Here's everything new Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock had to say in meeting Friday with the Irish beat media for the first time since his hiring in late December. Answers are largely verbatim. Questions are edited for brevity and clarity.
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Q: Why can’t you stay away from Notre Dame?
Mike Denbrock: “I felt like I was in a really good place, had a really good job, enjoyed what I was doing, enjoyed living in Louisiana. But it's Notre Dame, and I think you guys that have known me forever — seems like — know how much I love this place and what it means to me and how much I've enjoyed my time here.
“And you couple that with an opportunity to work with the type of student-athletes that are attracted to this place and the high achievers that come through here. That was obviously a factor. And then being a little closer to family was good. I grew up in Michigan, about an hour and a half from here. My wife's from Buffalo, so we're a little bit closer to her family as well.
“And then I have a true belief in Marcus Freeman and his vision and what he believes in. And from working with him and the years we spent together at Cincinnati, watching him in his leadership abilities and the inspiration that he gave to the players that were under his charge was something that was attractive to be a part of. So, I think it was a little bit of all those things.”
Q: It was a pretty quick turnaround coach with Gerad Parker. It seemed like the staff was going to remain somewhat intact. Then coach Parker gets a job at Troy. How did the hiring process work for you? And did it pop into your mind before the process actually began at all?
MD: “Yeah, not really. I mean, because I think everything was kind of settling in. I had had some other discussions with a couple other opportunities that didn't seem like the right thing to do because of just liking where I was and enjoying where we were living. When it did happen, the phone rang, and we just kind of were talking back and forth a little bit. And [Marcus Freeman] mentioned the possibility, and he said, ‘Why don't you talk to [wife] Dianne about it. And so, I went home and we talked about it a little bit, and I didn't know really how serious it was at that point.
“And then over the course of a week or so, it became a little more serious and then it got really serious. [I] talked to Jack Swarbrick and some other people. And it ended up being what we felt like was the right decision to make for our family.”
Q: Timing-wise, how close were you deciding to extend your contract with LSU?
MD: “It was pretty close. I mean, we had agreed on terms of a new three-year contract, and I think it was waiting for board approval and those types of things. And the timing just happened to work out in our favor.”
Q: When you were here last time, I think you had expressed that you wanted to be a head coach someday. As you come back to Notre Dame, is the trajectory different or is this something that could still lead to head coaching for you?
MD: “No, I think this has become more and more of a little bit of a young man's business, and I don't see — unless something like incredible just kind of hits you in the face — that that would be my career path from this point forward. I think I'm very content leading an offense and helping Marcus and this program win a national championship here. And I want to be part of that and I want to do that here with these student-athletes and with this coaching staff. And I just don't see that [being a head coach] as something that is really attractive to me these days unless it was like something that, I mean, you just couldn't turn down.”
Q: In your three times you've stepped into the Notre Dame world, do you feel like it's more possible, more feasible to win a national championship in this round or any different than the other two times (2002-04 and 2010-16)?
MD: “I certainly think the landscape has changed some in regards to the playoff system that we have and the access that we have to it. And I know there's been a lot of debate this week back and forth about whether that's an advantage or disadvantage and all that. I'll leave it to the experts to decide all that, but I think we have access to that becoming a real possibility. I think we've got a roster that is moving in a really positive direction, where those possibilities are maybe even more real than they've been in the last few years. And combine that with what I hope is a really good offensive system that these guys run to perfection and Al Golden dialing up the defense that he dials up, and we've got an opportunity to do something special.”
Q: How are you a better coordinator now than when you left this place?
MD: “I think just experience is the best teacher. I mean, even though I had been in that role before, since leaving here the last time it's kind of been a lot more where it was my show to run. And you're always going to have influences from the head coach, and he's always going to have a voice in what you do and how you do it. And that's Ok, I'm unbelievably fine with that. But I was able to break away and kind of develop my own way of doing things, my own system, my own style of offense, if you will. In how that fits, what I think —based on the personnel that we have available to us — what the best way to do that is.
“And [I’ve] been able to adjust it the way I want. Been able to add to it the way I wanted. Been able to subtract from it the way I wanted. That's, I think, the biggest difference now. Experience is a great teacher, No. 1. And No. 2, the system that we're going to run and its development is something that I'm in complete control of.”
Q: When you were talking with Marcus Freeman, was the system you wanted to run a big part of the conversation or is that something you knew he would have enough trust coming in?
MD: “That was part of our conversation. I mean, he was very familiar with a good piece of it from some of the things that we did at Cincinnati. And there'll be some elements of it that are alive and well in what we do here. And we added a lot of things to that the last couple years that I think benefited and make it better. And, hopefully, we'll add a few things this year. Whether that was some of the things that they did a year ago that the kids are really familiar with and do a good job of executing or whether that's a new idea from the Miami Dolphins or the Philadelphia Eagles or wherever it comes from — or another college team. [I’m] always open to trying to be better at what we're doing and how we're doing it.”
Q: When you were here last time, you figured out culturally that this place has to run the ball. I don't know if you felt that way at LSU or Cincinnati, but do you still hold that idea, like whatever you do offensively, it's got to start with things that fit with the DNA of this place?
MD: “I do believe in that still, and I think everything that you do has to be built around a strong running game. Now, does that mean that it's going to be 60 times a game? It doesn't mean that. It means that when we do call runs, that we give our guys a chance numbers-wise, No. 1. No. 2, we put them in a position, from a scheme standpoint, to take advantage of what the defense is trying to do. And then we execute it.
“But I think any great offense revolves around the ability to be able to run the ball. Having said that, I will say that I think I'm more open than I was years ago to not just pounding my head against a brick wall, and just understanding that the game has changed. And the more athletes you can get out in space and create mismatches is also a good way to play offense. So, there'll be a good balance of that. There'll be afternoons where we run it 50 times and there'll be afternoons where we may throw it 50 times.”
Q: With the quarterback being part of the run game, obviously, you excelled last year with Jayden Daniels. Riley Leonard is a different kind of athlete, different kind of quarterback, but how important can a QB who runs be in terms of what the identity of this offense could be?
MD: “I think in today's college football, it's important when you get against elite defenses to be able to have some element of that in what you do. It doesn't have to be the major factor. It doesn't have to necessarily be the deciding factor. But there are going to be instances in almost every football game. And I think that even happened here last year with Sam [Hartman]. There were times where he had to get out of the pocket and make a play with his feet, and it led to some pretty positive results. And so, those things will be an element of what we do for sure.”
Q: Other than recruiting and moving up here, the last couple months what's been your focus and then what are you prioritizing for spring?
MD: “I think No. 1 number is getting to know the players better, understanding their skill sets as much as I can while they're running around in shorts and T-shirts. And then trying to, I think, get implemented, so that they have a clearer understanding of what the plan looks like. And try to give them as thorough a baseline as we possibly can right now as far as knowledge of the workings of the offense — how we shift, how we motion, how we align, how we change tempos, different personnel packages that we're going to use.
“And, hopefully, throughout the spring, we kind of get to a point where we can maybe put the assignment football stuff behind us, so that we can — over the summer and in fall camp — begin a little bit more of the dig-into-the-details process. Where it's not any more a thought process of what their assignment is, but it turns a lot more towards execution. And I think, playing against good teams and beating good teams is about executing in situational football. And to do that, you've got to understand the details of what you're doing and why we're asking you to do it, so that you can execute it at a high level.
“Hopefully, I mean, that's ideal, right? So, the ideal is that by the end of the spring, I don't have to worry about assignment football anymore. These guys understand how to line up, where to go, how to do it. And then, over the course of the summer, when we reteach it again, they get an opportunity to kind of dig into the details a little bit better, whether that's from how we run routes to how we run the ball or what adjustments we make from a line call standpoint. Maybe in the middle of a play. Maybe I do it in the play call, or the quarterback adjusted or whatever we're asking them to do. There's more detail on how they handle their job.”
Q: You and Brian Kelly go back so far. How do things stand with you guys?
MD: “We're friends and have always been friends. We have a relationship that spans over 30-some years, and that won't change. I don't know that he was real happy with my decision, but I think he understood it. And he knows the reasons why. But I have a lot of respect for Brian, and I consider him a friend and always will.”
Q: You mentioned Buffalo. I think back to the Buffalo Destroyers of the Arena League. Not a lot of guys have Arena Football League in their background. How does that still inform the way you call a play, being a coach on both sides of the ball today?
MD: “It's interesting, because you know I think one of the advantages, in some ways over the course of my career that I've had, is an opportunity to coach on both sides of the ball. And even though it's Arena football, the fundamentals of being a good football player are the same regardless of what kind of football you're playing. So, I think it's given me a perspective that helps me understand defensive adjustments. I think it helps me anticipate what those are going to be and adjust what we're doing and have more answers for what the problems may possibly be before they show up so that we're rolling a little bit smoother.”
Q: The last time you were here when you were calling plays, and you were the wide receivers coach, you still had a relationship with quarterback DeShone Kizer that was very important. In your role as offensive coordinator this time, how do you kind of split your attention between tight ends and maybe an offensive line with five new starters, how and where do you allocate yourself?
