The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have reportedly landed an NFL coach to bolster Marcus Freeman’s staff further.
Notre Dame recently gave its head coach a new contract after attracting interest from the NFL and other college football openings.
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The program consistently ensures that Freeman is among the highest-paid coaches in the sport, while providing him with the job security and investment needed to perform at a high level.
After inking him to his new deal, Notre Dame has given Freeman a brand new defensive line coach, hiring Charlie Partridge over from the Indianapolis Colts, according to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg.
Partridge has been a coach since 1996, holding jobs at Iowa State, Wisconsin, Arkansas, and Pittsburgh, and taking on multiple roles, building a strong reputation.
He was the head coach at Florida Atlantic from 2014 to 2016, though his most recent gig was at Pittsburgh as a co-defensive coordinator from 2017 to 2023 before joining the Colts in 2024.
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Notre Dame moved Al Washington from defensive line coach to linebackers coach, leaving a hole on the staff and a position that needed to be filled. The school ended up tapping Partridge to take over the defensive half of the trenches.
The addition of Partridge makes another vote of confidence in Freeman from Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua, who has made it clear that he wants the coach to stay at the school for a long time.
“One of my main obligations and responsibilities to this university is to make sure Marcus wakes up every day knowing that he is supported and valued by Notre Dame,” Bevacqua said back in December.
“And I can say with 100% certainty he feels that way, and Notre Dame is totally aligned around the importance of college football for Notre Dame. We’re totally aligned on how he is the perfect coach for Notre Dame.
“We feel blessed that he’s our coach. I make sure that he knows that he will be where he deserves to be, and that is at the top, top, top tier of college football coaches when it comes to compensation every year.”
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