Mike Denbrock says Brian Kelly 'understood' his decision to return to Notre Dame football
SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, in his first public comments since leaving the same role at LSU two months ago, said there are no hard feelings between him and Tigers coach Brian Kelly.
“I don’t know that he was real happy with my decision but I think he understood it,” Denbrock said Friday at the indoor practice facility. “He knows the reasons why. I have a lot of respect for Brian. I consider him a friend and always will.”
Coming off a two-year run at LSU that saw the Tigers lead the nation in scoring last fall behind Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels, Denbrock had agreed to an extension that had yet to be approved by LSU’s Board of Supervisors.
“It was pretty close,” said Denbrock, 60. “We had agreed on terms of a new three-year contract. I think it was waiting for board approval and those types of things. The timing just happened to work out in our favor.”
When former Irish offensive coordinator Gerad Parker was hired as head coach at Troy, Irish head coach Marcus Freeman swooped in with what reportedly became a four-year, $9 million deal. Denbrock and Freeman worked together as coordinators at the University of Cincinnati from 2017-20.
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Denbrock, citing a “true belief in Marcus Freeman and his vision and what he believes in,” said he hadn’t considered a third go-round at Notre Dame until December’s sequence of events.
“Everything was kind of settling in,” he said. “I’d had some other discussions with a couple other opportunities that didn’t seem like the right thing to do because of just liking where I was and enjoying where we were living. When it did happen, the phone rang and we just kind of were talking back and forth a little bit and (Freeman) mentioned the possibility.”
Denbrock, whose two prior stints at Notre Dame ran from 2002-04 and 2010-16, discussed the idea with his wife Dianne at Freeman’s suggestion.
“I didn’t know really how serious it was at that point,” Denbrock said, “and then over the course of a week or so it became a little more serious and then it got really serious. I talked to (Notre Dame athletic director) Jack Swarbrick and some other people, and it ended up being what we felt like was the right decision to make for our family.”
As for an association with Kelly that dates to 1987 at Division II Grand Valley State in Allendale, Mich., Denbrock said that remains unaltered.
“We’re friends and have always been friends,” Denbrock said. “We have a relationship that spans over 30-some years and that won’t change.”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for NDInsider.com and is on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock on leaving LSU
