Tag: notre dame coaches

Notre Dame head coaches who also played college football

What Notre Dame coaches have played at the collegiate level?

It’s amazing to think that for all of its rich history, Notre Dame has had only six former college football players as head coach. To make it even more amazing, you have to go all the way back to the beginning of the program’s history of coaches to find half of them. What’s more, it has been 36 years since the Irish had a former college player in their head coaching role. With Brian Kelly only four wins away from passing Knute Rockne on the program’s all-time list, it doesn’t appear the Irish will be adding to this short list anytime soon.

Whichever former college football player eventually ends up as Notre Dame head coach will be joining some rare company. We’re talking three apiece in the 19th and 20th centuries with none coming in the 21st yet. Until then, Irish fans will have to settle for these men holding what is a rare distinction in South Bend:

Former Brian Kelly Player is Notre Dame’s New DB Coach

Mike Mickens played under Kelly at Cincinnati and was a seventh round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys after suffering a knee injury his senior year.

The long wait for Notre Dame football is over as the search to find Todd Lyght’s replacement as Defensive Backs Coach appears to have ended.

According to Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports, Lyght’s replacement comes in the form of a former Brian Kelly player.

Mike Mickens played under Kelly at Cincinnati and was a seventh round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys after suffering a knee injury his senior year.

He has spent time coaching defensive backs at at Idaho and Indiana State before getting the corner back coaching job at Bowling Green from 2013-17.

He was then hired by Luke Fickell at Cincinnati where he spent the last two seasons.

Notre Dame Football: Nearing Secondary Coach Decision?

Former Cincinnati Bengals cornerbacks coach Daronte Jones is said to have recently been on campus to go through a formal interview

Earlier this month Todd Lyght left his post as a Notre Dame assistant coach, leaving an opening on the coaching staff.

That spot remains open as of this posting but according to SI’s Irish Maven, that job may not be open much longer.

Former Cincinnati Bengals cornerbacks coach Daronte Jones is said to have recently been on campus to go through a formal interview and the SI report goes on to say that Jones met with multiple players and that “it is looking like he could very well be the ultimate choice”.

Now to your next question: who the heck is Daronte Jones? Continue reading “Notre Dame Football: Nearing Secondary Coach Decision?”

Notre Dame’s Rees: Tom or Tommy?

When he was Notre Dame’s quarterback it was Tommy Rees but when he moved to the coaching staff he apparently grew up and became Tom.

Former Notre Dame quarterback Rees from 2010-2013 returned to campus in 2017 as quarterbacks coach before being promoted Tuesday to offensive coordinator at the school.

When he was Notre Dame’s quarterback it was Tommy Rees but when he moved to the coaching staff he apparently grew up and became Tom. Or at least some people in more powerful positions or something wanted him to be.

What has happened is that we’ve entered to one of the hottest debates of our time: is it Tom or Tommy Rees?

Because I first heard of him as Tommy he has always been Tommy Rees to me.

Just like one of my best friends from childhood – I grew up calling him Ronnie. Just because we’re in our thirties now and he’s married doesn’t mean I’m going to call him Ron, even if he calls himself that now. You were Ronnie when I first met you and you’re Ronnie now, dammit.

But back to Rees. I have been a Tommy loyalist like I said. When others went with Tom, I’ve stayed with Tommy. Had he made some formal request to be called Tom I suppose I would have changed it, but I never got that memo.

The good news is this great debate that has captivated Notre Dame nation of whatever you want to call it can be officially put to rest because the man himself has spoken.

It doesn’t get much more official than that. Now get changing and fixing all your press releases, Notre Dame!

Good start.

Tommy Rees Receives Huge Endorsement

If you’re a little pesimistic about the move like I am perhaps the best Notre Dame player in recent memory who happened to play on the offensive side of the ball will get you feeling a bit better about things than you were when you heard the news.

I’ll be honest, I’m less than thrilled with the promotion of Tommy Rees to offensive coordinator on the Notre Dame football coaching staff.  It just feels uninspired to me, but I shared those thoughts already.  If you want them, you can find them here.

In the meantime, someone that knows a lot more about football than I do has backed Rees on social media with a ringing endorsement.

There you go, nothing bad can happen if Quenton Nelson says it’s going to be alright.

