How Long Will Chip Long Stay at Notre Dame?

The Notre Dame offensive coordinator is going to get plenty of looks for head coaching jobs real soon.

This past offseason, before Steve Sarkisian took the offensive coordinator job at Alabama, it was rumored that Notre Dame offensive coordinator Chip Long was going to take that position. Obviously, he didn’t. Still, it would have been a sign of Notre Dame’s current position in the landscape of college football. It would have indicated that the Irish continue to be a step behind the top tier of modern college football. Long didn’t leave, though, and that self-reflection was avoided.

Rumors, seemingly unsubstantiated, also swirled about Long and head coach Brian Kelly having a falling out. These fed fuel to the fire that Long may be on his way out. Also, fueling the the fire are rumors of Long leaving for a head coaching job instead of a lateral move.

This would make plenty of sense. Long has been an offensive coordinator at multiple schools now. And it’s not like the offensive coordinator at Notre Dame doesn’t get plenty of opportunities for head coaching positions. Even the worst of Notre Dame coaches can use their position to get a head coaching job. Charlie Molnar left Notre Dame to become head coach at UMass. He went 2-22, and now finds himself as the Wide Receivers coach at FCS Idaho. Simply put, having Notre Dame on your resume can get you promotions — even if you don’t necessarily deserve it.

That said, Long doesn’t seem to want to leave Notre Dame anytime soon. That’s his own sentiment. Long has said, “I don’t ever see myself leaving in a long, long time.”

Hopefully for the Irish, he means that. Long has had the Irish offense getting significantly better. Notre Dame finished 2018 ranked 32nd in total offense.  The Irish were also good for 31.4 points per game last season. With Ian Book in place as the starter for the entire off-season and going into the regular season, the offense should have excellent chemistry. It’s fair to expect Notre Dame to be a top-20 offense in 2019.

With the Irish offense improving, there’s only going to be more programs calling on Chip Long to lead them. There will certainly also need to be a compelling reason for Long to leave Notre Dame. It seems if Saban can’t lure away Long, no one will be able to for less than a head coaching job. Even then, with the tone of Long’s comments and his wife being from the area, a lot of head coaching jobs won’t appeal to Long.

If Long leaves Notre Dame anytime soon, it’ll be for a better-than-average, head coaching job. A team around the level of Pitt or Indiana makes more sense for Long than a G5 team. These teams could genuinely hire a coordinator without head coaching experience. Programs at the top of their conference would look for more experience than Long could offer. G5 teams won’t appeal to Long as a better job than Notre Dame’s offensive coordinator.

With any luck for Notre Dame, the right head coaching job isn’t around the corner. However, Long is a young, energetic offensive coach. That’s exactly what’s trending as a popular coaching hire. Plenty of programs will come calling, it’s just a matter of who and when.