Michael Fredrick Denbrock Hired as Offensive Coordinator (2023)

[NDIrish000]

Curious as to whether Denbrock incorporates analytics into his play calling. It's all the rage in the NFL. I don't know where Notre Dame Football/Freeman stand on this currently in terms of utilization, staff, etc.

I'm going to assume that Parker did not.

My belief is analytics have a lot of value, but shouldn’t be treated as gospel. And I believe that for all sports. As a HC/Coordinator/Manager, the reason you have your job is your insight and intuition. If you’re going to do things strictly off analytics, you could write a computer program to do that.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

My belief is analytics have a lot of value, but shouldn’t be treated as gospel. And I believe that for all sports. As a HC/Coordinator/Manager, the reason you have your job is your insight and intuition. If you’re going to do things strictly off analytics, you could write a computer program to do that.

I agree.

I also think you shouldn't completely ignore it as a tool. Which is why I was wondering if the program utilizes it in any way. I have not heard much about it at the college level.

 

[PutuporShutup]

Curious as to whether Denbrock incorporates analytics into his play calling. It's all the rage in the NFL. I don't know where Notre Dame Football/Freeman stand on this currently in terms of utilization, staff, etc.

I'm going to assume that Parker did not.

Interesting question as Freeman is very high on analytics for his decision making.

I think the problem with utilizing analytics solely or predominantly is the other team can do the same and you both hit head on.

Two big things for me are not showing your hand on what you are running with specific personnel and alignments, plus the most important one, your ability to coach the team to execute what you call. I think the latter part doesn't get discussed enough with top OCs, it's mostly X's O's. There are position coaches, but it's on the OC to bring it all together cohesively. I think at times parker called some really good plays that should have been huge gains, but we didn't come close to executing them properly.

A great example is the swing pass to tyree vs clemson. So many mistakes in execution on a very simple play, that was well thought of and timed, but we had multiple big mistakes. Should have have possibly went for a TD, instead a multi yard loss. That's just one example, but it happened a lot last year.

 

[NumbersGuy0520]

The best approaches are rooted in both analytics (black box, model based) and human intuition. This will almost always be true.

Analytics get a bad rep when people misuse but claim it was the right thing to do. There are always bad models. I saw some defending the decision to maybe settle for a FG at the end of the Duke game (before Estime rattled off his 20ish yard TD) as “analytically correct”. No, it wasn’t. You can’t make a decision based off the general kicking trends when Shrader has shown all year that he’s incredibly inconsistent from that distance. The make probability there is probably less than 40% - you keep the pedal on the gas.

Similarly, play action is less efficient against man coverage. Does that mean basically never running it against Clemson is analytically correct? Of course not, but it’s what we did.

There is definitely a place for analytics in cfb, especially for the teams that use them correctly and at the right times. Hopefully we do, but honestly I’m skeptical.

 

[ulukinatme]

@arrowryan posted it first in the Spring Practice thread, but I thought it could go here.



Denbrock: "You're excited about the red zone today."
Jagusah: "Yes sir. Nothing better than scoring points."
Denbrock: "There's nothing better than that, that's right. You get to hear the best fight song in the history of college football when that happens."

Love this guy. He brings the facts.

Notre Dame Victory March

fightingirish.com

In 1969, as college football celebrated its centennial, the “Notre Dame Victory March” was honored as the “greatest of all fight songs.”

 

[T-Boone]

What others are even in contention?

 

[ulukinatme]

What others are even in contention?

Michigan's "Hail to the Victors" was ranked #2, right in the toilet where they belong

 

[irishff1014]

 

[arrowryan]

Impossible. Notre Dame doesn’t pay their coordinators well and isn’t completely invested in winning a championship

 

[Deirishpisser]

charlie weis jr...holy wet boogers

 

[IrishLion]

Was Ludwig always bankrolling like that, or did the fiasco get him a major pay raise AND get ND to open the checkbook?

 

[Irish#1]

Good article on Denbrock in The Athletic for anyone that has a sub.

Take it from the coaches who worked beside him, Mike Denbrock is easy to bet on

Denbrock is returning to Notre Dame after two previous stints with the Irish.

www.nytimes.com

 

[KPENN]

Was Ludwig always bankrolling like that, or did the fiasco get him a major pay raise AND get ND to open the checkbook?

