Michael Mayer Has High Praise For Notre Dame OC Gerad Parker At 2023 NFL Scouting Combine

It was an interesting offensive coordinator search for Notre Dame this off-season. After some frustration and a little bit of chaos, the program eventually found their guy in Gerad Parker who they elevated from his position as the team’s tight end coach.

With any new offensive coordinator, there is going to be some uncertainty and intrigue as to what the offense for Notre Dame may look like. Even with his experience as the offensive coordinator while at West Virginia, it isn’t a great indicator for what Irish fans should expect due to an inability to run the offense he wanted under Head Coach Neal Brown.

Offensive coordinators are also not solely judged by their play calling on Saturdays. In the coaching world, every day matters.

On Friday, former Irish star tight end Michael Mayer was made available to the media at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. The former All-American tight end had some rave reviews for his former position coach, who pushed him to be a better football player this past season.

“I got a new tight ends coach by the name of Coach Parker last off-season,” Mayer said. “Great guy, he knows a ton about the game of football. He actually just got promoted to offensive coordinator at Notre Dame. It was really cool for me to be able to spend one year with him, have a little bit of success, and for him to have the success to go and become the offensive coordinator.”

For a player like Mayer, who was already arguably the top tight end in college football prior to Parker being hired, it is impressive to see how much impact Parker had on him in such a short amount of time. Mayer could have rested on his past accolades and continued to be a great player. That wasn’t enough for Parker, who helped to take Mayer’s game to an even higher level this season.

“It was the details,” explained Mayer. “I think it was coming in and really seeing where my feet should go, where my hands should go, instead of just saying that getting in front of the guy was good enough. I think it was about needing to fix the finer points in your routes, taking a couple more steps to get proper depth. We have really, really been focusing on details in the tight end room this past year.”

There is little question about Coach Parker’s ability as a position coach. He comes with a nice reputation as a very attentive teacher who focuses on the little things. Mayer does believe that it will translate to a very good offensive coordinator for the Irish.

“I think it will translate tremendously,” he said. “I think he knows a ton about the game of football. He has been around football a ton, and played in college. I am excited to see what they can do there. They have some weapons there, that is for sure. It is going to be fun watching them this next season.”

Whenever arguably the greatest tight end in Notre Dame history has a glowing review of a coach, you listen. It will be an interesting transition to watch for Coach Parker but seeing the impact he had on Mayer in just one season is promising. The future appears bright on the offensive side of the football.

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