Notre Dame is losing a longtime member of the strength and conditioning staff. Per a report from John Brice of FootballScoop, Fred Hale has been hired away by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Hale is no longer listed on Notre Dame’s official staff directory. The profile that once existed there, which still comes up as the first thing on the landing page after searching his name, reroutes to a dead end.
The impact he made on the Fighting Irish over the years, though, can’t be erased.
Hale arrived at Notre Dame as the same time as current head coach Marcus Freeman, ahead of the 2021 season. He held the title of associate director of football strength and conditioning for a solid chunk of his time in South Bend. Essentially, he was the No. 2 staffer in charge of Notre Dame’s weight room and workout operation. He was an invaluable part of the Irish’s sideline operation on game days, too, seemingly always within earshot of Freeman.
In 2023, after Matt Balis unexpectedly resigned from his position as Notre Dame’s No. 1 sports performance employee right before preseason training camp, Hale filled in as the program’s interim for the entire season. He was viewed as a candidate to be Balis’ successor for some time before the Irish ultimately hired Loren Landow from the Denver Broncos. Landow is going into his third season at Notre Dame in 2026.
Landow was in the rumor mill quite heavily this offseason. He was being looked at as someone who could return to the NFL himself. But with spring practice just about a month away, it seems like Landow will stick it out for his third year in South Bend after all. He’s been featured in social media posts from Notre Dame’s official account in the last few weeks leading intense winter workout sessions, very much leaning into the team’s mantra for the 2026 season — “leave no doubt.”
Though it retained Landow, Notre Dame lost several key staff members this offseason; linebackers coach Max Bullough, defensive line coach Al Washington and defensive backs coach Mike Mickens. They’ve all been replaced; Brian Jean-Mary of Michigan will coach the linebackers, Aaron Henry of Illinois will coach the defensive backs and Charlie Partridge of the Indianapolis Colts will coach the defensive line. Henry also holds a co-defensive coordinator title.
All in all, the Irish did a nice job of retaining important coaches, including offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, defensive coordinator Chris Ash and special teams coordinator Marty Biagi, and piecing together the defensive staff by replacing departed assistants with very capable successors.
The first true opportunity for the new coaches to put their respective stamps on Notre Dame’s playing style will come when spring practices open up in late March with a culmination of them in the Blue-Gold Game on April 25.