I’m pretty sure he got a little bump after

 

[IrishLax]

charlie weis jr...holy wet boogers

Respect. Like honestly... good for him. Not an athletic bone in his body, everyone joked about him, and now he's a highly paid OC of an SEC front runner.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

charlie weis jr...holy wet boogers

Apple. Tree. Something something.

Was Ludwig always bankrolling like that, or did the fiasco get him a major pay raise AND get ND to open the checkbook?

He was at $1.25M when the infamous hockey game occured. Doesn't matter. I thank him for his service.

Respect. Like honestly... good for him. Not an athletic bone in his body, everyone joked about him, and now he's a highly paid OC of an SEC front runner.

Married a former figure skater too.

Between Charlie Sr. and Charlie Jr., Hannah Weis will be taken care of and then some.

 

[ColinKSU]

Respect. Like honestly... good for him. Not an athletic bone in his body, everyone joked about him, and now he's a highly paid OC of an SEC front runner.

I’d heard in the past that he wasn’t overly fond on ND and like … yeah I get it.

 

[NDpendent]

Notre Dame paid Denbrock and helped Ludwig get paid

 

[rikkitikki08]

Notre Dame paid Denbrock and helped Ludwig get paid

And also helped out war daddy get a gig.

 

[ndfanatic78]

charlie weis jr...holy wet boogers

That is just crazy. How is he the 5th highest paid OC in the country, he doesn't even call plays or run his own offense.

 

[Irish4life]

charlie weis jr...holy wet boogers

He's a great OC. ...Might be someone to keep in mind for a few years down the line, even.

 

[stlnd01]

He's a great OC. ...Might be someone to keep in mind for a few years down the line, even.

Yeah. Before Denbrock (the obvious and far superior choice) emerged I thought we sure might have kicked the tires on Young Charlie to replace Parker.

 

[irishandy]

Nice to see ND on that list and better that ND is #1 and paying their coaches.

I wonder if Golden is on PFF's list of DC's.

 

[Rockin’Irish]

Nice to see ND on that list and better that ND is #1 and paying their coaches.

I wonder if Golden is on PFF's list of DC's.

Golden is allegedly in the $2.1 to $2.2MM range per annum.

 

[greyhammer90]

Prister has a good story up about the off-season work on IrishIllustrated. This quote from Denbrock on voluntary workouts made me laugh:

"They can come in voluntarily at any time, as long as it falls within the rules. It's, 'I'll voluntarily see your ass at four o'clock,'"

 

[rtrn2glory]

We are a breakout season away from Riley Leonard from having a very easy time with QB recruiting IMO

 

[NDohio]

Pete's article in The Athletic today is an interview with Denbrock.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5668683/2024/07/31/notre-dame-mike-donbrock-offensive-coordinator/

Interesting answer when it comes to O-Line:

Which players have progressed most since you got here? Who comes to mind?

Jeremiyah Love has done a really nice job. Ultra-talented, as we all know. Just the other pieces of it, he’s done a nice job. All of it. He’s plus 8 or 10 pounds. He’s taken the next step maturity-wise in terms of preparing himself. Greathouse, I loved. O-line wise, I like both the young tackles. Charles (Jagusah) has a chance to be really good. Aamil Wagner had a good spring. He’s got to continue to come along, but he did a really nice job in the spring. I love the center (Ashton Craig). You always want your center to set the tone for the group and be the leader. He is that. I love that. I think Cooper Flanagan had a really good spring. I think he’s got a chance to continue to come along. Eli (Raridon) has just gotta stay healthy, keep his brain in the right spot. Kris Mitchell, he’s more healthy than he’s ever been.

 

[Katzenboyer]

Jagusah and Wagner being solid to start the season and progressing as the games go along would be such a huge boost for this offense. Hope it happens.

 

[PutuporShutup]

You gotta believe as been reported, wagner has the clear path to starting RT with his current trajectory.

The comment on Raridon is interesting. I wonder if he has too much mental scar tissue from his injuries or if he's ready to have an impactful season this year?

 

[ulukinatme]

Raridon can be so good when he's healthy. Future is bright if he can make that happen. Hopefully both he and Mitch are 100%.

 

[PolishDomer]

Slight uturn on this thread...has anyone questioned if Denbrock has been involved in recruiting since coming on board? I know Golden is not...but I have not heard anything about him being involved or being mentioned by recruits. I find that odd, given that he is a top OC and we should be leveraging that like crazy.