I know everyone is looking for names and lists, but at this point Notre Dame is understandably keeping things quiet. When names start getting leaked it can make it harder for a coach to interview. If a coach interviews and it goes public, and that coach doesn't get the job, he runs the risk of alienating current recruits or creating some issues at the school he is staying at.
So Notre Dame and the coaches Notre Dame is talking to at this point are keeping things very quiet. I have heard some names but until I can get more verification on the legitimacy of those names we'll keep them off the board. As soon as I get more info on specific names or get clearance to share what I do know I will share that information.
There are some things I do feel confident about.
This job has drawn a lot of interest from Division I and NFL coaches. People know the kind of talent that Notre Dame has returning to the roster, and the fact Chip Long proved he is more than willing to run the football has made this a far more attractive position. There are some candidates the staff has identified early on that it is pursuing, which I was glad to hear. This hasn't been a sit back and see who has interest situation, although the interest has been high. They are being very aggressive in pursuing OL coaches they believe to be game changers.
I expect Notre Dame to start interviewing candidates within the next week. I'm not sure if we'll hear the names of the coaches who actually interview for the reasons I mentioned above, but I do expect at least three coaches to interview for the job.
One candidate will likely be Jeff Quinn, an offensive analyst at Notre Dame the last three seasons. Quinn was an OL coach/OC under Kelly for over 20 years at Grand Valley, Central Michigan and Cincinnati. I would be quite surprised if he got the job, but I do expect him to get an interview.
Another name I expect to get an interview that I can share is Justin Frye, the OL coach at Boston College. Multiple sources have said there is some level of mutual interest on both sides.
A name floated to me today was Herb Hand, the OL coach at Auburn. Although I believe there to be some mutual interest between the two parties, I'm not sure how serious of a candidate Hand would be. Hand is a very good OL coach, no question about it. But Hand has moved around a bit over the last five years. He's been at three different schools, so I'd be curious as to why that was. He also worked with Gus Mahlzahn in the past and he left James Franklin - who had been with for six years - to go back with Mahlzahn.
That's all for now. Not going to just throw out every single rumor that I hear. I know some want that, but that's not how I plan to handle this situation.
So Notre Dame and the coaches Notre Dame is talking to at this point are keeping things very quiet. I have heard some names but until I can get more verification on the legitimacy of those names we'll keep them off the board. As soon as I get more info on specific names or get clearance to share what I do know I will share that information.
There are some things I do feel confident about.
This job has drawn a lot of interest from Division I and NFL coaches. People know the kind of talent that Notre Dame has returning to the roster, and the fact Chip Long proved he is more than willing to run the football has made this a far more attractive position. There are some candidates the staff has identified early on that it is pursuing, which I was glad to hear. This hasn't been a sit back and see who has interest situation, although the interest has been high. They are being very aggressive in pursuing OL coaches they believe to be game changers.
I expect Notre Dame to start interviewing candidates within the next week. I'm not sure if we'll hear the names of the coaches who actually interview for the reasons I mentioned above, but I do expect at least three coaches to interview for the job.
One candidate will likely be Jeff Quinn, an offensive analyst at Notre Dame the last three seasons. Quinn was an OL coach/OC under Kelly for over 20 years at Grand Valley, Central Michigan and Cincinnati. I would be quite surprised if he got the job, but I do expect him to get an interview.
Another name I expect to get an interview that I can share is Justin Frye, the OL coach at Boston College. Multiple sources have said there is some level of mutual interest on both sides.
A name floated to me today was Herb Hand, the OL coach at Auburn. Although I believe there to be some mutual interest between the two parties, I'm not sure how serious of a candidate Hand would be. Hand is a very good OL coach, no question about it. But Hand has moved around a bit over the last five years. He's been at three different schools, so I'd be curious as to why that was. He also worked with Gus Mahlzahn in the past and he left James Franklin - who had been with for six years - to go back with Mahlzahn.
That's all for now. Not going to just throw out every single rumor that I hear. I know some want that, but that's not how I plan to handle this situation.
