Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Harry Hiestand’s move back to the NFL is more understandable than Mike Elko’s move to Texas A&M. It’s no less of a gut punch to the fans, though, who will watch the replacement process with great interest. We’ll take a look here at possible Notre Dame offensive line candidates in a moment; first, some thoughts on why Hiestand’s move is more understandable.
- The cheapest NFL team pays position coaches more than the most generous college program does. Hiestand is regarded as the best in the business, and the Bears reportedly will pay him like it. If you’re curious, that should translate to top college coordinator money. Yeah.
- NFL teams have come after Hiestand every offseason. Sooner or later it was going to work; on the flipside, Brian Kelly can’t possibly be surprised.
- Hiestand worked with the Bears previously, from 2005-09. That’s important not just because of the comfort level between franchise and coach; with a few more years in Chicago, Harry will qualify for a league pension.
- Hiestand’s youngest is currently a high school senior. After this spring, there’s no reason to place a premium on family stability.
- He just won the award named for his mentor and produce one unanimous and one consensus All-American. Those guys will probably be his third and fourth first-round draft picks at Notre Dame. There’s not much left to accomplish here.
It kills me to say it, but under the circumstances it would’ve been crazy for Harry to stay. So, as Kelly, Sam Mustipher, and Alex Bars did, I’ll wish him a fond farewell and hope he finds more success in the Windy City. Now, on to more pressing matters…
Our Favorite Notre Dame Offensive Line Candidates
Well, OK, my favorite. I can’t speak for everyone. The industry views the Notre Dame OL coach position as one of the top jobs available, if not the top job. In addition to all the usual trappings of a Notre Dame position, everyone is aware of the level of line talent Notre Dame naturally attracts. Coaches know they’ll be able to chase the best talent in the country, they know they’ll get it, and they know those guys will fit and perform. According to reports, many coaches have actually reached out to Notre Dame to express interest.
Kelly is in a very strong position here and won’t be in a rush or inclined to reach. Don’t expect anything to happen immediately, but do expect it to be a quality hire. Look no further than the fact that Kelly’s two Irish OL hires – Ed Warriner and Hiestand – were widely regarded as being at the top of their profession. With that in mind, here are some names that have caught our eye. We have no idea how realistic these names are, just guys who look like potentially good hires.
- Greg Austin, Nebraska
- 2017 stats: 36th S&P+ rushing, 9th adjusted sack rate, 21st yards per carry, 9th rushing TDs
- Bona fides: Worked with Chip Kelly from 2010-15, hired by Scott Frost at UCF, followed him to Nebraska.
- Prognosis: Austin is a former Nebraska lineman who just followed a fellow Nebraska alum to Lincoln. Doesn’t seem likely he’d leave, but it’s worth a phone call.
- Justin Frye, Boston College
- 2017 stats: 25th S&P+ rushing, 33rd adjusted line yards, 16th adjusted sack rate, 25th yards per game
- Bona fides: GA on Urban Meyer’s Florida staff, followed Addazio to Temple and Boston College.
- Prognosis: Lots of reasons this could make sense. He’s from Indiana and played at Indiana. He’s a stylistic fit for Chip Long. Plus, mildly important, he’s good. Those numbers above might not blow you away, but consider that BC ranked 95th in S&P+ passing and 115th in passing efficiency. Yeah.
- Herb Hand, Auburn
- 2017 stats: 16th S&P+ rushing, 25th adjusted line yards, 5th power success rate, 26th yards per game
- Bona fides: Worked with Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia, Todd Graham at Tulsa, and James Franklin at Vandy and Penn State.
- Prognosis: Would you leave an SEC job with a head coach who just got an extension? I probably wouldn’t either.
- Garin Justice, Arizona/FAU
- 2017 stats: 10th S&P+ rushing, 3rd rushing success rate, 24th adjusted sack rate, 1st rushing TDs
- Bona fides: GA under Rodriguez at West Virginia and Bobby Bowden at Florida State, head coach at D2 Concord
- Prognosis: Rodriguez hired Justice right after the season ended. Will whoever the new guy is at Arizona retain him? He should – Justice was phenomenal with FAU last season. He’s more of a reach than the other guys based on his pedigree, but he’s interesting.
- John Peterson, Pitt
- 2017 stats: 19th S&P+ rushing, 19th rushing success rate, 44th adjusted line yards, 85th yards per game
- Bona fides: Worked with Jim Tressel at Ohio State, has been with Pat Narduzzi since he arrived at Pitt
- Prognosis: His results have been good, not great; it’s hard to know how much of that to pin on him, and how much on Pitt. I wouldn’t be super-fired up about him but Notre Dame could definitely do worse.
- Ryan Silverfield, Memphis
- 2017 stats: 88th S&P+ rushing, 6th rushing IsoPPP, 34th yards per game, 20th rushing TDs
- Bona fides: Worked with George O’Leary at UCF, Matt Campbell at Toledo, Todd Graham at Arizona State, and Mike Norvell and Chip Long at Arizona State and Memphis. Was the Vikings’s OL coach for six seasons, including Adrian Peterson’s MVP campaign, and the Lions’ OL coach for one season.
- Prognosis: The connections to Long make Silverfield especially interesting. His reputation as an excellent recruiter doesn’t hurt either; at 62nd, he’s the only non-Power 5 assistant in 247’s top 125 recruiters for 2017. I don’t know that he’d be my first choice, but he has a pretty solid resume.
Any other guys on your own board?
Notable Exclusions
Many fans noted that there’s already an OL coach on campus with deep ties to Kelly. That would be, of course, offensive analyst Jeff Quinn. Quinn was my first thought as well, but views of him as a coach seem to be somewhat mixed. It also probably says something that Buffalo canned him in 2014 and he hasn’t gotten a sniff from anyone since then. I doubt Kelly would hand the job to Quinn; that’s a coasting-to-the-finish move, and it doesn’t fit in with the other moves he has made since last offseason.
Western Michigan OL coach Brian Kenney has popped up in a few places as well. He’s a good coach, well-regarded in the industry, but I can’t in good conscience put him on my list; he was at Penn State from 1988-2011, a.k.a Peak Sandusky. No thanks. Some have mentioned former Florida State OL coach Rick Trickett, but the consensus seems to be that he lost his fastball a while ago.
Some voices that I respect, like Pete Sampson and Jamie Uyeyama, have mentioned guys like Brian Ferentz, Tom Manning, and Andy Heck. I’d love to be wrong, but I don’t see those guys (and guys like them) as realistic candidates. Ferentz and Manning both have the OC title at Iowa and Iowa State; on top of that, Ferentz is working for his father and Manning has worked alongside Matt Campbell since 2009 in Toledo. Would they be willing to give up the OC roles and strong connections to their bosses? Andy Heck is one of the top OL coaches in the NFL. He’d be giving up a lot of money and professional prestige to come back to Notre Dame. Could it happen? Maybe. But he seems like the least likely of the home run candidates.
Great work. Thanks!
Care to list your preference, in order? And maybe the relative perceived likelihood to the extent that it’s different than your preference?
I really have no strong basis for opining, other than to say, yeah, seems like Jeff Quinn is not the way to go.
That’s a couple of great questions, and as is my wont, I’ll hedge. 🙂 For the preference, I’ll also include the guys who I don’t think are realistic candidates.
If we’re talking about highest floor, I’d say my ordered preference is Heck, Ferentz, Hand, Austin/Manning/Frye/Silverfield, Kenney, Justice, Peterson, Quinn, Trickett.
If it’s highest ceiling, I’ll go Heck, Ferentz, Hand/Austin/Frye, Manning/Silverfield/Justice, Kenney, Peterson, Quinn, Trickett.
I guess that would mean Heck and Ferentz should be my clear favorites, right? LOL… Hadn’t really thought it through to that extent before, but in reflecting on your question I definitely think those guys each have a ceiling and floor higher than everyone else on this list.
As far as likelihood, probably Frye, Silverfield, Ferentz/Hand, Austin/Manning, Heck/Justice, Peterson, Quinn. I think Austin and Manning are equally likely to leave their current situations, and we’re just as likely to lure Heck away from the NFL as we are to take a flyer on Justice. I think Quinn is the break-glass-in-case-of-emergency choice that we almost certainly won’t get to.
I don’t think Kenney or Trickett are on the board, period; I think the ND admin would balk at Kenney for the same reasons I did, and Trickett’s lines have just been beyond awful for the last few years. Rumor is Trickett has reached out to ND, but I doubt Kelly did anything other than thank him for the call.
Awesome, thanks.
In all honesty, I really hope that folks in the athletic department read this site. I’m sure they have their own lists and whatnot, but you all are very thoughtful. I, for one, would have no idea about most of these guys without your efforts.
Thanks!
As you said, Kelly knew this was happening. He has to have a list.
I agree with you on Quinn. I would love to think Heck would come to ND. If there was a pathway to a higher level (OC), he might. Depends on his interest in becoming an HC.
One thing to remember. All those great OL recruits come to ND not for the weather, but for Hiestand. A coach who can establish that he has a track record of putting kids in the NFL gets to choose in recruiting. Most of the names on your list don’t have that.
I like that Silverfield is ranked as a good recruiter. Ties to Long are also good. Elko got to have Lea, seems fair.
My guesses of desire/likelihood:
Frye, Silverfield, Justice.
I do hope they at least call Heck. Perhaps if only to ask his opinion on potential hires.
I think Heck would be a walk-off inside the park grand slam. Very highly respected coach, still fairly young, of course the alum connection, and he played for Hiestand’s mentor. It’s almost too good. The problem is he’s been in the NFL for 14 years now, 12 as a full-fledged OL coach, and it would be a pretty substantial step back in prestige and pay to take the same position at ND. The consensus on Chip Long outside ND circles is that he’s on the path to being a head coach somewhere, so maybe we could lure Heck with the promise of being OC in another year or two. It’s just hard to see how it makes sense for him, though, no matter what we can offer.
I like your guesses. I think those are the most realistic guys and that’s how I’d order them too.
@Yeah but a selling point is if he already has his NFL pension, why not come back to Lineman U@
In seriousness though, it makes sense. I’m excited to see who the new coach is, and at least the talent is there and the foundation is there. Sucks Hiestand didn’t stay but timing is everything.
Of course, perhaps we already promised Denson OC when Long moves on.
People do strange things. HH moved to Tennessee from Chicago, so steps back do happen. You are even suggesting DeWayne Walker for S, and while the Browns, it is still the NFL.
Unlike the promotion of Lea, it will take awhile for this and the S coach. They will have to pass the NCAA compliance test before they can be announced, but not leaked.
“…and while the Browns, it is still the NFL…”
No. It isn’t.
I’m not sure exactly why Hiestand moved from the Bears to Tennessee – it was two years before Lovie was fired, so it’s not like he had to leave. But yes, it does happen. I think Denson as OC-in-waiting is a bit of a reach at the moment, but I do like him and I hope we keep him around.
As far as Walker, it’s more about the connection to Lea and the fact that Hue Jackson is likely living on borrowed time with a new front office in charge. Plus, like TGTS said, it isn’t *really* the NFL…
For all we know, Mrs. H may have wanted to live in Knoxville for family reasons or perhaps HH wanted a change.
I know we will never know, and shouldn’t know, if they even ask Heck. I just hope they do. I doubt he would take it, but it would be a coup if he did. Plus, with his playing time added, he may already have enough service time for that NFL pension we keep hearing mentioned. EIther way, getting an outsider’s input, particularly one with expertise, on the potential candidates would be great. Given the good way HH is going out, perhaps he has provided that input as well.
Agree on Denson, but at some point he will likely want to be more than a position coach.
It is hard to balance long term and short term considerations in building a staff. Good coaches, especially young ones, should want to rise up in the ranks. Even if they don’t want to be HCs, they should want to be coordinators. I would be worried about a good young coach without ambition along those lines. There is only room for one OC, one DC and one Associate (or is it Assistant?) HC. IMO, a co-OC or co-DC means you have one and some guy gets to claim a title or has the role in training. I have no idea how Schiano and Grinch are going to co-exist at tOSU. Neither is training for the role, and I doubt they are easing Schiano out. I think Meyer will regret that decision. You can have too many cooks in the kitchen.
Great post, as always. Thank you. I had no idea who any of these guys were before reading this, including Joe Moore (I had to look up what award HH just won), which I probably should be embarrassed about (but I’m not).
Having now done some deep, deep research on the issue, however (which consisted in its entirety of googling Moore’s name and reading the 9-line wikipedia page on him), I think I’m clearly informed enough to provide expert insight at this point:
It seems Moore won an age discrimination suit against ND in 1998 after the illustrious Bob Davie fired him for being………..64 (???!!). Given that history, query whether “coming back to ND” is any draw at all for Andy Heck. He might still hold a bit of a grudge against the school for treating his coach/mentor that way (Bob Davie: the gift that keeps on giving).
Ok, ok, fine…..I’ll take my foil hat off now.
I doubt it – it’s been 17 years since Davie was ousted, and the admin who was responsible for that era has largely turned over as well. Heck has also come back at Kelly’s invitation to speak at the coaches’ clinic, so I don’t think it bothers him that much.
I have to give credit where credit is due. Kelly has done a great job building up the offensive line during his tenure, getting the right coaches and the right prospects to drag us out of the muck of the 2000s. Willingham recruited what, two offensive linemen in three years? And Weis inhereted that mess, but couldn’t develop the linemen he brought in (I had a game in 2009 called ‘watch Sam Young on this posession’ that always ended terribly). Kelly inhereted a line situation that was better than what Weis walked into, but was still too thin to play a two team spring game, and started a former walk on in the 2012 season. Since then, Kelly and his staff have done a great job forming an elite unit that’s stocked with blue chip talent and is a yearly feature on day one of the draft. That’s a huge improvement from where it was ten years ago.
“(I had a game in 2009 called ‘watch Sam Young on this posession’ that always ended terribly)”
*Snort
It’s wild to me that Sam Young has earned roughly $5 million playing football and is still starting games in the NFL.
Also, since we’re talking o-line, and I’ll probably forget this soon enough….I fired up NCAA14 video game the other day (the [sobs] last one they ever made) and I got some file from a friend so it has all the players’ real names (you know, the reason they don’t make the game anymore).
Anyways the LT depth chart for ND in that game was Zach Martin starter, Ronnie Stanley backup, Mike McGlinchey as a true freshman 3rd string. Doesn’t get too much better than that.
@ clear evidence that Notre Dame just doesn’t care enough to spend top dollar to keep assistants. Might as well drop down to the AFC Central @
😂😂
Seems like as good a place as any to drop this… There are rumors that Chip Long is a candidate for the Alabama OC position just vacated by Brian Daboll when he headed to the Bills. I don’t know how serious that candidacy is, or what it would take to get him out of South Bend, but his name is out there. He’s from Birmingham and he was an FCS All-American at North Alabama; going home might hold some serious allure. But who knows?
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg says that Alabama WR/co-OC Mike Locksley will take the FSU OC job if he’s not promoted. Supposedly Saban is also looking at Matt Canada and other external candidates as well.
Yay, offseason.
@OC Tommy Rees? Kelly calling the plays? Who says no? 7-5 here we come. Can’t wait to see Swarbrick excuse it and give Kelly an extra year to get the new staff settled. Probably will change the fake grass to Boise State blue while he’s at it!@
(in before the negativity!)
That aside, I guess it’s good Long is on the radar, but I don’t know, did he really do a good enough job to earn a bigger stage as Alabama OC? I don’t really think he is ready for such a job, and who knows maybe won’t get an offer on it now…But it certainly seems like he’ll be a short-term in his current role too.
wait… that’s my comment
Well, in Nick Saban’s opinion he did a good enough job to earn a look. So…
Or, at least, that’s what Chip Long’s agent wants you to think
He’s ready for the ND job but not Alabama’s ?
Yay, offseason.
If offered, he almost has to take it. Perhaps that puts some of the OL candidates who are already co-OCs back in the game.
Is that the same Mike Locksley who flamed out at New Mexico after punching an assistant and letting a drunk player borrow his car?
Yes. Because yay CFB.
Yep. Also the same Mike Locksley who “recruited” Arrelious Benn to Illinois. Although I guess I shouldn’t be so harsh on him, since Benn himself said it wasn’t only the money.
I find it amazing that Locksley still has a job, let alone about to become either the Alabama OC or the FSU OC. Failing and cheating upwards.
Cross off Herb Hand – he just went to Texas and added the co-OC title as well. No other rumblings that I’ve come across.
https://twitter.com/NDFootball/status/955897100994301953
Welp. BK going with the “hire your friends or guys you know well” approach, which has served him so well before.
Yea 50/50 with it. New safeties coach, old OL coach so to speak.
How good of a recruiter is Quinn?
The last paragraph in this II article is a pretty tough read: https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/Article/Familiar-Face-Kelly-promotes-Quinn-to-replace-Hiestand-114111696
That’s a pretty small-timey offensive staff.