Notre Dame To Hire Away Chip Long From Memphis To Be The Offensive Coordinator

Brian Kelly has made a lot of moves thus far in the offseason for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football program. After recently losing Mike Denbrock to Cincinnati, Kelly wasted no time in replacing him with the Memphis Tigers offensive coordinator, Chip Long.

Chip Long is another “up and comer” inside the coaching profession- much like Notre Dame’s recent defensive coordinator hire in Mike Elko. Long has been praised recently for the offensive firepower at Memphis this season, even after the departure of quarterback, Paxton Lynch. His Tigers averaged 39 points a game and 6.25 yards per play.

Long’s coaching resume consists of:

• Memphis: Offensive Coordinator 2016
• Arizona State: Tight Ends & Recruiting Coordinator 2012-205
• Illinois: Tight Ends / Fullbacks 2010-2011

The most consistent thing said about Chip Long is that he is a relentless recruiter and has developed a very good reputation- especially on the west coast (a void that was created with Denbrock’s departure).

Brian kelly has once again this offseason looked outside his comfort zone of coaches and tapped a young talent that seemingly is on the rise. Memphis head coach Mike Norvell had this to say about Chip Long when he hired him:

“Chip Long is, without a doubt, one of the brightest young offensive minds in the country,” Norvell said. “Coach Long and I have coached together the last four years at Arizona State, where Chip was our recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach. “He’s going to direct an aggressive, ‘attack-style’ offense that will showcase our playmakers in every aspect of the game. He has been nationally recognized over the last four years as one of country’s top recruiters. Coach Long is originally from Birmingham, Alabama, and has great ties to the region.”

It will remain to be seen just how much Long actually influences Brian Kelly and the Notre Dame offense. It would be hard to imagine that he would accept this position without being able to have playcalling duties. It has been reported that Kelly would take most of that over, but that was prior to Denbrock leaving and now the hiring of Long.

Big changes are happening, and they appear to be for the best. Hopefully, Long can step right in and help finish this recruiting class off strong on signing day.