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Notre Dame to hire LSU's Mike Denbrock as offensive coordinator

IMG_7504by:Jack Soble•12/22/23•

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LSU offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock. (Chris Parent/LSU Athletics)

Notre Dame moved quickly to replace Gerad Parker at offensive coordinator, and it did so by poaching Brian Kelly‘s right-hand man. The Irish are hiring LSU offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock to the same position in South Bend, Blue & Gold and On3 can confirm. Inside ND Sports was the first to report the news.

Denbrock coached at Notre Dame from 2002-04 and 2010-16, including one season as offensive coordinator. He also worked with Irish head coach Marcus Freeman at Cincinnati from 2017-20, serving as the Bearcats’ OC.

The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman and Pete Sampson first reported Denbrock’s interest in a return to South Bend, as well as Notre Dame’s interest in hiring him.

Denbrock has run the offense in Baton Rouge, La., for the past two seasons, and he helped turn the Tigers into an offensive juggernaut. LSU was the No. 1 offense in the country in both yards and points per game in 2023, with 547.8 and 46.4, respectively. He developed dual-threat quarterback Jayden Daniels, a transfer from Arizona State ahead of the 2022 season, from a talented but hit-or-miss player to the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner.

Daniels went 236-for-327 for 3,812 yards, good for 11.7 yards per attempt. He accounted for an astounding 50 combined touchdowns, 40 through the air and 10 on the ground. As a runner, Daniels rushed 135 times for 1,134 yards — a better mark than most running backs in the Southeastern Conference.

Under Denbrock’s leadership, wide receivers Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. became arguably the best pass-catching tandem in the country. Thomas cracked 1,000 yards in 2023 for the first time in his career, while Nabers exploded for 1,546. The duo combined for 29 touchdowns, and Nabers was named a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award (best wide receiver in college football).

At Cincinnati, Denbrock helped lead the Bearcats to an undefeated regular season and a College Football Playoff appearance in 2021. Cincinnati featured the 11th-best scoring offense in the nation that season.

Six players from that offense — quarterback Desmond Ridder, running back Jerome Ford, wide receivers Alec Pierce, Tyler Scott and Tre Tucker and tight end Josh Whyle — became NFL Draft picks in 2022 and 2023.

Denbrock also coached tight ends at several of his stops around college football, and given the vacancy at tight ends coach with Parker leaving, logic dictates he’ll coach tight ends at Notre Dame in 2024 as well.

Here is Denbrock’s full coaching resume, according to his official page on LSU’s website.

  • 1986-87 Grand Valley State (Graduate Assistant)
  • 1988-89 Michigan State (Graduate Assistant)
  • 1990-91 Illinois State (Offensive Tackles/Tight Ends)
  • 1992-98 Grand Valley State (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks/Wide Receivers, 1992-95; Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers, 1996-98)
  • 1999-2000 Buffalo – Arena Football League (Defensive Coordinator/Offensive Line/Defensive Line)
  • 2001 Stanford (Offensive Tackles/Tight Ends)
  • 2002-04 Notre Dame (Offensive Tackles/Tight Ends)
  • 2005-08 Washington (Offensive Line)
  • 2009 Indiana State (Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator/Linebackers)
  • 2010-16 Notre Dame (Tight Ends, 2010-11; Outside Wide Receivers/Passing Game Coordinator, 2012-13; Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers, 2014; Associate Head Coach/Wide Receivers, 2015-16)
  • 2017-21 Cincinnati (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks, 2017; Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends, 2018-21)
  • 2022-23 LSU (Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends)

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