Notre Dame grad assistant, former Ohio State LB James Laurinaitis returning to alma mater as a coach
Marcus Freeman gave close friend and former Ohio State teammate James Laurinaitis his first job in coaching shortly after becoming Notre Dame head coach. That second job will be at their alma mater.
Laurinaitis is joining the Buckeyes’ staff as a grad assistant working with the linebackers, Ohio State announced Friday. It’s the same role he held in his one year on the Irish’s staff.
“I am thrilled for our program and especially for our current and future Buckeyes who will benefit so much from having James on staff,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said in a statement. “James is a terrific young man with wisdom as a Buckeye and experience as an eight-year NFL veteran. He is going to be a very important part of our program going forward.”
Laurinaitis and Freeman were Ohio State teammates and linebackers from 2005-08. The former was a three-time All-American and a second-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. He played eight NFL seasons for the then-St. Louis Rams (2009-15) and the New Orleans Saints (2016). He ended his Rams career as the team’s all-time leading tackler (852).
Following his retirement, Laurinaitis spent several years in sports media. He was an analyst for Big Ten Network and co-hosted a talk show called Bishop and Laurinaitis on 97.1 The Fan in Columbus. He left the radio station to join Notre Dame’s staff in January 2022.
Laurinaitis’ name recognition helped him earn the Irish’s linebackers and defensive coordinator Al Golden’s respect in short order, even as he learned teaching methods and coaching skills on the fly.
“It was just a lot,” Laurinaitis said in August. “You’re learning, ‘How do I want to teach?’ I know it, but how do I want to present it?”
It seems he found his voice, though. In December, Freeman credited him for helping freshman linebacker and former five-star recruit Jaylen Sneed reach a point where Notre Dame could put him in the defensive game plan in the final four contests of the season. Sneed played 17 snaps in the Gator Bowl win over South Carolina after not seeing the field for the first eight games and logging just nine non-garbage time snaps in the regular season.
“He has had to continue to improve understanding the difference between the high school game and the college game, and he has,” Freeman said. “Laurinaitis has done a great job working with him and helping him on that learning curve.”
If Freeman hadn’t opened the door to coaching for Laurinaitis, Day might have done it last offseason. Day and Laurinaitis discussed the latter’s desire to get into coaching and possibilities on the Buckeyes’ staff before Freeman offered him a grad assistant spot at Notre Dame.
“We talked about it,” Day said in August. “James certainly has an unbelievable football background. I’ve got an unbelievable amount of respect not only for him, but for what he did here at Ohio State and his NFL career. He’s another tremendous coach on their staff.”
Ohio State visits Notre Dame on Sept. 23, 2023.
