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The interwoven coaching staffs for Notre Dame football and Cincinnati

By Daniel Morrison

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 25: Head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish complains about a play during a game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Soldier Field on September 25, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. Notre Dame defeated Wisconsin 41-13. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 25: Head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish complains about a play during a game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Soldier Field on September 25, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. Notre Dame defeated Wisconsin 41-13. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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Cincinnati Bearcats offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock directs a drill during practice at the Higher Ground training facility in West Harrison, Ind., on Monday, Aug. 9, 2021.Cincinnati Bearcats Football Camp
Cincinnati Bearcats offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock directs a drill during practice at the Higher Ground training facility in West Harrison, Ind., on Monday, Aug. 9, 2021.Cincinnati Bearcats Football Camp /

The interwoven coaching staffs for Notre Dame football and Cincinnati

Mike Denbrock

Those two, Kelly and Freeman, are the main two coaches who are going to be focused on, but why shouldn’t more attention be given to Mike Denbrock? Denbrock is Cincinnati’s current offensive coordinator, but he has worked with Brian Kelly since his Grand Valley State days.

Denbrock was the offensive coordinator and Grand Valley State from 1992-95, before switching to the defensive side of the ball until 1998. He and Kelly divorced at this point, during that time Denbrock worked several jobs, including as tight ends coach under Tyrone Willingham at Notre Dame. When Kelly took the Notre Dame job in 2010, he brought in Denbrock to coach a variety of roles, who stayed through 2016, landing the offensive coordinator job at Cincinnati in 2017.

How much will his knowledge of Kelly help him prep for Notre Dame’s defense? How will Freeman and Debrock’s relationship impact how they coach this game? These are important questions that really do need to be answered before Saturday.

It’s also wondering how much these storylines matter to begin with. After all,  coaches go from one job to another all the time. This isn’t uncommon and coaches are used to dealing with this as a problem coming into games. So, why should this be different? The names are just bigger.

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