After Brian Kelly made his introductions and answered a few questions (more on that later), the assistant coaches were introduced to the media for the first time and spoke to the gathered press.
With the exception of defensive line coach and special teams coordinator Mike Elston, whose wife just gave birth to a baby girl, people got their first looks at Bob Diaco, Charley Molnar, Kerry Cooks, Tim Hinton, Chuck Martin, Ed Warinner, and Paul Longo.
Here are some snap impressions:
BOB DIACO
Diaco is a young and charismatic guy. As people have pointed out from the few photos available of him on the internet, the guy loves his threads. His crisp oxford shirt and sweater vest looked right out of the Hammes bookstore catalog. (At the very least, if the coaching thing doesn’t work out, he could get a gig modeling ND gear…) But as Kerry Cooks alluded to in his introductory quotes, Diaco oozes intensity. I can only imagine the maniac he was as a team captain and linebacker at Iowa. “Baby Blue,” as Cooks called him, talked the Xs and Os of the 3-4 system that Diaco and Kelly will implement, which have influences from coaches all around the country.
CHARLEY MOLNAR
Molnar seems to be another polished guy, and once again promotes the company line that all the assistants seem to embrace. If there’s one thing that’s certain, this team will be aggressive. “We are looking to score virtually every time we have the ball,” Molnar said. “When the one offense is in, when the two offense is in, we’re looking to score… If it’s a good football decision, we’re looking to score.” I know more than a few Irish fans wouldn’t mind getting the second string offense a few touchdowns against Navy this year.
TONY ALFORD
Alford’s not new to the staff, but I felt bad not including his comments from yesterday, especially since he’s making the change from running backs to wide receivers. Alford’s going to continue being an ace recruiter, and cross-training as a wide receivers coach will only benefit Alford as he makes his ascent in the business. Alford and Kelly have already logged a ton of miles together, working to keep the committed recruits together as well as bring in a few more players in this year’s class. I’ve got all the confidence in the world that Alford won’t miss a beat when working with the wideouts.
KERRY COOKS
Cooks seems to be a smooth operator, which will definitely help with recruiting. He admitted that the transition to a 3-4 will be a different defense than he’s used to, as both he and Chuck Martin are moving over from a 4-3 base defense. He’ll also be transitioning to coaching a new position, working with outside linebackers, after coaching the secondary at Wisconsin. What I liked most from Cooks was his talk about continuity for the defense, which I think will help a unit that was thinking far too much last year.
MIKE DENBROCK
Denbrock certainly seems happy to be back at Notre Dame and at ease with the return. While I was originally skeptical about Denbrock’s ability to handle West Coast recruiting, and he’ll never be confused with Brian Polian or Lane Kiffin, he’s got a folksy charm that seems to welcome people in. Denbrock didn’t shy away from talking about his first time here, and he sounded incredibly genuine and positive when talking about how much he loved the university. It was especially interesting to hear him talk about the Gug, and just how much the campus has transformed over the past five years.
TIM HINTON
Hinton’s the wily veteran of the coaching staff. A self-proclaimed farm boy, he’ll have the state of Ohio on lock down, having spent his entire coaching career in the state. Listening to Hinton, the fact that he’s a football lifer is evident in the first few seconds. While Tony Alford obviously returns to the staff after spending last year with the running backs, Hinton talked about starting everyone with a clean slate. He also talked about the different responsibilities of a running back in a spread offense, which means that every running back better get used to catching the ball and blocking.
CHUCK MARTIN
Martin’s a great addition to the coaching staff, and his prolific D-II record can’t hurt. Martin’s new to the group which he was quick to mention, but obviously has ties with the head man, who knew he was a key hire. Listening to Martin, his love of Notre Dame came out immediately. Even more importantly, as the voice of the secondary, he’ll instill a new attitude. “Every touchdown goes through the secondary,” Martin said, before talking about limiting the big plays. As we all saw that year, that final objective with be key.
ED WARINNER
Even though he pulled his wardrobe from Mike Brey’s closet, Ed Warinner gets huge kudos from me. The fact that he proactively sought this job after hearing Jeff Quinn was heading to Buffalo shows me Warinner is a guy that wants to be a part of the Irish program. As the only coach without a tangential connection to Kelly, Warinner’s body of work was enough to convince Kelly that the former Kansas offensive coordinator was the man to build on Frank Verducci’s success and continue to elevate a unit that’s replacing three starters.
PAUL LONGO
It’s pretty clear Longo was on his best behavior, and the new strength and conditioning coach left his muscle shirts in the closet to meet with the media. The ever-present smile on Longo’s face made it seem like there was an inside joke that we were all missing, which most likely has something to do with the absolute beating he put on his players that morning. Longo ducked and weaved his way through any questions asking for trade secrets, most likely aware that his “coat of armor” talk has already become an internet favorite. It’s natural for fans to get excited about the new strength coach’s regime, but with Longo, Kelly has brought in a guy who has been doing it right for a very long time.
