Harry Hiestand Named OL Coach

[ND88]

It has to say something that the moment Kelly bounces one of our best position coaches is like “I want back in.”

 

[IrishRazor82]

It has to say something that the moment Kelly bounces one of our best position coaches is like “I want back in.”

He did get fired by the Bears...

 

[Trait Expectations]

Someone with a 247 account should call out the writer from this article:

https://247sports.com/college/notre-...ort-180064379/

It says:

During his first stint at Notre Dame, Hiestand developed four offensive linemen into top-three round NFL Draft picks since 2013 alone. Zack Martin and Ronnie Stanley both went in the first round, while Nick Martin went in the second round and Chris Watt in the third

This is patently false unless he wants to disregard Quenton Nelson and Big Mike McGlinchey. And he may have missed other players that were developed. I mean, this isn't difficult stuff, someone please ask him to addend his article.

 

[CrystalHead]

Sounds like Watt is coming on at some capacity as well. Agreement is in place waiting on paperwork I guess. Maybe that's been discussed already just passing it along

 

[ThePiombino]

Sounds like Watt is coming on at some capacity as well. Agreement is in place waiting on paperwork I guess. Maybe that's been discussed already just passing it along

Hiestand heir apparent?

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[irishtrain]

This is great

 

[chicago51]

He did get fired by the Bears...

Harry wanted to do things the right way, Matt Nagy wanted to do things his way. Not Harry's fault.

 

[Crazy Balki]

He did get fired by the Bears...

He was one of many fall-guys to cover up for Matt Nagy's incompetence in running an offense.

 

[Irish#1]

He did get fired by the Bears...

No way you hold that cluster in Chicago against Harry.

 

[Mavericknyc1980]

Sounds like Watt is coming on at some capacity as well. Agreement is in place waiting on paperwork I guess. Maybe that's been discussed already just passing it along

interesting does he focus on the recruiting part for HH while being HH assistant?

 

[IrishLax]

Short of NIL craziness going bonkers and sabotaging ND, I have a hard time seeing Hiestand being a flop from a recruiting standpoint. He had a disaster class on his way out the door, no doubt. But he's going to sell himself, and Notre Dame just signed a top OL class despite having no OL coach.

 

[Armyirish47]

Short of NIL craziness going bonkers and sabotaging ND, I have a hard time seeing Hiestand being a flop from a recruiting standpoint. He had a disaster class on his way out the door, no doubt. But he's going to sell himself, and Notre Dame just signed a top OL class despite having no OL coach.

Come on now, give Coach Quinn his flowers, he may not have been the best chef but the dude could grocery shop. What he put together Hiestand will make a delightful meal out of, we should all tip our waiters generously.

Anybody had breakfast yet?

 

[CrystalHead]

interesting does he focus on the recruiting part for HH while being HH assistant?

I believe that wholeheartedly. In my opinion Harry is a short term fix to turn things around and mentor Watt as a potential replacement. HH isnt a young hire let's be honest.

 

[Dale]

Watt will have to spread his wings to be the next ND OL coach. I could see this being a one year thing (Watt as analyst)

 

[Irishize]

He did get fired by the Bears...

Tennessee fans hated him and were glad to see him leave. Then he landed at ND where the Irish immediately assumed the title of OL U. Fit & situation is important.

 

[Dizzyphil]

Tennessee fans hated him and were glad to see him leave. Then he landed at ND where the Irish immediately assumed the title of OL U. Fit & situation is important.

Somewhere in the original HH hire thread, I had stated he and Fulmer didn't see eye-to-eye either. Fulmer was lineman and thought it was his (Fulmer) way or the highway. Why HH only lasted a year or two at TN.

 

[spoonidentity]

I would love some insight to sort this out. I think the recruiting concern is somewhat valid and somewhat overblown. I also think the short yardage situations will be helped with technique and S&C improvements from the previous tenure.

But what I can't get a consensus on is the amount of talk about HH's style. I believe it's widely accepted that the NFL guys LOVE Harry. I think it's also accepted that some players did not do well - Liam specifically. I don't know if there are others but it's always referenced on the various ND universe podcasts that HH was rough on backups and some transferred out or were on the verge of doing so before he left. Then I saw a post on Reddit from a Tennessee lineman who said players hated Harry's guts when he was there.

I'm most concerned about this part. People in the know, provide some context here. Is he going to be more adept at handling college kids? Does he connect with someone like Blake Fisher? Does he connect with someone like Caleb Johnson, Ty Chan, or Aamil Wagner who need some time to develop? I'm probably most worried about the backups who will need to provide depth and grow for 2023 and 2024.

 

[GreenGemsOmally]

Somewhere in the original HH hire thread, I had stated he and Fulmer didn't see eye-to-eye either. Fulmer was lineman and thought it was his (Fulmer) way or the highway. Why HH only lasted a year or two at TN.

There is a poster on reddit.com/r/cfb that says they were a walk on OL at UT while HH was there, and that he absolutely *hated* playing under HH. I think there was just a complete fit and culture mismatch. HH might not be super warm and cuddly, but his welcome back by a lot of the alums wouldn't be so vocal if he were hated by the players despite the results.

 

[NDRock]

Somewhere in the original HH hire thread, I had stated he and Fulmer didn't see eye-to-eye either. Fulmer was lineman and thought it was his (Fulmer) way or the highway. Why HH only lasted a year or two at TN.

