Report: Notre Dame expected to name West Virginia's Gerad Parker as next tight ends coach
Per Pete Thamel of ESPN, Notre Dame is targeting West Virginia’s Gerad Parker to be the next tight ends coach following the departure of John McNulty to Boston College. Multiple other outlets reported his expected hire.
Sources confirmed that Parker interviewed for the position on Tuesday.
The 41 year old is currently the co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach at West Virginia. He was to share the offensive coordinator duties beginning this year, and he served as the sole offensive coordinator and receivers coach for the Mountaineers from 2020-21.
Parker has previously had stops at Penn State, Duke, Cincinnati and Purdue and briefly served as the interim head coach for the Boilermakers in 2016. He has coached several offensive positions: tight ends, receivers and running backs. Additionally, he was the recruiting coordinator at Purdue for four years from 2013-16.
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The offensive-minded coach knows Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman from his brief stint as the running backs coach at Cincinnati in 2017.
Parker is originally from Kentucky and played college football for the Wildcats, but his career was plagued by obstacles in the form of a broken collarbone and a leg injury. Kentucky also had three head coaches during his five years in Lexington. Parker ultimately finished his time at Kentucky with 15 receptions for 168 yards.
Mountaineers’ offense showed flashes of excitement in 2021
West Virginia ran a relatively balanced offense last year under Parker, headlined by quarterback Jarret Doege and running back Leddie Brown.
Doege made 417 of West Virginia’s 447 pass attempts last year, and the offense averaged 247.9 passing yards per contest (fourth in the Big 12). Wideout Winston Wright was named second-team All-Big 12 after leading the team with 47 receptions for 553 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Brown posted a 1,000-yard year, although the Mountaineers as a whole were last in the conference in rushing yards per game. The running back had 223 carries for 1,065 yards (4.8 yards per carry) and 13 scores.
Parker’s receivers during his one-year stint at Penn State in 2019 were fantastic; the team averaged 35.8 points per game (15th nationally) and 13.3 yards per completion (33rd nationally). The group was headlined by KJ Hamler’s 56 catches for 904 yards and eight scores, a performance which earned him Sports Illustrated All-Big Ten first team honors as an all-purpose player. Hamler was ultimately a second-round NFL Draft selection in 2020.
