After having his name surface a few weeks ago, Harry Hiestand has officially been named to the Irish coaching staff, replacing Ed Warinner as both offensive line coach and run game coordinator. Hiestand is a 29-year coaching veteran that’s spent significant time in both the NFL and collegiate ranks.
After spending the last two seasons in Tennessee, Hiestand returns to the Midwest, where he spent four years coaching the Chicago Bears offensive line, and eight years in the Big Ten with Illinois.
“Harry is one of the best offensive line coaches in college football, and we are fortunate to have him on our staff,” Irish head coach Brian Kelly said in a statement. “When I was searching to fill this position, I asked some of the most respected offensive line coaches in football whom they would recommend and Harry’s name was routinely mentioned as one of the best. His history of developing NFL-caliber offensive linemen speaks for itself, and I know our linemen will learn a lot from him.”
We’ve already spent significant time discussing Hiestand, whose strong reputation might have dimishe thanks to the incredibly raw talent he was given these past two seasons in Tennessee. In his two seasons in Knoxville, the Vols failed to crack the top 100 in rushing offense, though they finished 30th and 50th in passing offense while making gigantic strides protecting the passer, jumping from 116th in the country in Hiestand’s first season (giving up 41 sacks), to 34th (giving up 18 sacks -- one fewer than the Irish offensive line).
Of course, qualifying those statistics is important. As Notre Dame published in their official release, Hiestand’s 2010 offensive line was one of the most inexperienced in football, returning only three total starts to the entire line while forcing three true freshmen into the starting lineup. Still, the Volunteers had a 1,000 yard rusher in Tauren Poole, only the 16th in Tennessee’s history, who tied for the SEC lead with six 100-yard games. Hiestand saw his freshmen turn into sophomores in 2011, but still coached one of only seven offensive lines in D-I football that didn’t play a senior.
As for his fit in the spread offense, some have wondered how Hiestand’s blocking philosophies will mesh with Kelly’s principles, namely spending more time zone blocking than Hiestand has done in the past. In quotes released by UND.com, Hiestand addressed those concerns quickly.
“The fundamentals of line play are critical no matter what type of offensive system you are in,” Hiestand said. “Blocking people is about leverage. Blocking people is about getting your helmet where it belongs and getting your pads below someone else’s pads and knocking them off the ball. Being fundamentally sound fits any system. We are going to work on being fundamentally sound. We are going to work on blocking people for the duration of the play.”
Even better, for those looking to play the “return to glory” card, Hiestand also mentioned his connection to former Irish offensive line coach Joe Moore, the legendary teacher who is the gold standard at Notre Dame.
“He had a tremendous impact on me,” Hiestand said of Moore. “Joe was one of those people who you either gravitated to him or not--and there was no in between. I was one of those who gravitated to him, and he taught me a lot about offensive line play. Most of the things I teach have been influenced by what Joe taught. Once that started and we spent that much time together, then I became very close with him as he went back and was coaching high school. He and his wife, Fran, and his family--I was able to be a part of him up until his death.”
Hiestand officially finalizes the changes on the Irish coaching staff. For those looking for a quick look at what’s happened since the bowl game, here’s a quick breakdown of the staff changes:
2011 to 2012 -- Coaching Changes
HC: Brian Kelly (unchanged)
OC: Charley Molnar to Chuck Martin
OL/RG: Ed Warinner to Harry Hiestand
RB: Tim Hinton to Tony Alford or Scott Booker
WR: Tony Alford or Scott Booker
TE: Mike Denbrock (unchanged)
DC: Bob Diaco to Diaco and Kerry Cooks (Cooks named co-DC while Diaco adds Asst. HC)
DL: Mike Elston (unchanged)
LB: Bob Diaco (unchanged)
CB: Kerry Cooks (adds co-DC)
S: Chuck Martin to Bobby Elliott