Notre Dame: Chip Long is not to blame for Offensive struggles

The Notre Dame offense has some issues, but they are deeper than the offensive coordinator.

A weird shift happened following the Notre Dame – Georgia game. The Notre Dame fan base started to attack and blame Chip Long for the offense going stagnant in the second half. Some criticized the play calling, while others flat-out want Chip Long fired.

Long doesn’t deserve all the blame for the loss, as Notre Dame struggled in a few areas. However, he is the key to success for for the Irish offense moving forward.

The Offense Under Brian Kelly

Chip Long didn’t have his best game calling plays against Georgia — I’m calling out the flea-flicker for starters. But he put together a great first half game plan. He also opened up the offense in the fourth to put Notre Dame in position to win. Instead of harping on one game, lets take a look at the offensive coordinators under Brian Kelly. The five coordinators are ranked by average offensive rank out of 130 teams based on points per game.

1. Chip Long (2017-present)  Average offensive rank – 30.3, PPG – 34.96
2. Mike Denbrock (2014) Avg. rank – 40, PPG – 32.8
3. Mike Sanford (2015-2016) Avg. rank – 43.5, PPG – 32.55
4. Charley Molnar (2010-2011) Avg. rank – 58.5, PPG 27.75
5. Chuck Martin (2012-2013) Avg. rank – 78, PPG 26.5

Even if you wanted to take the first three games out of the 2019 season for Chip Long, he is still tied for first. From 2017-2018, the Notre Dame offense averaged 32.8 points per game, good for an average rank of 33.

Chip Long is the best offensive coordinator Brian Kelly has had on his staff during his 10 years at Notre Dame. Some will claim that Notre Dame could get any offensive coordinator in the country, but 10 of the top 15 offenses in the country have an offensive minded head coach and I don’t think Lincoln Riley or Mike Leach are looking to move to OC.

Chip Long is running a top 30 offense during his first three years and that isn’t exactly easy to find. It took Brian Kelly 10 years to find an OC of this caliber, as Chip Long holds three of the top five offensive seasons during the Brian Kelly era.

Some will point out that Chip Long has failed to recruit explosive play makers. But don’t worry, I have some numbers for that as well.

Recruiting Rankings Under Brian Kelly

(Not every recruiting class is made the same. To keep everything even, I used the overall class ranking according to 247 Sports.)

Chip Long has had the benefit of coaching longer than any other offensive coordinator at Notre Dame under Kelly, but he has made use of his time. Since he arrived at Notre Dame, they have had an average recruiting rank of 9.8. Before his arrival, the Fighting Irish had an average rank of 12.14 from 2010-2016 and only had two top 10 classes. Notre Dame currently sits with three top 10 classes with the 2020 class at ninth. As mentioned above, this is the entire class and defensive players factor in. So lets look at specific players.

Notre Dame is set to sign two players given a five star rating in the same class for the first time since 2013. That year Jaylon Smith and Max Redfield were the marquee signings, but the latter was dismissed a few years after. We have to go even further back to 2008 when Notre Dame signed five stars Michael Floyd and Dayne Crist on the offensive side of the ball.

The 2020 class brings in a five star and the fastest recruit in the country — Chris Tyree — and five star receiver Jordan Johnson. These two are the game breakers that everyone has wanted in the Brian Kelly era. Tyree has the ability to score any time he touches the ball and Johnson is the highest rated receiver since Michael Floyd. But the offensive firepower doesn’t stop there. Chip Long has been either the primary or secondary recruiter for some other big names such as:

• 5 star APB Chris Tyree – rank 29 overall
• 4 star TE Michael Mayer – 52 overall
• 4 star OT Tosh Baker – 70 overall
• 4 star OT Quinn Carroll – 118 overall
• 4 star QB Drew Pyne – 173 overall
• 4 star WR Braden Lenzy – 215 overall
• 4 star TE Kevin Bauman – 250 overall
• 4 star WR Lawrence keys – 286 overall
• 3 star WR Jafar Armstrong – 471 overall

I didn’t touch on every player — this was just to show some notable names. The players from his early classes are starting to become key pieces and he is landing bigger names.

All of this to say that Notre Dame is on the right track.

I understand the frustration built up over 10 years and fans wanting to win now, but this is headed in the right direction and moving on to a different OC would just restart the process.

Chip Long is the Answer

As I mentioned, I understand the building frustration, as success is so close. But just look back to the 2016 season and the list of offensive coordinators that have come before Chip Long. Or go back even more to the days of Weis and Willingham.

Notre Dame has come a long way.

Notre Dame is not Georgia — they can’t just turn a program around in 12 months. They don’t have the benefit of being in a hotbed, the schooling is actually real and it is a cold climate school. Getting the recruits to Notre Dame isn’t as easy as it once was.

Moving on from Chip Long just as the five stars are starting to trickle in would be going back to square one. Matt Campbell isn’t giving up his head coaching job to come be the OC at Notre Dame.

Chip Long is the best offensive coordinator that Brian Kelly has had and he continues to improve. Notre Dame needs to hit that 35+ points per game mark to start playing with the elite programs. But as Long gets more of his players in his system, things will continue to improve.

Just hang in there and enjoy the ride because, Notre Dame is almost there.