Notre Dame football: Clark Lea coaching his way into head coaching job

The Notre Dame football program has a special talent in defensive coordinator Clark Lea, who is coaching his way into a head coaching job.

The Notre Dame football team is sitting pretty with a 9-0 record, this after defeating the No. 19 team in the College Football Playoff ranking, North Carolina, on Friday afternoon. The Irish and Tar Heels had a back-and-forth battle in the first half, before a styling Irish defense held Sam Howell and company in check over really the final three quarters.

It was the kind of dominant defensive performance that will check a lot of boxes in terms of the CFP committee keeping the Irish as one of their top-four teams in the latest rankings. Coming into the game, the Tar Heels boasted one of the more explosive offenses in all of college football, leading the FBS in plays ten yards or more while putting up over 30 points per game.

Against Notre Dame, that certainly was not the case, as defensive coordinator Clark Lea had a terrific game plan, one they worked to perfection in the second half. In fact, the Irish looked so dominant over the final three frames that the Tar Heels looked pedestrian at best on offense, and that is a testament to the job Lea is doing in his role.

A lot of the headlines go to the offensive stars like Ian Book and Kyren Williams, but Lea has built up an elite defense, and they have stepped up big on the brightest stages.