big boys.

"The thing that we know we are built in is we want to be built O-Line driven, and we're going to be built from inside out," Parker stated. "With what we have returning up front, and with our running backs and tight ends to be able to control a box, that's where it always has to start."

One of the challenges for coaches is making sure there is enough scheme volume to attack opponents and keep them off balance, while also keeping things simple enough that players can absorb the offense and play it at a technically proficient level. 

Parker is aware of this challenge, and it will be something he and the staff try and find a balance that players can thrive with.

"I think the motivation moving forward will be what can our players do best, and how do we make the ball go forward and gain yards and score points?" Parker noted. "If the answer to that question is yes, with any scheme we broach, then we're going to do it. If the answer collaboratively is no, or it's too much, then we'll dump it, we'll move forward, keep things as simple as we can, and continue to let our guys make our plays work, which is going to be a big thing that I've shared already with the guys."

Of course, there are the details you expect out of any quality offense, which in some ways ties into scaling back the volume of the offense.

"We want our guys to take care of the football, we want them to have effort with physicality, we want them to play with great details and make our plays work," explained Parker. "So sometimes we'll cut the amount of plays, and more look at making our plays work against multiple fronts and coverages so our guys are confident play fast. So that would be where I would start."

All of this is geared towards one goal .... scoring more, which means winning more.

"We want to score more points than we did last year, and next year, we're going to want to score more points than we did last year," noted Parker. "That's the deal. I think, too, the one thing I want to make sure to say before my time is done here, we have great players and trust in our players."

Parker certainly said all the right things during his opening press conference, and he is clearly a confident coach with a strong belief in what is key to success. The next step is Parker getting buy in on the player level and developing a championship caliber offense.

Irish Breakdown Fans be sure to get your Notre Dame tickets from SI Tickets HERE

Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge

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

———————

Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.

BECOME A MEMBER

Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!

Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @CoachD178
Follow me on Gettr: @IrishBreakdown
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook

Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter