Notre Dame’s Chip Long Spells Out Spring Ball Goals
Four practices into his term as Notre Dame’s offensive coordinator, Chip Long is well on his way to putting his stamp on the Irish.
Long, the 33-year-old former Memphis OC tasked with upgrading the team’s offense, spoke with the media Friday after the team’s fourth spring workout.
His goals for the spring are simple:
1. Build the team’s physicality.
2. Understand the tempo he’s installing in the offense.
3. Take care of the ball.
So far, so good.
“That’s what’s been great with our whole side of the ball on offense, just the way our guys work and how they all want to be a special player and do the best they can for Notre Dame,” Long said. “It’s been amazing the way they come every day to their meetings, to on the field work.”
Long has gone about streamlining the Irish offense. He said he’s tried to keep the same language in the attack, while the finer details of the system are different.
The goal is to play faster, a trait Long’s offense at Memphis was known for. The Tigers ran 76.8 plays per game in 2016, 35th-most in FBS. Notre Dame ran 71.2 a game.
Playing at a faster tempo means speeding things up between plays, Long said. This spring, Notre Dame is learning how to line up quickly and get the play from the sideline all in one motion.
“Tempo to me is when the play is over,” Long said. “Not once the play’s going how fast we’re going, but between the plays. Guys understand working there and training their eyes after each and every play to find the signal or find the board and getting lined up.”
Notre Dame fumbled 18 times last year and lost nine of them. Ball security is near the top of Long’s spring check list as well.
“If they take care of the ball they probably win three more games last year. Big emphasis on that,” Long said.
At Wednesday’s practice, the Irish conducted tackling drills early in practice. Head coach Brian Kelly said afterwards that physical play is a point of emphasis this spring, a sentiment that Long echoed Friday.
Long said he didn’t necessarily see a lack of physicality on last year’s film, it’s simply what he believes in. With a seasoned offensive line that returns four starters and an experienced skill group surrounding first-year starter Brandon Wimbush at quarterback, the Irish certainly have the pieces to be a physical offense.
“I can’t put my head on my pillow at night if we’re not going to be physical,” Long said. “That’s one of the No. 1 parameters in spring ball — understand how we take care of the ball, understand our tempo and force our physicality each and every day. If we do that we’re going to win games and close games. Be able to put teams out.
“If we’re not going to be physical, then I won’t sleep much at night and probably won’t be around here very long. We’re going to be a physical team if anything else.”
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