Ex-Notre Dame football coach starts new career in worst way possible
It’s safe to say after the Fighting Irish beat Texas A&M this weekend, no one with the Notre Dame football program is missing former offensive coordinator Gerad Parker all that much. It’s possible you can’t say the same for Parker after he got off to a rather ignominious start with his new squad.
Over the offseason, Parker took the job as head coach of the Troy Trojans, opening the door for the return of Mike Denbrock at Notre Dame. While Denbrock and Freeman are busy celebrating a 23-13 victory over Texas A&M, Parker is looking for answers.
Following an 11-3 season that saw its head coach get hired away for bigger and better things, Troy like still thought things were going to go a bit better in Parker’s first game than an ugly loss to a sub-par Nevada squad. Insead, the former Notre Dame football coach starts his head coaching career 0-1.
Adding insult to injury, the Trojans held a 14-6 halftime on Saturday. If they weren’t super impressive, they appeared to be taking care of business.
Ex-Notre Dame football coach Gerad Parker starts new career in worst way possible
However, the Wolfpack forged a furious comeback in the second half, outsourcing Troy 22-12 and winning the ball game 28-26.
I suppose there is some consolation for Parker, with his offensive coordinator background that it’s clear the offense wasn’t the problem. His new team’s attack, led by quarterback Goose Crowder had 391 yards of total offense.
Unfortunately, his defense allowed 393 yards. And as Parker is sure to find out if he hasn’t already, the head coach is held responsible for all aspects of his team, not just the part he’s best known for.
The loss is even less palatable when you consider Nevada is coming off a 2-10 2023 season and wasn’t expected to be much better this year.
On the flipside, they did manage to lead most of the way in their Week 0 matchup against SMU before fading down the stretch and eventually losing.
Things aren’t going to get any easier for the former Notre Dame football team in near future either. Next week, Troy travels to Memphis and then to Iowa to take on a Hawkeyes team that might have finally figured out how to play offense.