Notre Dame football: Harry Hiestand announces immediate retirement
Just minutes before the kickoff of Super Bowl LVII between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, Notre Dame football sent out the following press release regarding offensive line coach Harry Hiestand:
SOUTH BEND, IN — Harry Hiestand, a 40-year collegiate coaching veteran who returned to Notre Dame in 2022 for a second time as the Joe Moore Offensive Line Coach, has announced his retirement from coaching.
“I have made the decision to retire,” Hiestand said. “It is important to me to spend time with my family, as I have two kids competing in college athletics, one for his last season, and I have decided it is time for me to be a part of that. I am thankful for the opportunity Father Jenkins, Jack Swarbrick and especially Coach Freeman gave me to return for a seventh season coaching the offensive line at Notre Dame.
“Coach Freeman sets the example for Notre Dame Football every day, and he brings out the best in all of us. The players, especially the offensive line, are the best part of this great job and I thank them for their hard work.”
Hiestand returned to Notre Dame for the 2022 season after spending the 2018 and 2019 seasons as the offensive line coach for the Chicago Bears. His first term with the Notre Dame football program was from 2012 through 2017.
“I want to personally thank Coach Hiestand for coming out of retirement for my first year as a head coach, and raising the standard, not only for our offensive line, but for our entire team,” Dick Corbett Head Coach Marcus Freeman said.
“We are so grateful for all of the work he has put in during his two stints here at Notre Dame. Coach Hiestand has experienced success at the highest levels of coaching and I am forever grateful for the wisdom he has shared with myself and our entire coaching staff. Coach Hiestand will be forever a part of Notre Dame Football. Congratulations to Harry, Terri and his entire family on a much deserved retirement from coaching! We wish them all of the best.”
Hiestand helped develop the 2022 team into one of the more dependable units in the country. The Irish rushed for over 200 yards six times during the 2022 season and finished 35th in the country at 189.9 yards per game. Notre Dame also protected the quarterback at a high level, surrendering just 1.62 sacks per game (40th in the country). Sophomore left tackle Joe Alt collected five first-team All-America honors from various publications when the season concluded, while left guard Jarrett Patterson was also named a Second Team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association.
The Irish rushed for 2,457 yards in 2022, which was the sixth-highest total for the program since 1996.
During his first term with the Irish, Hiestand developed a number of offensive linemen into Top-3 round NFL Draft picks. In his six years in South Bend, he had six offensive linemen selected in the first three rounds (Quenton Nelson, first; Ronnie Stanley, first; Zack Martin, first; Mike McGlinchey, first; Nick Martin, second; and Chris Watt, third). Over the 11 NFL Drafts (2002-12) prior to Hiestand’s arrival, only two Irish offensive linemen were drafted in the first three rounds and not a single one since 2007.
Of the six linemen drafted, three of them were selected in the Top-10 picks of the draft (Nelson – 5th, 2018; McGlinchey – 9th, 2018 and Stanley – 6th, 2016). Nelson was the highest drafted Notre Dame player since Rick Mirer was selected second overall by the Seattle Seahawks in the 1993 draft.
Prior to his first stint at Notre Dame, Hiestand coached at Tennessee for two years (2010-11) after working with the offensive line with the Chicago Bears from 2005-09. He coached the offensive line at Illinois from 1997-2004 and at Missouri from 1994-96.
Hiestand’s first coaching job at the FBS level occurred at Toledo, where he worked with the tight ends from 1988-89. He worked with the offensive line as a graduate assistant at USC in 1987, after coaching the tight ends at Penn in 1986.
His first assistant coach role came at Hiestand’s alma mater, East Stroudsburg. Hiestand was offensive line coach from 1984-85 and assistant offensive line coach in 1983 at the NCAA Division II school after serving as a student assistant in 1982.
Hiestand began his college career as an offensive lineman at Springfield College (Mass.) before transferring to East Stroudsburg, where injuries ended his playing career. He graduated from East Stroudsburg in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education.
Born Nov. 19, 1958, in Malvern, Pennsylvania, Hiestand and his wife Terri have four children – Michael, Matthew, Mark and Sarah.
THE HIESTAND FILE
Hometown: Malvern, Pennsylvania
High School: Radnor High School
College: East Stroudsburg (Pa.) (Health and Physical Education, 1983)
Wife: Terri
Children: Daughter – Sarah; Sons – Michael, Matthew and Mark
PLAYING EXPERIENCE
1978-79 Springfield (Mass.) Offensive Line
1980-81 East Stroudsburg (Pa.) Offensive Line
COACHING CAREER
1982 East Stroudsburg (Pa.) Student Assistant
1983 East Stroudsburg (Pa.) Assistant Offensive Line
1984-85 East Stroudsburg (Pa.) Offensive Line
1986 Pennsylvania Tight Ends
1987 USC Graduate Assistant
1988 Toledo Tight Ends
1989-93 Cincinnati Offensive Line
1994-96 Missouri Offensive Line
1997-04 Illinois Offensive Line
2005-09 Chicago Bears Offensive Line
2010-11 Tennessee Offensive Line
2012-17 Notre Dame Offensive Line
2018-19 Chicago Bears Offensive Line
2022 Notre Dame Offensive Line
BOWLS/PLAYOFF GAMES COACHED
1988 USC (Rose)
1999 Illinois (Micron PC)
2001 Illinois (Sugar)
2005 Chicago Bears (NFL Divisional Round)
2006 Chicago Bears (Super Bowl XLI)
2010 Tennessee (Music City)
2012 Notre Dame (BCS National Championship)
2013 Notre Dame (Pinstripe)
2014 Notre Dame (Music City)
2015 Notre Dame (Fiesta)
2017 Notre Dame (Citrus)
2018 Chicago Bears (NFL Wild Card Round)
2022 Notre Dame (Gator)
