Is Gerad Parker the answer for Notre Dame football OC?

Coach Parker is a great tight ends coach, recruiting the position well and coaching his guys. He consistently ensures the room gets together for team bonding. He seems like a guy the players enjoy being around. With Notre Dame football striking out on Ludwig, what are the chances Gerad Parker gets a promotion to offensive coordinator?

The odds of Parker getting a promotion are increasing daily with every new twist and turn of the OC search. Parker has had some experience as an offensive coordinator, just a couple of years ago at West Virginia.

In his first season as the lead guy on offense, West Virginia was 83rd in the nation in points per game at 26.5 out of 128 teams. They were 93rd in rushing yards per game, which contributed to some of their lackluster success overall as an offense. However, passing the football, they were impressive, checking in at 28th in the nation that year.

It was a similar story in 2021 for Parker, with slightly worse numbers running, passing the football, and scoring 25.2 points per game. It’s fair to say that he would have better weapons to work with as the head guy on offense for Notre Dame football, but the numbers are alarming.

By comparison, Notre Dame this past season was 98th in passing offense and 35th in rushing offense. It came in at 60th overall for total offense. If we’re being honest, Tommy didn’t have the best year ever and frankly had similar numbers to Parker at West Virginia. Do we want more of the same?

I think Parker is a great coach, and we’re lucky to have him as the tight ends coach for Notre Dame football, but there’s a reason he wasn’t considered Freeman’s first choice. Depending on who is hired and how this season plays out, the administration could have some big questions to answer. Only time will tell.