If you’re a little pesimistic about the move like I am perhaps the best Notre Dame player in recent memory who happened to play on the offensive side of the ball will get you feeling a bit better about things than you were when you heard the news.

Nelson and Rees were never teammates at Notre Dame but Rees took over as the quarterbacks coach in 2017, Nelson’s final year with the Fighting Irish.

Lyght Officially Steps Down at Notre Dame – Brian Kelly Issues Statement

Lyght had been a member of Brian Kelly’s staff at Notre Dame since 2015.

Earlier this afternoon we passed along the report from Sports Illustrated that said Todd Lyght would not be back coaching cornerbacks in 2019. Since the time of our posting the news has been made official by Brian Kelly and the university.

Kelly released the following statement in regards to Lyght:

As stated previously the decision to leave was Lyght’s and it wasn’t a firing.

Matt Fortuna covers Notre Dame and college football for The Athletic and had a guess as to at least a direction Lyght may be headed:

Lyght had been a member of Brian Kelly’s staff at Notre Dame since 2015.

Report: Todd Lyght Won’t Return to Notre Dame Staff in 2020

As for the corner backs coach, current safeties coach Terry Joseph has spent time coaching the secondaries during his stops at North Carolina, Texas A&M and Nebraska so him overseeing all defensive backs wouldn’t appear to be a ridiculous thought.

Sports Illustrated/Bryan Driskell is reporting that former Notre Dame All-American and corner backs coach Todd Lyght will not return to the coaching staff in 2020.  Driskell’s report cites personal and family reasons as to why and not a firing.

The two-time consensus All-American corner and former Notre Dame captain has been coaching the position since 2015.  In that time he’s seen Irish corner backs KeiVarae Russell and Julian Love selected in the NFL Draft.

What happens next on the Notre Dame coaching staff remains to be seen.  Obviously all eyes are on if Tommy Rees gets elevated to offensive coordinator if someone gets hired from the outside.

As for the corner backs coach, current safeties coach Terry Joseph has spent time coaching the secondaries during his stops at North Carolina, Texas A&M and Nebraska so him overseeing all defensive backs wouldn’t appear to be a ridiculous thought.

As for who the up-and-coming defensive corner back coaches are in college football your thought is as great as mine.  I’ll admit lack of knowledge on such names and save you the b-s others may feed you.

The departure of Lyght comes on the 31st anniversary of Notre Dame winning their last national championship, a title Lyght was a big part of.

Former Notre Dame DC Reportedly Headed to Purdue

Diaco left Notre Dame to become the head coach at Connecticut in 2014, a job he spent three seasons at going 11-26 in that time.  His trip to the 2015 St. Petersburg Bowl (16-10 L vs Marshall) remains the last bowl game Connecticut played in.

I didn’t look at life a week ago and think I was going to be writing about former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Bob Diaco on two separate occasions but here we are.

Diaco and has Louisiana Tech squad shutout Miami (FL) 14-0 on December 26 in the Independence Bowl and four days later he’s headed to coordinate the defense of a historical Notre Dame rival.

Diaco was on Brian Kelly’s coaching staff at Notre Dame from 2010-2013 where he oversaw a defense that was responsible for the Fighting Irish going 12-0 in the 2012 regular season.

Diaco left Notre Dame to become the head coach at Connecticut in 2014, a job he spent three seasons at going 11-26 in that time.  His trip to the 2015 St. Petersburg Bowl (16-10 L vs Marshall) remains the last bowl game Connecticut played in.

The Huskies went just 3-9 the following season however and Diaco was fired from the job.

He’s since spent time at Nebraska (2017, Defensive Coordinator), Oklahoma (2018, Linebackers) and Louisiana Tech (2019, Defensive Coordinator).

Diaco won the Broyles Award at Notre Dame in 2012 as the nation’s top assistant coach when the Irish allowed one or fewer touchdowns in eight of their 12 regular season games.

I don’t know how it will ultimately go for Diaco at Purdue.  He’s spent a season in the Big Ten before as Nebraska’s D-C and had a rough go as his Cornhuskers allowed 30 or more points eight times that season.

What I do know is that life just got more interesting for those that cover Purdue football:

“Like Pavlov’s dogs – I walk through the gate and I salivate!”

I’m just mad I didn’t use that for my senior quote.