Chris Ash was looking forward to learning more about his players at this time last year as he entered his first spring with the Notre Dame program.
This spring is different.
Ash now knows the personnel and the focus has shifted toward helping three new defensive coaches adjust to his scheme and life at Notre Dame.
Charlie Partridge (defensive line) and Aaron Henry (defensive backs) have long-standing relationships with Ash, while Brian Jean-Mary (linebackers) has some familiarity with him even though the two have never worked together.
“The funny part with Coach Ash, when I was at Michigan in '20 during the COVID year, I interviewed with Coach (Urban) Meyer at Jacksonville for the linebacker job,” stated Jean-Mary. “That's when I got a chance to meet Coach Ash. Always admired him from afar and that was kind of our connection when this opportunity came up.”
Ash and Partridge’s relationship dates back even further.
The two were teammates at Drake and have now worked together on the same coaching staff five times. Because of that history, there won’t be much of an adjustment period when it comes to communicating, even when the conversations get blunt.
“Me and Chris are way beyond where we have to be nice,” explained Partridge. “We can have real conversations without an emotional barrier, come to a solution and there's no problem.
“That's hard to do because all us coaches, we're all the same. We're all alphas. We all believe in what we believe in. All that stuff with me and Chris doesn't matter. We can really have real conversations and move on, which is pretty special.”
Ash owns a national championship ring from his time at Ohio State, while Partridge is still chasing one. That pursuit was part of the appeal of the Notre Dame job.
It may not be the final stop for either coach, but it could be the last time the two are on the same staff.
“We've always talked football through all the years, whether we're working together or not,” Partridge said. “The opportunity now to come back together, and we've all learned, right? He's gone on to his systems and additional systems, as have I. To come back together now – remember, what was the MTV show? The Real World? Stop being nice, start getting real.”
Henry’s connection with Ash goes back to his playing days.
Ash coached Henry at Wisconsin, helping him develop into a two-time All-Big Ten selection before the two later worked together at Rutgers.
Similar to Partridge, Henry knows exactly what Ash expects from him as a coach.
“We probably spoke once a week, twice a week sometimes over the course of the last three or four years,” said Henry. “We even had some crossover opponents the last couple of years or the last year that we spoke on. But I think it's a lot easier walking into an environment with somebody you kind of know or you're familiar with. Obviously, there's a level of respect there.”
Henry remembers Ash as one of the most prepared coaches he ever played for, which is something he now hopes to replicate in Notre Dame’s secondary.
“Coach Ash can be a little crazy sometimes, but I think back to when I was a player and I played for him,” Henry recalled. “I never went into a game unprepared. Like, he always had me prepared.
“Meetings were always extremely detailed. And a lot of my coaching techniques and fundamentals and overall mechanics, I think, originated from him. Like how to set up and run a meeting, like how to challenge your best players.”
Partridge believes one of Ash’s greatest strengths shows up during games.
“He's really gifted, being able to see 22 moving parts and solving issues on game day as good as anyone I've been with,” Partridge explained. “I have a lot of respect for that. So he says, ‘What do you think of this D-line adjustment?’ I take it a little bit more to the heart, even though his background is more secondary because of his incredible vision on game day.
“There's no ego that gets in the way. We've known each other so we can disagree and rule and my respect for his vision on game day, that helps our back and forth.”
At this point in their careers, Partridge often knows what adjustment Ash is considering before the conversation even begins and the feeling is mutual.
“There are times for sure,” Partridge said when asked if he knows what adjustments are coming from Ash. “Without a doubt. He says we're going through the tape, you're right. Charlie, are you doing this because of that? Or vice versa. Charlie, how do you see this? Or Charlie, I know you did this last year with Lou in Indianapolis. ‘How did this work for you? I've been thinking about it.’ We do know how to make things work together.”
For Henry, the decision to join Notre Dame wasn’t easy.
He was the defensive play caller at Illinois and was working under Bret Bielema, a coach who had known him since his high school days.
Still, the opportunity to reunite with Ash and the respect he has for him made the move to South Bend worth it.
“He’s a very detailed and data-driven human being,” said Henry. “He doesn't let a lot of the emotion of life or the game dictate how he works his process. He operates in reality, and he just deals with the facts. Whether we're talking about a ball disruption drill, whether we're talking about him coaching me in college, whether we're talking about life, Coach just deals in facts and reality.
“I think what made it appealing, one, to get here is just my level of respect for him in regards to his career path, in regards to some of his decisions that he made as a coach in his career path, but more importantly, just the kind of man he is.”
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