Yahoo Autos Notre Dame offensive coordinator candidate: Gerad Parker
Notre Dame has a vacancy at offensive coordinator after Tommy Rees took the same position on Nick Saban’s Alabama staff in early February. Where will Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame turn for their new offensive coordinator? We thought it was going to be in Salt Lake City, but the Notre Dame administration had other plans.
Here at Fighting Irish Wire we’ll continue to give you a bio and summary of the career of some of the names that emerge as candidates. We’re also making an effort for some guest contributors who have either followed or covered each potential candidate’s coaching careers.
In the this edition of our offensive coordinator candidate file, we look at internal candidate, Notre Dame tight ends coach, Gerad Parker.
2000-2004: Kentucky football player
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Parker played at the University of Kentucky from 2000-2004. The Wildcats struggled mightily during his time as a player, going 15-40 in his five seasons on campus and 6-34 in SEC play. Parker hauled in 15 receptions for 168 yards during his senior season.
2005-2007: Parker's coaching start
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After playing at Kentucky, Parker took a job in-state at Raceland High School. There he coached the receivers and defensive backs. The program went 18-6 over the two years, including an 11-2 mark during his second season.
From there he took a graduate assistant position at Kentucky for the 2007 season. That season the Wildcats upset eventual national champion LSU and finish the season by beating Florida State in the Music City Bowl.
2008-2010: Tennessee-Martin
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Parker spent three seasons at UT-Martin as the running backs coach (2008) and wide receivers coach (2009-10). He was also the passing game coordinator and recruiting coordinator (2010). The Skyhawks went 19-15 in his three seasons on campus.
2011-12: Marshall
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Parker spent two seasons as Marshall’s wide receivers coach (2011-2012). The Thundering Herd aired it out in his second year; they led the nation with 365.1 passing yards per game. Parker also helped in the development of future-NFLer Aaron Dobson (above), who had 12 receiving touchdowns in 2011.
Related: Everyone (98 players) Tom Brady threw an NFL touchdown pass to
2013-16: Purdue
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Parker spent time with [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] during his time at Purdue. In 2013-14, he coached the tight ends before coaching the receivers in 2015-16. He also served as Purdue’s recruiting coordinator in 2016 and as its interim head coach for the final six games of the season (0-6).
2017-18: Duke
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After spending the spring of 2017 as the running backs coach at Cincinnati, Parker accepted a job for the fall at Duke. There he coached the Blue Devils wide receivers and served as an offensive operations assistant. In 2017, for the first time in program history, Duke had three players with 500 or more rushing yards, while also having a quarterback throw for more than 2,500 yards.
2019: Penn State
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Parker spent the 2019 season at Penn State. The Nittany Lions’ offense averaged 35.8 points per game, ranking 15th nationally, and was No. 21 in red zone offense (.904). They also averaged 13.3 yards per completion, ranking 33rd nationally. Penn State finished the season 11-2 overall, good enough for a final ranking inside the top 10.
2020-21: West Virginia
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In Parker’s first season at West Virginia, the Mountaineers had one of the most improved offenses in the nation. They averaged more than 60 yards rushing per game compared to 2019 and almost 30 more yards passing a game per contest, resulting in them putting up roughly a touchdown more per game.
According to Football Scoop, sources at West Virginia told FootballScoop that Parker took over the Mountaineers’ play-calling responsibilities midway through the 2021 season, and the Mountaineers closed that season with a 4-2 flourish, scoring 30 or more points three times and earning a postseason bid.
2022: Notre Dame
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Parker spent last year with perhaps the easiest job in college football, serving as Notre Dame’s tight ends coach. Alright, that’s an exaggeration, but it’s hard to evaluate him when he has man-child [autotag]Michael Mayer[/autotag] as his top player. Mayer exceeded lofty expectations and Parker certainly didn’t do anything to stunt Mayer or the position group whatsoever.
The Verdict:
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Parker, shown above with Marcus Freeman and Andy Ludwig at a recent Notre Dame hockey game, brings significant experience to what could be his potential post as offensive coordinator. I feel I speak for much of the Notre Dame fan base when I say his promotion would feel like a dud hire after the excitement surrounding the events of the past few days. However, who at this point could be hired and have it not feel that way?
In terms of putting together an offense that could play at a national championship level, Parker has certainly helped multiple different teams take big strides in short order during his coaching career. It might not be a home run hire, but it’d likely be a lot better than the dud it would almost certainly be reacted to as.
