Mike Denbrock Will Leave LSU, Return To South Bend To Become Notre Dame's New OC: REPORT

Mike Denbrock will once again return to the sidelines of South Bend as an offensive coordinator for Notre Dame.

Reports emerged on Friday that Denbrock will soon begin his third separate coaching tenure with the team. He coached at Notre Dame from 2004-2006, and again from 2010-2016. Denbrock brings decades of offensive expertise back to Notre Dame, something head coach Marcus Freeman sorely needs.

While Notre Dame’s offense didn’t perform poorly, it didn’t look great either. Despite finishing 9-3, the offense looked disjointed on several occasions, none more so than the 33-20 loss to Louisville. Quarterback Sam Hartman also threw for less than 3,000 yards despite being highly touted coming from Wake Forest. Overall, Notre Dame finished just 42nd in the country in total offense.

South Bend, Ind. - Notre Dame Fighting Irish assistant football coach Mike Denbrock answers questions at the Notre Dame BCS national championship media day at the Loftus Sports Center on Dec. 17, 2012. Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Denbrock Could Fix Notre Dame's Offensive Troubles

That’s where Denbrock comes in.

His LSU offense put up ridiculous numbers in the 2023 campaign. Not only did the Tigers lead the nation in total offense (547.8 ypg), they also led the nation in scoring (46.4 ppg). Quarterback Jayden Daniels also won the Heisman after posting one of the best seasons by a quarterback in recent memory. So yeah, this guy knows how to run an elite offense, something which is what the Irish were looking for.

Denbrock will at least have the quarterback situation figured out. Riley Leonard transferred to South Bend from Duke and figures to be a strong leader under center. The team did lose several key offensive pieces to the transfer portal, but recruiting will hopefully sort those problems out.

They say that the third time's the charm. Denbrock and Notre Dame are hoping that’s true with this new hire.