Ahead of the Sugar Bowl against the Georgia Bulldogs, Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman addressed the media about a wide range of topics. At one point, the conversation turned to who on his staff is going to be moving on sooner, rather than later.
“It originated from when I was in college and Coach (Jim) Tressel did something similar where each week, we called it in an opponent expert. An assistant coach was supposed to be the expert of your upcoming opponent. I thought it was a great way as a player to hear somebody else’s voice, to hear some of your assistant coaches in front of the entire team.
“As a coach, it’s a great way for me to empower our coaches and give them the opportunity to be in front of the whole team, which not everybody gets the chance to do. It’s been great. They embrace it. They really look forward to it, and I think our players enjoy it,” the Notre Dame football coach explained.
Notre Dame football expects Mike Mickens to depart
“As far as Mike Mickens, obviously, we have a relationship that goes way back, even to high school. And the growth I’ve seen Coach Mickens make from Cincinnati to Notre Dame to where he’s at now has been tremendous.”
“He’s always been a great evaluator. I’ve said that from our time at Cincinnati when he was the one that stood on the table for (Ahmad) “Sauce” Gardner and some other guys. And the same thing at Notre Dame when he stands on the table for Benjamin Morrison and Leonard Moore and some of the guys we have.
“He’s a great evaluator, but he’s a great teacher. He develops some of the talent that he has in the room. He’s ready to be a defensive coordinator when he gets the right opportunity, but I’m not super excited to see him leaving our defensive coaching staff at any point soon.”
Until Mickens goes, the Notre Dame football team is hoping to get the most out of him as part of a defensive staff that has been top notch.