Notre Dame Football: Should Harry Hiestand be the next Irish offensive line coach?

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish continue to prepare for their upcoming Fiesta Bowl game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys, but as the clock winds down for that game so too does the clock for hiring new assistants.

The hiring of Marcus Freeman as Notre Dame’s head football coach essentially came with a built-in staff for next season. Special teams coach Brian Polian is the only one following Brian Kelly to the LSU Tigers. We know for sure that a lot of assistants are staying for 2022 such as; Mike Elston, Tommy Rees, Chris O’Leary, Mike Mickens, John McMulty, and Lance Taylor. We are also fairly certain that both Del Alexander and Jeff Quinn will be on their way out after the bowl game though nothing is official.

So, about that offensive line job...

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Do you want former Notre Dame offensive line coach, Harry Hiestand, to come back to his old job? It’s hard to say no — right? Harry oversaw a renaissance of sorts along the Irish offensive line that helped win them the Joe Moore Award and produce two Top 10 draft picks in the same season. He is a throwback of sorts, and instilled a loyalty among his guys that pushed them to become the best version of themselves at the collegiate level.

But is that enough? Does Notre Dame need an old school approach back on the staff in an ever-changing game? Marcus Freeman talks about recruiting damn near half of the time he makes a public comment, but Harry was never a guy that liked recruiting or really hit the trail all that hard. And yet... results.

It appears that Bill Bedanbaugh is staying with the Oklahoma Sooners, so as far as another name goes, the former Joe Moore Award winning assistant coach is off the table. Justin Frye with the UCLA Bruins is another name that has been a hot commodity. Frye was on many people’s list to replace Hiestand back in 2018 before Jeff Quinn got the job. Frye has done a great job with UCLA and the Boston College Eagles before that, and he is just 38 years old. He also holds the offensive coordinator job with UCLA under Chip Kelly — so would he really want to take JUST the OL job in South Bend?

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Just a few short weeks ago I believed that Hiestand was never truly an option for Notre Dame moving forward under Marcus Freeman. The entire recruiting mantra was one of the biggest reasons for those thoughts. That was a few weeks ago, however, which can feel like decades within staff searches and recruiting. Perhaps Harry is the best choice available, and all they need to do is ask.

What do you think?