Now that the Notre Dame football team has a new defensive coordinator, the biggest question surrounding the program, is just how much is going to change on that side of the football field. Chris Ash comes to South Bend with a decent resume as a defensive coordinator, even if he didn’t find much success as a head coach. But he’s also stepping into some big shoes to fill with the departure of Al Golden, who oversaw one of the best defenses in the sport the last two years.
Ash has already talked about wanting to “simplify” the Irish defense. He believes this will “elevate” his new charges to another level. It appears there’s another way to elevate the defense in South Bend. They’re going to mix in some other approaches beyond the vaunted man-to-man attack Golden ran.
“Everybody in the country last year knew we were playing man every snap,” Safety Adon Shuler told the gathered media after a recent practice. “(Playing zone) would help us be more versatile. That’s what they look at for the next level as well: Can you play zone? Can you play man? This defense will help me be a complete safety.”
Chris Ash bringing zone looks and versatility to Notre Dame football
At least part of the reason why the Notre Dame football team is looking at moving away from man-to-man every down is because of the changes coming in the secondary. Benjamin Morrison and Xavier Watts are headed to the NFL. Ash needs to find replacements.
It might be easier to cover those lossesby changing things up every now and then. Head coach Marcus Freeman seems to be on board.
“We’ll decide after spring and in the summer and fall camp what we’ll hang our hats on,” he said. “But I think it’s been a commitment from Coach Ash, the whole defensive staff and myself on down to say, ‘OK, let’s continue to find ways to enhance the way we play zone.’“
So the answer to the question of, what will Chris Ash’s defense look like compared to Al Golden, is that it will look different. Notre Dame football fans might be nervous about that at first. It will certainly require some patience at the beginning, but could be quite a bit better in the long run.