Notre Dame Football: 4 biggest concerns heading into Spring Practices
By Tyler Kruse
Notre Dame Football: 4 biggest concerns heading into Spring Practices
Coaching
Coaching is probably the biggest concern heading into the Spring and next season. While all signs point to the hires being not only great fits but great coaches, nothing is guaranteed next year. The big trend for Notre Dame this offseason was hiring great recruiters.
Whether hired at various positions, coordinators, or the head coach, we will learn a lot next season.
The most significant coaching change is the head guy with Marcus Freeman taking over for Brian Kelly. Coach Freeman has a proven track record of being an outstanding defensive coach, but is he the guy to lead an entire team?
He recruits hard, cares about his players, and says all the right things. Those aspects alone are a huge first step to being the coach that Notre Dame needs.
Tommy Rees, who has been trending in the right direction, will still have quite a bit to prove. With Kelly heavily involved in the offense during his time with the Irish, Rees will now have autonomy in his role. The need to fill defensive coordinator still exists, and there’s a new special teams coordinator in Brian Mason from Cincinnati.
While it’s great to have outstanding recruiters as positional coaches and coordinators, coaching those kids is essential. Notre Dame has a lot of work to do to be a cohesive group with all the moving pieces this offseason. That said, Marcus Freeman seems to be just the guy.`