MD: “It will be a challenge of course. Not being the quarterback coach and being the coordinator always takes a little bit of coordination. And I think as long as you've got people that you know, and trust in those position rooms with those players, that takes the burden off of me and lightens it up where I know what type of teachers are on this staff. I know how they teach the game. I'm comfortable with how their rooms are and the camaraderie within the rooms and the team-building that goes on and those things. So, I don't necessarily have to concern myself with that.
“I love to be — to answer your question more directly — involved in all of it. And I will be involved in all of it. So, I've already warned the coaches and the players that I'm going to be in the offensive line room. I'm going to be in the quarterback room. And to do that, obviously, I've got to have someone working with me that I feel like can handle the tight ends when I'm not with them. And we've done a good job with the hiring process and all that, and so I feel comfortable with that.
“So, I think, as much as anything, it's incumbent on me to get around to the different position groups and establish relationships with those guys, so it's not just some old guy yelling at them on the practice field, but we all actually have a relationship beyond football. So, that'll be very important to continue to build that over time. But I think more than anything, I try to do a really good job of making everybody on the offensive unit understand that we're all in this together, and that this is our offense. This is Notre Dame's offense. This isn't my offense. This isn't any one coach's deal. This is all of us together. And that's the only way we're going to be as strong as we need to be.”
Q: What have been some of your initial messages and communication with Riley Leonard? What did you want him to know right from the outset of your relationship?
MD: “Riley is a very competitive, energetic, curious, young — listen, all the players, I'll speak in general terms, maybe here a little bit more than just specifically about Riley. But I've been overwhelmed by the eagerness of this group to get the details of what we're doing and how we're doing it. And they want it, and they want it now, which is awesome. I mean, and I’ve kind of been like, ‘Listen, we’ve got time. Just slow down a little bit. Let's get this done first. We'll move to that.’ Let's follow the process that we've kind of outlined for them.
“And Riley fits right into that. I mean, he wants specifics. He wants details. He wants absolutes, which, at this point, I can't really give him 100% of the time, nor can I [do that for] any of the other players on offense. But he's somebody that loves the game, and you can tell by talking to him that it's important to him to know everything he needs to know about what he's going to be out there doing.”
Q: How about your tight ends?
MD: “Same. Those guys have been fantastic. We got together this morning again after their team run and just went through some stuff that I thought we needed some detail work on. And those guys — the whole group offensively, as a unit — unbelievably pleased with how they pick things up, how smart they are. I'd forgotten. They can handle it.
“And so, until they tell me ‘whoa’ by screwing up a bunch of things and not doing them the right way, we're going to keep feeding them through a firehose as much as we possibly can and see how far we can push this thing. When they tell me ‘slow down’ by not doing the details and different things that way, then we'll slow down. But until then, we're going to keep pushing them forward.”
Q: There are differences between Daniels and Riley Leonard, but when you sit in a room with them, what might be the similarities between the two?
MD: “I don't know that I've had enough time with Riley to really answer that question correctly, to be honest with you. What I do see between the two of them that's very similar is their competitiveness and their want-to to be really good at what they do. And that's a characteristic that I think goes beyond — I mean, Riley has it, but I think the other quarterbacks on the roster have it as well. So, I wouldn't discount their wanting to be really good at what they do, either.”
Q: How much of Riley's game did you know about before you took this job? And then what have you learned from watching film?
MD: “I've kind of had to catch myself up a little bit. Obviously, I caught a little bit of — listen, anytime I had an opportunity, I was watching Notre Dame football. I watched the Duke game, obviously, live. I've watched it since a couple of times on tape, as many of the Duke games that I could catch with our schedule or who we were playing or when we were playing. I've watched him, because I was fascinated by some of the things he was doing, especially early in the season. And I wanted to see more of him. So, I think as we go, him — like all the other guys — I'm going to have to truly get him on the grass and get a feel for what are the things that they do the best, and then we'll tailor things towards that.”
Q: How much does terminology change? Is that a big adjustment or how do you normally handle that?
MD: “I think what they did within the system here a year ago, whatever we can rob from that, that the kids are familiar with and make sense to them, we will. I'm not too old to learn myself. So, if I've got to learn new words, I don't have an issue with that. A lot of the terminology that we'll use has carried over from Cincinnati to LSU to here, and some of it along the way has changed. We changed some of it at LSU. And we'll change some of it here, and there'll be a mix of that.
“So if there was something that is more familiar with them than me introducing something new to them, and it means the same thing. The word really, to me, it could be ‘Rumpelstiltskin.’ I don't really care what it is.”
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