New Spark, Same Standard: How Marcus Freeman Rebuilt Notre Dame’s Defensive Staff

Experience comes to mind when you think of Notre Dame football entering the 2026 campaign. 

The Fighting Irish have two experienced coordinators, a returning cornerback and both sides of the ball are filled with multi-year starters. 

Yet beneath that bedrock of returning talent, head coach Marcus Freeman faced a pivotal offseason mandate as he had to replace three premier defensive position coaches.

Defensive line coach Al Washington departed for the Miami Dolphins, the nation’s top defensive backs coach Mike Mickens joined the Baltimore Ravens, and linebackers coach Max Bullough returned to his alma mater at Michigan State.

Rather than letting those departures disrupt momentum, Freeman turned staff turnover into an opportunity to enhance the program. 

To rebuild the front, Freeman pulled off one of the nation’s top assistant hires by luring Charlie Partridge from the Indianapolis Colts. A longtime colleague and former college teammate of defensive coordinator Chris Ash, Partridge brings an unmatched resume for player development.

While transitioning back to college football required an adjustment, Partridge hit the ground running inside The Gug.

“He's been amazing,” stated Freeman. “He really has the buy-in from our players. It’s hard, man. You have the same coach for three years. He's an unbelievable coach in Al Washington, then you get a new guy, and you gotta create this belief and trust in him, and he did.” 

Partridge earned that trust through intentional relationship-building long before the team stepped onto the practice field, a quality that has paid immediate dividends on the recruiting trail as well.

“He spent an endless amount of time with them,” Freeman explained. “He's a technician. He obviously has credibility just through the proof of the guys he's coached. But what he's done with those guys, what he's done in recruiting, what he's done with the energy he brings to our staff, he's been really, really good.”

In the secondary, Notre Dame pulled off another rare move by landing Aaron Henry, who left his role as defensive coordinator at Illinois to become the Co-DC and defensive backs coach for the Fighting Irish.

Similar to Partridge, Henry reunites with Ash, as he both played for and coached under Ash.

Henry also brought immediate new energy and high-level development credentials, having produced top NFL talent like 2023 No. 5 overall pick Devon Witherspoon.

“The minute he walks in his room, the energy changes,” Freeman said. “He's a guy who can walk in the room and just raise the energy. He's an energy provider. It's infectious. That's the first thing that pops up.” 

“He's an extremely intelligent coach,” stated Freeman. “The ability for him and Coach Ash to be on the same accord, know each other. It was such a no-brainer when he had mentioned he was interested in this opportunity.

Beyond his enthusiasm, Henry’s technical mind and synergy with Ash have impressed Freeman. 

“He, just like Coach Partridge, had done a really good job gaining the trust of guys that had a really close relationship with an unbelievable coach in Coach (Mike) Mickens,” said Freeman. “He was intentional about getting them in his office, developing that relationship, having them around his house and his family.” 

Staff turnover is often inevitable when a program has success, but Freeman views it as a strategic advantage when managed correctly.

“Sometimes when you have new personnel coming to the program, you need it every once in a while,” said Freeman. “It's like a little spark. It's new ideas.

“I would love for Mick and Al to stay here forever. I love those guys, but they go on and do other things. You're able to, with an opening, bring in something new and I think it's good for our program.” 

While bringing in marquee outside names made headlines, Freeman's ability to retain two key rising coaches could prove to be significant. 

Notre Dame safeties coach Jevaughn Codlin was a defensive analyst a year ago and made a name for himself on the recruiting trail. Codlin worked with the defensive line, but the former college defensive back played a key role in the Irish signing the nation’s top defensive back class. 

Codlin accepted a job to coach safeties at North Texas, but a month later, he found himself back in South Bend for the same role. 

“He's valuable,” Freeman said. “He's valuable in recruiting. He's valuable in the development of helping the safeties. He's valuable in terms of what Coach Ash needs him to do, special teams. 

“When we had an opening, we knew how much value he could provide. Is there an opportunity to bring him back? There was and he was interested in coming back. We were able to do that and bring him back, but he showed the value he had when he was here.” 

The other key coach Freeman retained was Tre Reader. It might not seem like a program-changing hire on paper to outsiders as Reader was a student-coach a year ago after an injury ended his playing career, but it was important to keep him at Notre Dame. 

Reader had the opportunity to leave with Bullough to Michigan State and at least two NFL teams wanted to hire him, which speaks to how coaches view the rising Irish assistant coach. 

“Not only is Tre valuable, but he's a Notre Dame guy,” explained Freeman. “He played. He's great. He makes the room better. He meets with a lot of our linebackers and he speaks from experience. Tre is a heck of a coach. He's a guy that has a lot of value.”

It’s a valuable lesson for others on staff or for anyone in life. People are always watching and your value always shows. 

“If you don't do a good job in your role, you're not gonna have much value,” said Freeman. “But those two guys did extraordinarily in the roles that they were given and their roles have increased.” 

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