The Notre Dame football program didn’t get its man in the wake of Al Golden. Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles was reportedly being pursued by the Irish.

However, Knowles was also being courted by Oklahoma and Penn State. And on Sunday, reports circulated that he did accept the same job he had with the Buckeyes, with the Nittany Lions. 

However, it doesn’t appear that Notre Dame football was resting on its laurels. On Sunday night, FootballScoop reported that the Irish are very close to a deal with former Rutgers head coach and Ohio State defensive coordinator Chris Ash.

Notre Dame football might have found the best of both worlds

For those who are not thrilled about the idea of Ash coming on board instead of some bigger names that were being floated at one time, there might be a piece of good news too. FootballScoop also claims that as part of Ash coming on board, Marcus Freeman might be working to find a way to to keep defensive backs coach Mike Mickens on the staff.

Mickens has been a coordinator candidate with several other schools. He was promoted to Pass Game Coordinator prior to the 2023 season and was thought to be the in-house decision for Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator when Golden moved on.

Freeman has previously given his endorsement of Mickens saying, “He’s ready to be a defensive coordinator when he gets the right opportunity. But I’m not excited to see him leaving our defensive staff anytime soon.”

There is at least one report that Freeman is wanting to to work out a deal where Ash and Mickens would officially be co-defensive coordinators. It would seem in this role that Mickens would have complete control over the passing game, though Ash would be the one calling the plays on defense.

Things are moving fast with the Notre Dame football program, but it look like they’ve found their man with Chris Ash. The question now is whether Mike Mickens will stick around.