Gerad Parker and the Notre Dame Offense Looking to Enhance

Last Saturday wasn’t the first time Notre Dame offensive coordinator Gerad Parker had called plays in a game, but there was still a bit of an unknown surrounding what he’d bring to the Fighting Irish offense. 

The Parker era started off with a bang as Notre Dame marched 81 yards in 13 plays on the first series of the season to send a message to Navy. The drive also was a statement to the college football world that power football was still a priority, but the Irish also had a quarterback to open up the offense. 

Parker will be the first to admit there was some nervousness as all eyes were on his offense as Notre Dame kicked off the college football season. 

“I'd be lying if I didn't say there were nerves and certain thoughts of just because of the expectation of this place and really an allegiance to our players and our staff,” Parker stated. “You want to do a good job for everybody. I want to make your guy's job fun. It's sure as hell a lot of fun when we do what we do and play the way we played.”

As for the pressure of being Notre Dame’s offensive coordinator, Parker knows there is a standard to live up to and it’s something he’s embraced over the last eight months. 

“I think the pressure is good,” Parker said. “I would like to say that we handle the pressure the right way in dealing with and preparing. But there's an obligation to this place.” 

Parker’s offense didn’t punt or commit a turnover last weekend, but that wasn’t the most impressive thing to head coach Marcus Freeman. 

It was Parker’s ability to communicate calls, checks and adjust on the fly that impressed Freeman, especially in the first game of the season. 

”The overall operation from Coach Parker to the signalers to Sam, getting in the right protections, the right checks, executing, that’s the whole operation,” said Freeman. “It was really good. There weren’t any issues. 

“We didn’t have to call timeout. That’s the real things we really worry about in the first game. How many operational mistakes are we going to have? It was really good that we didn’t have any.” 

Parker was quick to deflect any praise as he credited his team for being prepared and locked in as the execution was almost flawless. 

“I thought it was a testament to our guys and the people who are working in our areas of communication with signals to help us get in and out,” said Parker. 

As for this weekend’s game against Tennessee State, Notre Dame should roll with ease and Parker’s challenge will be to have his guys once again locked in on the small details while also building on last week’s performance. 

It’s very evident Notre Dame wants to run the ball with Audric Estimé and the other four backs, but Parker also made it clear he will take what the defense gives him too. 

“I would think that balance is being able to do what we believe puts our guys in a position to be very efficient and put points on the board,” said Parker. “So that may look like what it did last week.

“It may look totally different this week or next. So I think balance is just being efficient with our plays, and putting ourselves in position to put the defense in a position where they can't really get a hold of us.”

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Cybernetic Raglan Quarter-Zip Hooded Top