What Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said about the Irish offensive coordinator situation
Marcus Freeman is going to take his time appointing a new offensive coordinator. Notre Dame’s head coach said Wednesday he does not have a timeline to find a replacement for Gerad Parker, who became the head coach at Troy this week.
It takes time and effort to make a hire as significant as one like this. Freeman knows that as well as anyone. He was in this same position 10 months ago when Tommy Rees left his alma mater to become the offensive coordinator at Alabama. Freeman struck out on Kansas State’s Collin Klein and Utah’s Andy Ludwig in that hiring cycle.
That doesn’t mean he’s going to stop swinging. Exactly the opposite.
“We’ll do a national search,” Freeman said. “We’ll do a search.”
Notre Dame quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli will serve as offensive coordinator and play caller for No. 16 Notre Dame (9-3) in the Sun Bowl vs. No. 19 Oregon State (8-4) on Dec. 29. Freeman heaped praise on Guidugli, firmly feeling confident in the short-term direction of the Irish offense under his guidance.
Guidugli was Parker’s right-hand man throughout the week and on game days. The two might not have always been on the same page from the start, but they often got there through thorough conversation and the bouncing of ideas.
That’s something that won’t leave Notre Dame along with Parker.
“I thought it was important to continue to utilize the collaboration efforts that we utilize in the offensive staff room,” Freeman said. “But also, in Steve Angeli‘s first start it’s important to have that connection between quarterback coach and the quarterback.”
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Freeman said Guidugli is “second to none” as a quarterbacks coach. But what about as an OC? We’ll all be reminded of what the one-time offensive coordinator has in his pocket in that regard at the end of the month. Guidugli was Cincinnati’s OC in the Luke Fickell regime last season.
This isn’t his first rodeo, but he still hasn’t been to many. Far fewer than the locals he’ll encounter in El Paso, Texas, soon. The same could be said for Parker when he was promoted in February. Still, Freeman said Guidugli is on the table as a candidate to permanently fill Parker’s shoes. If the shoe fits, of course. Freeman isn’t going to force it on Guidugli or anybody else.
It’s got to be the correct choice, like Cinderella slipping on her glass slipper, no matter who that is.
“I want to make sure we make the best decision for our offense and for our program moving forward,” Freeman said.
