‘A lot of success’ characterized previous Gino Guidugli-Mike Denbrock pairing
EL PASO, Texas — When Gino Guidugli calls the offense for Notre Dame football in Friday’s Sun Bowl, he will be preparing the way for one of his prime coaching mentors in Mike Denbrock.
From 2017-21 at Cincinnati, Guidugli coached running backs (2017) or quarterbacks while Denbrock served as offensive coordinator for the Bearcats. When Denbrock rejoined longtime boss Brian Kelly at LSU after the 2021 season, it was Guidugli who took over as Cincinnati’s offensive coordinator in 2022.
“Mike and I had a lot of success when we were together at Cincinnati,” Guidugli said at a Sun Bowl news conference on Tuesday morning. “I know he’s got a lot of experience at Notre Dame and loves this place. He made that perfectly clear when we worked together at Cincinnati. He has a lot of fond memories.”
Guidugli had to choose his words carefully as Denbrock, 59, hasn’t officially been announced as Notre Dame’s next offensive coordinator. This will be Denbrock’s third tour in South Bend after previous stints working for Tyrone Willingham (2002-04) and Kelly (201016).
Irish coach Marcus Freeman was defensive coordinator from 2017-20 at Cincinnati, where Guidugli was a record-setting quarterback from 2001-04.
How might Denbrock’s approach to play-calling inform the way Guidugli, 40, handles Friday’s assignment against 19th-ranked Oregon State?
“I think you go into it as if you’re playing quarterback,” Guidugli said. “The game plan, you’re calling it like you would as the quarterback is how I look at it. Everybody has their little quirks that they have in game planning or in calling the offense, but influence-wise I think you learn by watching.”
With redshirt freshman Steve Angeli making his first career start, Guidugli will do what he can to keep things running smoothly amid a slew of opt-outs, including four on offense (Sam Hartman, Audric Estime, Joe Alt and Blake Fisher).
“You try to figure out: Here’s my expectation of the defense,” Guidugli said, “this is how I can take advantage of it and make sure your guys are on the same page as you.”