SOUTH BEND, Ind. — When Mike Mickens arrived at Notre Dame six years ago, he was charged with answering a question that had dogged the program for the better part of a quarter century.

Could Notre Dame ever have an elite secondary?

Not only did Mickens build that during the past half-dozen seasons, but he kept it going with high-level recruiting, too. Now Mickens will be leaving the Fighting Irish to join incoming Baltimore Ravens head coach Jesse Minter’s first staff, multiple sources close to Notre Dame told The Athletic on Sunday night.

Minter was a graduate assistant at Cincinnati during Mickens’ final two seasons as a player. Mickens also coached Ravens All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton during his final two seasons at Notre Dame.

While Hamilton has already established himself as an elite player at the next level, he’s hardly Mickens’ only success story at Notre Dame. Mickens developed 2024 fifth-round pick Cam Hart, 2025 second-round pick Benjamin Morrison and third-round pick Xavier Watts, who was also a two-time All-American and national defensive player of the year. Leonard Moore appears to be a surefire first-round pick a year from now, while the rest of the starting secondary could also project at the next level.

Notre Dame also just signed its highest-rated secondary in the modern era, which included five-star safety Joey O’Brien and four-star cornerback Khary Adams.

The Irish led the nation in pass efficiency defense in 2023 and 2024 and finished fourth nationally last season with 21 interceptions.

Mickens was in the running for the defensive coordinator job that went to Chris Ash a year ago, and opted to stay put at Notre Dame despite heavy interest from other college programs. USC and Georgia Tech were believed to be two schools in pursuit of Mickens during recent offseasons, but Notre Dame was willing to invest in Mickens at a rate that reflected his market value.

Even if the title of defensive coordinator wasn’t coming at Notre Dame under Freeman, it wasn’t a situation where Mickens was actively looking to leave for something bigger or better. Mickens is on record that his goal was to become a defensive coordinator or head coach in college, not necessarily to jump to the NFL.

“The goal is always to become a DC or a head coach,” Mickens said last year. “Obviously, it would have to be the right situation. I love it here. I love working for Coach (Freeman). I’m not just looking to go somewhere. I love these guys. I love my room. But the ultimate goal is to become a head coach.”

It’s not clear if a jump to the NFL would expedite that process or not, but it does give Mickens a chance to grow his skill set outside of the college game and outside of Freeman, whose connection with Mickens dates back to their time as teammates at Wayne High School in Ohio. In fact, Mickens was a plus for Freeman choosing Notre Dame over LSU five years ago when he had standing offers from both schools to become defensive coordinator.

That decision has been a boon to Freeman’s career, in part because he had Mickens in the staff room coaching up the secondary. A unit that once struggled to keep up with the nation’s elite offenses became one that could match them talent-for-talent. And whoever Freeman hires next will be the beneficiary of Mickens’ work.