Fulmer was gone by the time HH landed in Tennessee. Dooley was the coach by then.

 

[Dizzyphil]

Fulmer was gone by the time HH landed in Tennessee. Dooley was the coach by then.

Nope - Fulmer hired HH... and they had the spring together when Fulmer was fired and Kiffen took over... Fulmer and HH had words amongst each other during the summer and training camp.... I was hired to 'Ref' the spring games... then just before Fulmer was fired and 'kitten' came in, HH was fired by Fulmer (with 'Kitten') not liking HH's scheme.... So technically, Fulmer fired him.

Fulmer was part of the TN team after he was fired as HC... Some just don't know how much his involvement was...Kiffen was just a 'shot in the dark'

 

[ab2cmiller]

Nope - Fulmer hired HH... and they had the spring together when Fulmer was fired and Kiffen took over... Fulmer and HH had words amongst each other during the summer and training camp.... I was hired to 'Ref' the spring games... then just before Fulmer was fired and 'kitten' came in, HH was fired by Fulmer (with 'Kitten') not liking HH's scheme.... So technically, Fulmer fired him.

Fulmer was part of the TN team after he was fired as HC... Some just don't know how much his involvement was...Kiffen was just a 'shot in the dark'

Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley moved two steps closer to completing his football staff Saturday with the additions of assistant coach Harry Hiestand and football head strength coach Bennie Wylie.

https://247sports.com/college/tenne...ls-OL-and-Strength-positions-at-UT-104685422/

 

[Dale]

That definitely sounds first hand but Hiestand was hired in January 2010 and Fulmer was fired November 2008 so something is not reconciling haha

 

[Dizzyphil]

Just some extra info to understand - Fulmer brought in HH as a 'technical advisor' to the OL and OC. Fulmer was wrongfully fired and Kiffen brought in.... Kiffen sneaks out in the middle of the night after HH is hired and then Dooley comes in and then HH fired. Dooley didn't believe HH's standards was up to Kiffen's and Fulmer's standards. So HH was fired. ND picked HH immediately and then the story goes.......

 

[NDRock]

Nope - Fulmer hired HH... and they had the spring together when Fulmer was fired and Kiffen took over... Fulmer and HH had words amongst each other during the summer and training camp.... I was hired to 'Ref' the spring games... then just before Fulmer was fired and 'kitten' came in, HH was fired by Fulmer (with 'Kitten') not liking HH's scheme.... So technically, Fulmer fired him.

Fulmer was part of the TN team after he was fired as HC... Some just don't know how much his involvement was...Kiffen was just a 'shot in the dark'

You obviously seem plugged in to UT football but I'm confused by your timeline. Harry coached under Dooley for 2 years, you make it seem like Dooley fired Harry right when he was hired. Although I live in E TN I don't follow UT that closely but from what I remember and can see online, the timeline went like this:

2008 - Fulmer was HC and Greg Atkins was OL coach
2009 - Kiffin was HC and Jim Chaney was OL coach
2010 - Dooley was HC and Harry was hired for OL coach

Was Fulmer still around the program after he was fired? I thought he stayed away until years later when he became AD.

 

[Irish#1]

I’m not worried about HH and his methods of
motivation. Particularly from backups. Could be sour grapes that they’re not playing when they think they should.

Any player that has aspirations of the NFL should want to be pushed to be their best. With Bobby Knight they always said, “Pay attention to what he says, not how he says it.”

 

[Dizzyphil]

You obviously seem plugged in to UT football but I'm confused by your timeline. Harry coached under Dooley for 2 years, you make it seem like Dooley fired Harry right when he was hired. Although I live in E TN I don't follow UT that closely but from what I remember and can see online, the timeline went like this:

2008 - Fulmer was HC and Greg Atkins was OL coach
2009 - Kiffin was HC and Jim Chaney was OL coach
2010 - Dooley was HC and Harry was hired for OL coach

Was Fulmer still around the program after he was fired? I thought he stayed away until years later when he became AD.

Yea - I may be thinking of another coach..... I may have HH's years mixed up or I'm thinking of another coach...... I've slept a couple of times since then. LOL

Andy yes, surrounded by Vols fans here in Nashville.

 

[NDRock]

Yea - I may be thinking of another coach..... I may have HH's years mixed up or I'm thinking of another coach...... I've slept a couple of times since then. LOL

Andy yes, surrounded by Vols fans here in Nashville.

Gotcha. I thought maybe Fulmer was still quite involved even after he was fired. Would have been weird but you never know what's going on behind the scenes.

 

[Dale]

[TWEET]https://twitter.com/ashtonpollard7/status/1486414967947644929?s=21[/TWEET]

He could have easily (touted his accomplishments), but I felt like he knew I knew about him, and he just wanted to honestly just connect with me personally.

This has to be HH’s focus. Freeman, Rees can do the bragging. Most recruits will have figured it out on their own too. HH has to give this side of the effort.

 

[ulukinatme]

Harry should have a ring for all the Day 1 draft picks, then just flash them for the recruits like it's the SB.

 

[bobbyok1]

It's interesting that Harry was brought back. I'm, pumped, think he will help us keep the "O-Line U" thing going. But didn't IrishLax mention something about the high unlikelihood of him coming back? Something about inappropriate actions or something in his last stint with ND?

We may never know but I am curious how that all got worked out.