Notre Dame Quickly Getting To Work On 2026

Notre Dame is ready to move on from awful 2025 ending

For a few weeks immediately following Notre Dame's 2025 CFP snub, Notre Dame felt stuck. Everyone around the program wanted to quickly move forward and focus on what the Irish can accomplish in 2026 rather than complaining and looking back at 2025.

While this was the goal, at the time, Marcus Freeman to the NFL rumors were running rampant, and the transfer portal was not open yet, trapping the Irish in the icky feelings that closed out the year. Now, that's all over. Marcus Freeman has reaffirmed his commitment to Notre Dame, and the portal is open for business.

Notre Dame hires a DL coach with impressive track record

With Max Bullough heading back to his alma mater on a promotion to Co-DC under her Spartan coach Pat Fitzgerald, the Irish had an opening at LB coach. What Marcus Freeman decided to do is shift Al Washington's duties from DL to LB and hire Charlie Partridge to take over DL responsibilities.

Partridge has been in the NFL most recently, but has an extensive college background at Pitt where he achieved elite results with his defensive lines. In his seven years at Pitt, his defensive front was a top-three operation in terms of generating sacks and pressure in four of them.

In addition to the on-field results at Pitt, Partridge also spent time coaching in Florida and is very familiar with recruiting the state. I have yet to see anything but positive reviews about this hire. With so many recent departures, the Irish defensive line is in the spotlight. Notre Dame has a lot of work to do in this area, and Partridge must hit the ground running.

Sources: Notre Dame is set to hire Indianapolis Colts defensive line coach Charlie Partridge for the same role. An accomplished college assistant and former FAU head coach, Partridge was at Pitt from 2017-2023. Worked with ND coordinator Chris Ash at Wisconsin, Arkansas, Drake. pic.twitter.com/0uxr58KoxO
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) January 2, 2026

Notre Dame will eventually hit the portal

Aside from filling out the coaching staff, Notre Dame has also been eyeing the transfer portal, which opened on January 2nd. Notre Dame has many needs in this cycle, such as defensive line, wide receiver, nickel, and kicker. The Irish should be positioned well to be able to land some key playmakers that will contribute in 2026.

While the sting of how 2025 ended will linger, being able to practically move on to 2026 has been very healthy for both the Notre Dame program and a fanbase that has been distraught since the CFP snub. Notre Dame's schedule sets up very favorably in 2026, but only if these key coaching and playing roles are filled appropriately.

The Irish have holes to fill, but they have plenty of talent in place. Give it a little bit, and then the pieces will come.