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Notre Dame Football – Sunday Morning Quarterback: New Coordinators Making Huge Impact

By Andrew Hall

SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 30: Ryan Smith #82 of the Miami (Oh) Redhawks is hit by Jalen Elliott #21 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish after a first down catch at Notre Dame Stadium on Seotember 30, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Miami (OH) 52-17. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 30: Ryan Smith #82 of the Miami (Oh) Redhawks is hit by Jalen Elliott #21 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish after a first down catch at Notre Dame Stadium on Seotember 30, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Miami (OH) 52-17. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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Offensive Coordinator Chip Long and Defensive Coordinator Mike Elko are making their presence felt immediately.

Winning the off-season rarely results in winning in the regular season. Frequently, teams will make a splashy trade or trendy hire that draws a lot of good will from the fan base. Notre Dame Head Coach Brian Kelly was definitely in this position seven months ago. He hired Mike Elko as Defensive Coordinator, one of the most sought after names in college football. Kelly also inked Chip Long, a coach who was considered one of the hottest young coordinators in the game.

In addition to making changes on the coaching staff, he altered the strength and conditioning staff by adding Matt Balis and David Ballou. All of these changes to the Notre Dame football program gave fans a lot of hope about the upcoming season. Rarely do these overhauls go well.

Notre Dame Offense

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But, it looks like these changes are paying off immediately for the Irish. On the offensive side of the football, the Irish currently rank 14th in the nation in scoring offense. Notre Dame is currently scoring 41.4 points per contest. Although the Irish still have seven games to play in the regular season, they could possibly average more points than any team in Kelly’s tenure in South Bend. The 2015 team scored 34.2 points per game.

Notre Dame’s red zone efficiency is the cause of their high point totals. The Fighting Irish currently ranked tied for first in the country in red zone conversions. The offense has scored every single time they have been in the red zone. More importantly, in the twenty-two red zone attempts, Notre Dame scored touchdowns on twenty of those occasions. The 2010 group finished 54th in red zone efficiency, Kelly’s best year in that category.

How are the Irish making this all happen? Running the ball better than the vast majority of teams in the nation. Notre Dame currently ranks 7th in rushing offense. The team is averaging 301.4 yards per game. Chip Long wanted to run the ball. His imprint on the Notre Dame football can clearly be seen.

Notre Dame Defense

Long is not the only coordinator making an impact on the Irish. Defensive Coordinator Mike Elko completely altered the defense. Since he landed in South Bend, he made the defenders more fundamentally sound and confidence in their assignments.

Last year, the Notre Dame defense allowed 27.8 points on average. Now, the Irish rank 22nd in the country in scoring defense, allowing an average 18.2 points per contest.

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How has Mike Elko done it? Turnovers. In five games this season, the Fighting Irish forced 11 turnovers. This total ranks 14th in the nation. Elko’s ball disruptions clearly impacted how Notre Dame plays every single day.

It is early but these two coordinators are turning the Notre Dame football program around, one day at a time.

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