Notre Dame Football’s 2021 tight end coaching call: What could have been

Traditionally at Notre Dame, when a football head coaching position opens up, there is a string of success when a previously successful college head coach gets the job.

Brian Kelly, Lou Holtz, Dan Devine, Ara Parseghian and Frank Leahy all fit this mold and undoubtedly had success with the Fighting Irish. Meanwhile, guys like Charlie Weis, Bob Davie and Gerry Faust came to South Bend with no college head coaching experience and all fell far short of lofty expectations.

This historically successful mindset would have meant that former athletic director Jack Swarbrick and Notre Dame would have gone in a different direction to replace Brian Kelly at the conclusion of the 2021 regular season.

Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell led the Bearcats to the College Football Playoff this year and was not only in the running to become Notre Dame’s new head coach, but also very Interested in the post.

Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports was all over Notre Dame wanting Fickell, and many of us were wondering what exactly would happen in those few memorable days.

Of course, Fickell didn’t get the job, but instead went to defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman. After a 9-4 opening year for Freeman and Notre Dame, Freeman followed that up with a 10-3 mark after defeating Oregon State in last year’s Sun Bowl. This year, the Irish are coming off a win over their College Football Playoff rival USC.

Fickell stayed in Cincinnati one more season and led the Bearcats to a 9-3 mark in 2022. Then he took the Wisconsin job in the offseason, and now, two seasons later, things weren’t going according to plan.

Fickell and Wisconsin ended the 2024 season with a 24-7 loss to rival Minnesota on Saturday to finish the year at 5-7. It’s the first time the Badgers won’t bowl since 2001 and just the second time they won’t participate since 1992.

The Badgers averaged 22.4 points per game this season and ranked in the top 100 nationally in that department. Fickell is a defensive guy at heart, as is Freeman, which speaks volumes about what Freeman and Notre Dame are capable of to score points.

Notre Dame, serving as offensive coordinator for the third time in three Freeman seasons, has scored the sixth-most points at the FBS level this year.

Fickell’s offensive problems stemmed from the failure of Phil Longo, who coached under Mack Brown at North Carolina, as offensive coordinator, but Freeman, who selected some of Wisconsin’s key assistants, was key to Notre Dame’s offensive growth. Quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli was plucked from Fickell’s staff, as was wide receivers coach Mike Brown.

Those aren’t the only reasons Notre Dame has been successful in recent years while Wisconsin hasn’t, but they’re certainly a factor.

Either way, it appears to be paying off in a big way for Notre Dame to take the risk of going with an unknown head coach instead of going the traditional route.

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