After having smoke around his name for quite some time, former Redskins quarterback coach Matt LaFleur will be named the new quarterback coach at Notre Dame. The news was first reported by the Washington Post.
LaFleur spent the past four seasons as the quarterback coach for the Redskins. He spent two years before that as an offensive assistant with the Houston Texans, working under Kyle Shanahan. He headed to Washington as the quarterback coach when Mike Shanahan was hired and has worked with Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins since they were both drafted in 2012. He’s worked in the NFL since 2008.
LaFleur’s connections to Brian Kelly stem back to Central Michigan, where LaFleur was an assistant on Kelly’s staff. He was a quarterback at Saginaw Valley State, starring at the D-II level after transferring from Western Michigan, where he was a wide receiver. LaFleur will be the youngest coach on the Irish’s 10-man coaching staff.
While the Shanahan era ended in disaster this season in Washington, it’s hard to question the hire of an NFL position coach that guided Griffin to the NFL Rookie of the Year award. LaFleur also worked with Donovan McNabb and Rex Grossman.
The news isn’t official yet, with the vetting process at Notre Dame still going on. But Kelly hinted at having a coach in place over a week ago, and LaFleur is the type of hire that makes perfect sense and follows Kelly’s process almost down to a tee, blending pedigree with a personal connection to the head coach.
LaFleur was one of 10 assistants fired by the Redskins after Shanahan was relieved of his duties on December 30. While he’s spent most of his recent years in the NFL, LaFleur spent time at Ashland University, Northern Michigan and Saginaw Valley State, where he played against Kelly’s Grand Valley teams.