Notre Dame OC Gerad Parker accepts Troy head coaching job
After two seasons at Notre Dame, including one as the offensive coordinator, Gerad Parker is leaving South Bend. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that Parker, who also coaches tight ends with the Irish, is set to accept the head coaching job at Troy University.
Troy officially announced the hiring Monday afternoon.
“Gerad Parker is a proven winner with an infectious personality and passion for success who has significant experience at some of the best programs in America,” Troy athletics director Brent Jones said in a press release.
In Parker’s place, Notre Dame quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli will serve as offensive coordinator and call plays for the Irish in the Sun Bowl. Senior offensive analyst Caleb Carbine will coach the tight ends.
“Congratulations to Gerad as he takes on this great opportunity at Troy,” Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said in a statement released on social media. “I have had the chance to work closely with Gerad for a number of years and what stands out to me are his leadership skills and how tirelessly he works to get the most out of his players. We wish Gerad and his family all the best on their new adventure!”
The Troy job opened up when Jon Sumrall, who led the Trojans to a 23-4 record and two Sun Belt Conference championships in two seasons, left for Tulane. The Tulane job became available when Willie Fritz left for Houston, who fired former head coach Dana Holgorsen in November, after eight years with the Green Wave.
Under Parker, Notre Dame finished No. 29 in the country in total offense and No. 8 in scoring, with 39.1 points per game. The Irish struggled in some matchups against top defenses like Ohio State, Duke, Louisville and Clemson, but Parker led them to at least 40 points in each of their eight other games.
Freeman hired Parker as tight ends coach on Feb. 14, 2022 and promoted him to offensive coordinator on Feb. 18 of this year. Parker replaced Tommy Rees at that position, who left the Irish to take the offensive coordinator job at Alabama.
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Freeman expressed his desire to keep Parker, as well as Notre Dame’s entire coaching staff (although he parted ways with wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey the next day) on Nov. 27.
“I think our entire offensive staff and Coach Parker have done a good job of continuously trying to find ways to improve,” Freeman said after the regular season ended. “Sometimes it takes setbacks to figure out what we need to do to improve moving forward.”
Parker’s appeal to Troy, according to Thamel, was his work as an offensive coordinator with Notre Dame and a recruiting coordinator with Purdue (where he first worked with Freeman) and Tennessee-Martin in the past. Thamel also noted that Parker has worked with former Troy head coach Neal Brown and played with Sumrall, as well as Brown, at Kentucky.
With Parker out, Freeman — a defensive coordinator by trade — will look for his third offensive coordinator in what will be his third season as the head coach in South Bend. His top-two targets last season before turning to Parker were then-Kansas State OC Collin Klein, who has since accepted the same job at Texas A&M, and Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig.
Notre Dame has yet to name an interim offensive coordinator for the Sun Bowl, as Parker’s hiring at Troy is not official yet.
