Notre Dame Offensive Coordinator Search Update: New Top Candidate Emerges

Officially, it has been a week.

To think that Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman only began seven days ago to explore potential new offensive coordinators for the Fighting Irish would be folly.

Notre Dame has worked extensively throughout the past several days to find its next offensive play-caller; former starting quarterback and three-year offensive coordinator Tommy Rees accepted Alabama's offer last week.

This scenario has been the most spastic yet for Freeman, who took over the Irish for Brian Kelly in December 2021 and by the next month had secured Rees to remain at his alma mater and largely locked up Al Golden as defensive coordinator. 

Freeman's conversations with potential candidates now stretch a week, and the work of Notre Dame officials to vet potential coordinators is similar.

The latest?

Numerous sources around college football have helped FootballScoop dial in to the latest on the Irish search:

Colorado play-caller Sean Lewis, Utah's Andy Ludwig and Kansas State's Collin Klein are the candidates who have received the most extensive attention from the Irish, per sources with direct knowledge among multiple involved parties.

Notre Dame's vetting process, sources told FootballScoop, went to extra lengths on those candidates -- though sources indicated Freeman had "communicated with" more than 10 potential coordinators.

Lewis had the first in-depth interactions with the Irish staff. Sources indicated that Lewis not only spoke with Freeman but also had direct interactions with the Notre Dame offensive staff.

A Midwest native who played football at Wisconsin and then turned his first head coaching post, Kent State, into a pair of bowl trips before accepting the job as Colorado offensive coordinator for Deion Sanders in December, Lewis has carved a reputation as one of the top offensive minds in Football Bowls Subdivision college football.

Lewis had been a prime candidate for the Cincinnati Bearcats' head coaching post after Luke Fickell's departure for Wisconsin; Cincinnati ultimately hired away Scott Satterfield from Louisville and Lewis then pounced on a lucrative offer to become the inaugural offensive play-caller for Deion Sanders at Colorado.

Klein was in South Bend, Indiana, both Wednesday evening and into Thursday before flying back to Kansas State, where the former Wildcats' star quarterback has spent the past half-dozen seasons on the coaching staff for multiple head coaches.

After some professional opportunities at different positions following his All-America career as K-State quarterback, Klein first returned to his alma mater to work under the school's iconic leader, Bill Snyder.

When the Wildcats hired Chris Klieman before the 2019 season, Klein remained on staff.

He has coached quarterbacks, been the Wildcats' co-offensive coordinator and helped K-State to the Big 12 Championship in 2022 as offensive coordinator.

Another compelling note here: Freeman and Klein share the same agent from CAA, Clint Dowdle. The correlations extend deeper: Dowdle was a senior-level executive at Kansas State under former Wildcats' athletics director John Currie while Klein was completing his star-studded career as K-State quarterback.

Notre Dame also has had direct talks with Utah's Andy Ludwig, sources in the Pac-12 and around college football told FootballScoop, and the Irish likewise vetted Ludwig to the point that former Ludwig colleagues were contacted.

Yet Big 12 sources late Thursday told FootballScoop that the Irish's personal interactions with Klein were the deepest, from Klein's interactions with Freeman to his time talking football with Notre Dame's offensive coaching staff.

Friday Morning Update >> Collin Klein has opted to remain at Kansas State, a report from Heather Dinich shares this morning.

Friday afternoon update: Notre Dame has again resumed its talks with Ludwig, the veteran college play-caller with experience in multiple Power 5 programs and coming off a season in which Ludwig helped the Utah Utes win the Pac-12 and advance to the Rose Bowl. 

FootballScoop first reported the Irish had been in direct contact with Ludwig.