The Notre Dame football team is slowly but steadily repairing the holes that opened up this offseason.
On Saturday morning, the Fighting Irish announced the hiring of new defensive coordinator Chris Ash. Could Marcus Freeman be set to make the next big hire for his staff? There have been some rumblings that Chad Bowden’s replacement could be announced within the next day or two.
Last week, a front-runner for the Notre Dame football GM position appeared to emerge. According to reports, the Irish are close to hiring Chris Blanchard from Texas Tech. According to FootballScoop, contract talks have progressed to the point where Blanchard is in South Bend and could sign on Sunday.
Notre Dame football close to landing its GM
On Sunday morning, John Brice and Zach Barnett wrote that Blanchard has long been on Freeman’s radar. In fact, he wanted to hire him two years ago, but the Red Raiders offered the recruiting staffer a bigger contract.
Notre Dame appears to be attempting to correct that error now that Bowden has moved on to USC. His move to the fierce rival appears to free up a significant amount of money in the budget for the post, given that he got a large rise last year when the Michigan Wolverines attempted to woo him away.
Freeman and Blanchard have been communicating almost since Bowden’s departure. They apparently had several conversations in Mobile, Alabama, while both men were there to witness Senior Bowl practices.
According to Brice and Barnett, Blanchard will decide whether to pursue the Notre Dame football position this time or stay with Texas Tech.
