Notre Dame makes official Harry Hiestand's return to coach Irish O-line

Harry Hiestand is ready to hit the road and recruit.

That facet of Notre Dame’s returning offensive line coach will probably garner more attention than the fact that the school finally made his selection official Monday morning as the replacement for deposed O-line coach Jeff Quinn.

“Harry built the standard of excellence for the Notre Dame offensive line and we are excited to have him back in our program,” Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said in a statement. ”Our focus is on player development and pushing our players to reach their full potential, and that is where Harry excels.”

For more on Hiestand’s background and potential impact, revisit our story from earlier this month.

Hiestand’s hiring is the second new football coaching staff addition to be officially announced, following special teams coordinator Brian Mason. Wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey became the third on Monday afternoon.

The pending addition of defensive line coach Al Washington has not yet been announced. Freeman still needs to identify the next defensive coordinator and running backs coach for his staff.

Former Notre Dame All-America offensive lineman and current college football analyst Aaron Taylor said Hiestand's potential impact could not be overstated.

“It’s the best legitimate shot Notre Dame has to get back to national prominence and win a national championship that it’s had in over a decade,” Taylor told Inside ND Sports.

Hiestand inherits four offensive linemen who finished the regular season as starters and a fifth — in freshman tackle Blake Fisher — who started two games (limited because of a knee injury) and who may have the highest ceiling of them all.

Center Jarrett Patterson will be a fourth-year starter and was recently ranked by Pro Football Focus as the nation's top returning interior offensive lineman for 2022.

"There’s an incredible crop of talent that is on this roster right now that is a little raw and underdeveloped," Taylor said. "But very quickly — and I’m talking in year 1, certainly year 1 ½, by the end of year 2 — it could be one of the most dominant units in the country.

How? Meticulous attention to detail and an offensive line culture that spills over to the rest of the team.

"Every good team that I’ve ever been on the offensive line set the standard," Taylor said. "Harry creates creatures."

Taylor went on to illustrate one example of how Hiestand goes about it.

"When they do their base blocks, they never hit a sled," he said. "You ever seen a sled on a f---ing football field? That’s a Joe Moore-ism. When they do their base blocks, it's 10 yards. The rule is 10 yard or on your back.

"The reason why is that when you put the game tape on, and you watch successful blocks, the good ones are on average six yards. But you’ve got to strain and stay engaged and accelerate your feet for a full six yards to be successful.

"So you overtrain that to go 10 yards, so that you can get the six in the game. But if you train at five, you’ll get three. The rule is 10 yards or on your back.

"And that’s like one of a million different Harry-isms of the adherence to fundamentals that separates him from almost every other line coach in the country. There’s five or six really good ones. He’s largely in a class by himself. And I’m biased, because it’s the old school way."

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Hometown: Malvern, Pennsylvania

High School: Radnor High School in Wayne, Pa.

College: East Stroudsburg (Pa.) (Health and Physical Education, 1983)

Wife: Terri

Children: Daughter – Sarah; Sons – Michael, Matthew and Mark

PLAYING CAREER

1978-79: Springfield (Mass.) Offensive Line

1980-81: East Stroudsburg (Pa.) Offensive Line

COACHING CAREER

1982: East Stroudsburg (Pa.) Student Assistant

1983: East Stroudsburg (Pa.) Assistant Offensive Line

1984-85: East Stroudsburg (Pa.) Offensive Line

1986: Pennsylvania Tight Ends

1987: USC Graduate Assistant

1988: Toledo Tight Ends

1989-93: Cincinnati Offensive Line

1994-96: Missouri Offensive Line

1997-04: Illinois Offensive Line

2005-09: Chicago Bears Offensive Line

2010-11: Tennessee Offensive Line

2012-17: Notre Dame Offensive Line

2018-19: Chicago Bears Offensive Line

2022: Notre Dame Offensive Line

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