Current:Home > ScamsNotre Dame football grabs veteran offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock away from LSU -Momentum Wealth Path
Notre Dame football grabs veteran offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock away from LSU
View
Date:2025-04-17 21:08:22
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame football's offensive coordinator spot didn’t stay open very long.
Highly regarded play-caller Mike Denbrock is leaving LSU after two seasons to return for a third stint at Notre Dame, according to multiple reports. Although Denbrock has spent 16 seasons working for LSU coach Brian Kelly, the Homer, Michigan, native also got to know Irish coach Marcus Freeman during their four seasons in coordinator roles at Cincinnati (2017-20).
Kelly confirmed in a statement Friday that Denbrock would not coach the nation's highest-scoring offense (46.4 average) in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Wisconsin on New Year's Day. Instead, the LSU statement noted Denbrock had "departed the staff to take a position at another school."
Denbrock reportedly agreed to a contract extension on Dec. 6 after overtures from Texas A&M, but the deal was never signed. The LSU Board of Supervisors did not discuss an extension for Denbrock at its quarterly meeting on Dec. 8, and the next meeting isn’t scheduled until Feb. 23.
Denbrock, 59, was due to make $1.5 million in 2024 in the final year of a three-year deal. According to published reports, Denbrock’s buyout should be $375,000, or 25% of his remaining salary at LSU.
The buyout would have been 50% of his remaining salary had Denbrock left for another SEC school or an FBS program more than 500 miles from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Notre Dame's campus is approximately 975 miles away from LSU.
South Bend is also about 80 miles from Homer, Michigan, where Denbrock's roots run deep.
From 2002-04 Denbrock coached offensive tackles and tight ends for Notre Dame coach Tyrone Willingham. He returned to South Bend from 2010-16 with Kelly, handling a variety of roles, including offensive coordinator in 2014.
Kelly and Denbrock first worked together in 1987 as graduate assistants at Grand Valley State, where Denbrock played tight end from 1982-85. Denbrock later worked seven seasons (1992-98) for Kelly at the Division II power in Allendale, Mich.
Denbrock replaces Gerad Parker, Notre Dame’s offensive coordinator and tight ends coach who was hired Monday as head coach at Sun Belt Conference power Troy in Alabama.
Friday’s news reunites Denbrock with several former colleagues from Cincinnati, including quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator Gino Guidugli and newly hired wide receivers coach Mike Brown.
Last offseason, Freeman brought up Denbrock’s name in a discussion of how an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach must work in concert when the role is typically combined.
“I was around it for four years, my first four years at Cincinnati, where Mike Denbrock, who we all know, was the offensive coordinator and coached the tight ends and Gino Guidugli was the quarterbacks coach,” Freeman said in February. “They have to have a great relationship. There has to be a trust.
“There has to be a very clear understanding of what is expected out of that quarterback position but the quarterbacks know exactly how the coordinator is thinking. It’s very important for those two to be on the same page as well as the offensive coordinator and the quarterbacks.”
Under Denbrock’s tutelage, Arizona State transfer Jayden Daniels blossomed at LSU over the past two seasons, winning the Heisman Trophy earlier this month. Notre Dame recently added Duke transfer Riley Leonard, who, like Daniels, is a dual-threat quarterback.
Four-star signee CJ Carr of Saline, Michigan, has already enrolled at Notre Dame and is practicing with the Irish ahead of the Dec. 29 Sun Bowl against Oregon State.
Denbrock becomes the third offensive coordinator in three seasons for Freeman at Notre Dame. Tommy Rees, who held the role from 2020-22, left for the same role at Alabama, accepting a three-year, $6 million deal in February.
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for NDInsider.com and is on social media @MikeBerardino.
veryGood! (75)
Related
- Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
- Mega Millions winning numbers for November 5 drawing: Jackpot rises to $303 million
- Trump and Vance make anti-transgender attacks central to their campaign’s closing argument
- First and 10: Buckle up, the road to the new College Football Playoff road begins this week
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Alexa PenaVega Reveals How “Insecurities” Took a Toll on Marriage While on DWTS with Husband Carlos
- Drew Barrymore & Adam Sandler's Daughters Have Unforgettable 50 First Dates Movie Night
- DZ Alliance: A Launchpad for Financial Talent
- Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
- AP Race Call: Republican Sheri Biggs wins election to U.S. House in South Carolina’s 3rd District
Ranking
- Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
- Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler's kids watched '50 First Dates' together
- DZ Alliance’s AI Journey: Shaping the Future of Investment Technology
- NFL trade deadline live updates: Latest rumors, news, analysis ahead of Tuesday cutoff
- Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
- DZ Alliance Powers AI FinFlare’s Innovation with DZA Token
- DZ Alliance: Taking Action for Social Good
- DZ Alliance: A Launchpad for Financial Talent
Recommendation
Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
College Football Playoff committee shows big crush on Big Ten while snubbing BYU, Big 12
Pharrell Shares Relatable Reason He Was Fired From McDonald’s Three Times
Why Katharine McPhee, 40, and Husband David Foster, 75, Aren't Mourning Getting Older
FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup
Barry Keoghan says he's 'not an absent father' after parenting criticism: 'It sickens me'
From facial hair to 'folksy': What experts say about the style of Harris, Walz, Trump and Vance
1 of 2 Democratic prosecutors removed by DeSantis in Florida wins back old job