Ranking The Notre Dame Coaching Hires By Toughest/Most Important Tasks
I don't think head coach Marcus Freeman anticipated needing to make seven hires when he was first named as the top man at Notre Dame, but that's ultimately what happened. Freeman nailed his first staff and put together a group filled with strong recruiters and talented coaches.
All seven coaches will play a very important roles for Notre Dame moving forward, but some coaches have a bit more challenging and/or important immediate tasks when looking at the 2022 season.
That was the topic of conversation for us in our latest Irish Breakdown podcast. After that breakdown we also spent some time talking about Notre Dame's press conference last week, with the focus on comments made by Freeman about Tommy Rees and comments made by Rees.
Here is a look at my ranking bottom to top:
7. Gerad Parker, TE - All of the coaches on this list have very important roles and have challenges facing them, but Parker walks into a situation where he inherits arguably the best player on the team (Michael Mayer) and a very deep depth chart. He has some important work to do when it comes to building up the depth chart, and in 2023 he could shoot to the top of this list, but of all the new coaches he is walking into the best situation.
6. Deland McCullough, RB - McCullough also inherits a very talented roster that combines a unique group of players. He'll have to build up a unit that must replace Kyren Williams, but the returning backfield is loaded. There is plenty of room for improvement for all the backs, and McCullough will need to break them of some bad habits, but the talent at the position is something any coach would love to inherit.
5. Al Golden, DC - Golden is this low on the list due mainly to the difficulty aspect. Being the defensive coordinator is obviously important, but he'll have a strong staff to work with, plus he has Marcus Freeman to lean on. A strong case could be made that his biggest challenge is as a position coach more than it is as a defensive coordinator. Or at least that's the case I would make.
4. Al Washington, DL - There will likely be some push back to me having Washington this high when you consider he returns a very deep depth chart with two of the teams better players in Isaiah Foskey and Jayson Ademilola, and he can go 10 deep this season. The challenge in front of Washington is two-fold, with the first being to get Foskey and Ademilola to raise their games even more and give them an enhanced repertoire. The second is to replace a pair of captains, which won't be easy.
Washington also ranks this high on part because of the importance of his task. Look, if Notre Dame is going to have a championship caliber defense in 2022 it will require the defensive line to play at an elite level, and Washington is responsible for getting that unit to play to that level.
3. Brian Mason, ST - Mason is high up on this list for a few reasons, but the first is that he must carry out an attitude and cultural change when it comes to special teams. Notre Dame's lack of emphasis on special teams combined with having a subpar coordinator kept the unit from maximizing its potential. Mason will be tasked with getting complete buy in, changing the culture and then getting all the units to play at a much higher level.
2. Harry Hiestand, OL - Hiestand certainly has a challenging task in front of him, and there is no doubt it is incredibly important. A case could be made his job is the most important, but it's not quite as challenging as the next one. Hiestand has to break down a lot of bad habits and change the mentality of the offensive line. If Notre Dame is going to be a championship caliber team he needs to completely rework the line from an attitude and technical standpoint.
The good news for Hiestand is that he inherits a very talented roster. We discuss the importance of Hiestand developing a strong bond with Blake Fisher, and we also spent some time reading into the fact Hiestand looked so refreshed and energized and discussed why that could be.
1. Chansi Stuckey, WR - No one has a tougher task than Stuckey, and I'm of the belief that no one other than Hiestand has a more important task. Like Hiestand, Stuckey has to reshape the culture of the unit and he has to remake the unit from a technical standpoint. Stuckey inherits a group that has talent but lacks depth. He'll need to get his unit to take pride in their craft, build up their confidence and get them to play to their potential.
Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge
Irish Breakdown Content
Notre Dame 2021 Roster
Notre Dame 2021 Schedule
Ranking The 2022 Signees - Offense
Ranking The 2022 Signees - Defense
Notre Dame 2023 Class Big Board
———————
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.
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
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook
