Gerad Parker discusses his initial conversations with Sam Hartman

Notre Dame had to replace its offensive coordinator after losing Tommy Rees to Alabama, but not before Wake Forest quarterback transfer Sam Hartman enrolled. So there have been some conversations with Sam Hartman attempting to smooth things over and get everyone on the same page again.

The Fighting Irish opted to promote tight ends coach Gerad Parker from within after interviewing a few other candidates nationally.

Now Parker is trying to build a relationship with Hartman so everyone is on the same page going forward.

“Sam and all of them, they’re all critical because now you’re not building relationships with eight guys in the tight end room, you’re building relationships with an entire offensive unit,” Parker explained.

And while that may be true, the relationship with Hartman is paramount. You need your quarterback fully on board.

“I understand the question about Sam because of the nature of him coming here and him getting here, and it was big news,” Parker said. “But he is driven by ball and driven to get better and come here to have what he wants to have success here at Notre Dame.”

Conversations with Sam Hartman, rest of squad engendering buy-in

Parker seems confident that his conversations with Hartman mean everyone is on the same page again despite the change.

The message is coming all the way from the top, with Marcus Freeman making sure everyone is fully on board.

“There’s been communication with all of them, but especially with him to obviously sit down and talk to him about the direction of the offense to maybe ease anxieties, because with change comes a lot of thoughts and things that you want to get addressed,” Parker said. “So we’ve addressed it with the entire offensive unit, the staff, and will continue to to give our guys confidence and let them know the direction is to move forward, as coach Freeman says.”