The transition from Al Golden to Chris Ash as the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame didn’t go as smoothly as most would have hoped. In fact, there were enough struggles at the beginning of the season that the new DC came under quite a bit of fire, with the harshest of critics wondering if Week 4 was too early for Marcus Freeman to take defensive playcalling away from him. And then a funny thing happened. The Irish defense became dominant. It became dominant seemingly overnight.
With all that in the recent past, Ash knows that he can’t have a repeat of 2025. He needs his unit to be sharp out of the gate. The good news is that the defensive coordinator also believes he knows exactly how to make sure that sort of thing doesn’t happen this year.
For Notre Dame’s defense, it’s all about familiarity. He knows his players better now after a full season, a second spring and watching lots and lots of film. “I know what they need, and last year I didn’t,” Ash told Rivals’ Tyler Horka. “This year I know what each individual needs from a coaching standpoint, what we need to focus on and make sure we emphasize."
There are bound to be some Irish fans who take those kinds of comments as something to worry about. That Ash should have somehow known how to do everything last year. Those people tend to forget that college coaches really don’t have all that much time with their players before the season starts.
Chris Ash says familiarity will sharpen Notre Dame defense from Week 1
He spent his first spring last year really just learning everyone’s name and starting to look and see who should start and who should back up. The fall was more of the same, while also trying to install his defense. There were some rocky moments against Miami, Texas A&M, and Purdue, especially.
This year, Ash has one of the best defenses in the country on paper, while also understanding his group better. He knows how his cornerbacks are better and where his safeties need to help out. He has an idea of which rush ends will get him the best performance.
All of this should mean that a Notre Dame defense that turned into one of the best in the country will start that way in 2026. It’s just another reason to believe that the Fighting Irish could offer something that has been a long time since South Bend saw it.
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