Notre Dame football will have a change at offensive coordinator after all.
Troy named Notre Dame offensive coordinator Gerad Parker as its head coach 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 athletic director Brent Jones said in a release. "He competed in the SEC as a player, has been a recruiting coordinator in the Big Ten and has coordinated highly productive offenses in the Big 12 and now at Notre Dame. He has an extremely diverse background that spans from coaching in high school, the FCS and throughout FBS in the SEC, American, Big Ten, Sun Belt, ACC and Big 12.
"He understands the commitment to excellence that we have at Troy University and embraces the total student-athlete experience. His proven pedigree will maintain our status as the leader in the Sun Belt Conference and the Group of Five. Gerad's energy and dedication to building relationships with the community, fans and student-athletes will resonate with all of Trojan Nation."
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Parker has connections to former Troy head coaches Neal Brown and Jon Sumrall. Sumrall, Troy's head coach the past two seasons, was hired by Tulane on Dec. 8. That left Troy as the lone FBS program still looking for a head coach.
Parker was hired as Notre Dame’s tight ends coach in 2022 after John McNulty left to become Boston College’s offensive coordinator. Parker was promoted in 2023 to offensive coordinator after Tommy Rees left for the same job at Alabama.
Parker led a Notre Dame offense that currently ranks No. 8 in the FBS in scoring (39.1 points per game), No. 12 in team passing efficiency (161.49), No. 29 in total yards (429.2 per game), No. 31 in rushing yards (181.5 per game) and No. 49 in passing yards (247.8 per game). But the Irish offense struggled in Notre Dame’s three losses and failed to scored more than 23 points against Ohio State, Louisville and Clemson.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman expressed confidence in Parker’s future leading Notre Dame’s offense while acknowledging the need for improvement.
“Our entire offensive staff and coach Parker have done a good job of continuously trying to find ways to improve,” Freeman said. “And sometimes it takes setbacks to figure out what we need to do to improve, moving forward. I think the biggest thing that I've noticed, more than anything, as you evaluate the first 12 games is that we have to continuously find a way to perform better when we're playing better defenses. And they understand that, and they embrace that challenge. And we'll continuously work tirelessly to figure out a way to continue to have a better performance when we face really good defenses. But again, I don't want to put a one-word or one-phrase sentence on how I feel about the job they've done.
“I have a lot of confidence in that offensive staff, but I understand the expectations of a Notre Dame football program, is that no matter who you're playing, that you put [out] a performance that's worthy of winning on the field on Saturdays. And so, we'll figure out what we have to do to make sure that our performances continuously improve. I will never be OK with being status quo with being average. I want to be the best, and I believe we have a staff that has the same mentality, and we now have to continue to find ways to make sure when we play in these games, that we do have an output that is the best.”
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Now Freeman will have to work to replace Parker and employ a third offensive coordinator in his third season leading the Irish football program. Earlier this month, Freeman replaced fired wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey with Wisconsin’s Mike Brown. The Irish are also in the process of hiring Loren Landow to lead the strength and conditioning program.
"Congratulations to Gerad as he takes on this great opportunity at Troy," Freeman said in a released statement. "I have had the chance to work closely with Gerad for a number of years and what stands out to me the most 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!"
No. 16 Notre Dame will make adjustments to its coaching staff in the leadup to the Dec. 29 Sun Bowl matchup with No. 19 Oregon State. Quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli will serve as offensive coordinator and call plays in the bowl game. Senior analyst Caleb Carbine will coach the tight ends.
Parker was still coaching and recruiting for Notre Dame this past weekend. Transfer portal wide receiver Jahmal Banks from Wake Forest told Inside ND Sports that Parker was one of the coaches he connected with during his Notre Dame visit on Friday and Saturday. Parker made in-home visits alongside Freeman last week.
The early signing period for the 2024 recruiting class runs Wednesday through Friday of this week. Parker's departure likely won't influence any of Notre Dame's offensive commits to not sign, but things could change. Notre Dame entered the week with a class of 23 commitments that's ranked No. 7 in the country by Rivals.
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