Notre Dame football set to welcome back familiar face as OC

The Notre Dame football team hasn't been without an offensive coordinator all that long, but it looks like Marcus Freeman has already landed on the man he wants to replace Gerad Parker. Should the hire come to pass, it stands to reason Fighting Irish fans will be be quite happy.

First reported by Rivals' Eric Hansen, the Golden Domers are expected to hire LSU offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock as early as Friday afternoon. If the announcement does come today it would certainly show that Notre Dame opted out of a long search, despite having the time to do it now that Early Signing Day is over.

Of course, when the offensive coordinator that boasted the best offensive in college football this year is interested in coming to South Bend, it's not surprising that the search didn't look much farther. Denbrock also tutored this year's Heisman Trophy winner. His offense put up more than 46 points a game.

The Irish also got Denbrock to step away from longtime friend and compatriot in Brian Kelly. Just how that worked out is a tale that I want to hear. He's also stepping away from a big pay boost that came last year when he turned down Mississippi State.

Notre Dame football brings back familiar face for OC

Of course, it's not hard to understand why Denbrock would leave LSU for Notre Dame. And it's not just because he might be working with another Heisman contender in Riley Leonard. South Bend is where the heart is for the purported "new" offensive coordinator.

Relatively early in his coaching career, Denbrock served as the offensive line and tight ends coach from 2002-to-2004. After departing for a few years he returned to Notre Dame football in 2010 and stuck around through the 2016 season.

During that time period he coached tight ends, wide receivers, was the offensive coordinator and eventually the associate head coach. In 2017 he moved to Cincinnati and coached there until 2021, crossing over with Marcus Freeman in the process.

Now it appears he's back for a third tour with Notre Dame football. The hire continues what has been an incredible hot streak for Freeman who can seemingly do no wrong this offseason.