SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame football didn’t just overhaul its defensive coaching staff this offseason.
It created an ultra-experienced bank of coaching perspectives from which second-year coordinator Chris Ash can draw as he pleases.
In Charlie Partridge (defensive line), Brian Jean-Mary (linebackers) and Aaron Henry (defensive backs), the Irish can boast of a trio of position assistants who know first-hand what it’s like to sit in Ash’s chair.
“There’s a lot of synergy in that room,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said near the end of spring practice. “I really, really like what’s been going on in their meetings: their communication, their coaching, their alignment. … Credit to coach Ash for leading that room. I’m really pleased by what I’ve seen out of the defense this spring.”
Partridge, whose association with Ash dates to their time as Drake University teammates three-plus decades ago, was Wisconsin’s co-defensive coordinator with Ash in 2011-12. Both Badgers editions reached the Rose Bowl, something that proud program has achieved just once in the past 13 seasons.
Notre Dame opens the 2026 campaign on Sept. 6 against Wisconsin in Green Bay.
Jean-Mary, 50, was South Florida’s defensive coordinator for former Irish assistant Charlie Strong from 2017-19.
Henry, 37, was Illinois’ defensive coordinator the past three seasons and was a two-time all-conference selection as a player with Ash as his position coach.
While Ash engineered an early-season turnaround last season with holdovers Al Washington, Max Bullough and Mike Mickens in those respective roles, there’s no denying things should run more smoothly for Ash with his own picks in place.
“It was kind of like a new staff this year,” Ash said after the Blue-Gold Game in late April. “There’s a lot of excitement, a lot of enthusiasm when you get new guys that come in and coach. The amount of time they spent with the players was impressive.”
Coordinator experience abounds for Notre Dame football
Just because Notre Dame will field one of the nation’s most game-tested defenses, thanks in large part to a quintet of transfer portal additions, that doesn’t mean Week 1 excellence is a given this time.
Spring practice, with its game simulations that include headset communication, was a perfect time to test some of the new information flow between Ash and his fresh set of lieutenants.
“They do have some new ideas and new things, different ways to coach positionally, but our system is our system,” Ash said. “The spring was really just to build on that and then we’ll worry about some new things here in training camp. That’s kind of where we’re at.”
Freeman, who had to replace a trio of defensive assistants that had been in place for 11 of 12 possible campaigns in his first four years, has seen the benefits of coordinator experience on the offensive side for the Irish.
While Mike Denbrock, in his third tour of duty at Notre Dame, has a long history of calling plays, offensive assistants Joe Rudolph (offensive line), Ja’Juan Seider (running backs) and Gino Guidugli (quarterbacks) have held the OC role at previous stops.
Wide receivers coach Mike Brown, the youngest full-time assistant at 37, is the only one in the group without prior coordinator experience.
Even special-teams coordinator Marty Biagi, who assists with the secondary, was a co-DC in 2011 at Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
“At times it could be a double-edged sword, right?” Freeman said. “Everybody has knowledge and everybody has wisdom, but what can we package that our players and our young people can understand?
“I say that because the relationship between the coordinators and the position coaches has to be one of synergy. They have to understand each other and know when to give ideas and when to just listen to the call or listen to the philosophy: ‘This is what we’re doing. Go teach it.’ “
‘Frank and honest conversations’ for former Drake teammates
Biagi, while acknowledging the rare nature of Notre Dame’s coaching dynamic, said there were no issues this spring with too much back and forth among the defensive staff.
“Coach Ash does a great job opening up, taking comments and at the end of the day, he’ll make that decision,” Biagi said. “He’s really good at saying, ‘Hey, how has everybody done it?’ He’s taking opinions, and then we formulate our plan that way.”
Partridge, born 17 days before Ash in December of 1973, would figure to have the most latitude in terms of pushing back against any concepts that seem problematic.
Like Ash, who struggled in the top role at Rutgers from 2016-19, Partridge had a short stint as a head coach at Florida Atlantic from 2014-16 before giving way to Lane Kiffin, now at LSU.
“We’ve talked throughout the years, but the last time we actually worked together was 2013 at Arkansas,” Partridge said of Ash. “You know his journey and you know mine. We both have learned a lot. We’ve talked about what we’ve learned. But there were certainly things that he does differently than when we were together and same for me.”
What hasn’t changed is the unspoken bond between two men who have remained close confidants since those early days in Des Moines.
“The cool thing is me and him can have really frank and honest conversations and come to an agreement that is best for Notre Dame,” Partridge said. “That’s all that matters. Whether he believes in something more than I do or vice versa, as long as we come to an agreement for the best option for Notre Dame, then we’re going to be in a good place.”
Aaron Henry tries to ‘protect’ longtime mentor Chris Ash
Henry left Illinois and another longtime mentor, coach Bret Bielema, after three trying seasons in the DC role. The Illini finished 96th, 65th and 57th in scoring defense in Henry’s three years with playcalling responsibilities.
That included a 27-10 road loss to Wisconsin (4-8) last year and a three-year run against Purdue in which the Illini allowed an average of 40 points per game to the rebuilding Boilermakers.
Philosophically inclined and talkative by nature, Henry should be able to convert such struggles into useful feedback for Ash.
“Having a chance to sit in that seat … I think our job as assistant coaches is to make his job easier,” Henry said. “I try to look at things from an abstract point of view. Coach (Ash) has a great mind. He thinks about everything. But the things that he misses, we try to protect him.”
Henry’s only previous chance to work with Ash came in 2016 at Rutgers, when the defense allowed 37.5 points a game (13th-worst in FBS) and the Scarlet Knights went winless in the Big Ten.
“I try to protect him in his blind spots,” Henry said. “I’m constantly asking questions because I’m also learning the defense. There’s a lot of pieces and intricacies to this defense. It’s a great, great, great defense when it’s operated and performed at a high clip.”
Notre Dame fans got a taste of that, starting with the second half against Purdue in Week 3. From there, the takeaways seemed to multiply weekly; the Irish finished fourth in FBS with 21 interceptions, but their two fumble recoveries tied for third fewest.
Oregon State and Wisconsin recovered one opponent’s fumble apiece.
“Just making sure we’re doing exactly what (Ash) wants to get done from a structural standpoint on the back end so that he can call it like he wants to call it,” Henry said. “It’s really, really cool seeing him operate. I’m always the guy in the meeting room asking him, ‘What’s your purpose of this call? Is this an early-down call? Is it a third-down call? Is it a second-and-long call, get back on track? Is it a second-and-short call?’ “
Henry paused and smiled. His history with Ash seemingly empowers him to ask unlimited questions.
“It’s kind of tedious sometimes,” Henry said, “but as I’m growing and learning from coach in regards to how he wants to call it, now (I’m) able to take it to the meeting room and teach this to the guys: ‘Hey, fellows, this is why coach is utilizing this call in this part of the field. On this down and distance, here’s what we have to make happen. This is what cannot happen and this is what we’re looking forward to making happen.’ “
That’s where Henry’s Illinois DC experience kicks in.
“It’s just being able to teach at another level when you understand exactly what he’s trying to get done,” Henry said. “Being a former play caller, you can help your players play a lot faster, especially in regard to situational football.”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: How coordinator experience could play out for Notre Dame football staff
Reporting by Mike Berardino, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
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