A look at the history of Notre Dame football’s DCs under Brian Kelly

Notre Dame football DCs: Clark Lea (2018-2020)

Now we come to the last man to hold the job under Kelly before Freeman’s arrival, and that is Clark Lea, who just did a magnificent job as the defensive coordinator. Lea was a linebacker coach for Elko before taking over as the main man on the defensive side of the ball, and he has had quite a run ever since.

Since taking over, Lea has helped steer the Irish to two undefeated regular seasons, which in turn landed them spots in the College Football Playoff. His defenses have been downright dominant at times, and in a season where the offense got a lot of the headlines, it was Lea’s defense that not only groomed JOK to become an All-American, but also safety Kyle Hamilton.

For Lea, his work with the Irish program helped put them back in the elite conversations, and he is a guy who is going to be hard to replace. Luckily, the Irish will likely not take a step back with Freeman, as he is one of the better young assistants in college football as well.

Based on what we saw during the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Lea actually did not do a terrible job against the Alabama offense. We wish him good luck as he takes on his first head coaching job at the collegiate level, but as Freeman ushers in a new era on defense, fans of the Irish have to be very excited about what he will bring to the program.