One Overlooked Reason The Notre Dame Offense Will Improve in 2026

Marcus Freeman enters his fifth full season as Notre Dame's head coach in 2026, but some things are still new.

For the first time in his tenure, Freeman returns both his starting quarterback and his offensive coordinator. In 2026, that'll be second-year starter CJ Carr and third-year coordinator Mike Denbrock.

Freeman's first four teams had new quarterbacks each year and three different offensive coordinators. But he opted against going into the transfer portal for a quarterback this offseason, given Carr's success as a redshirt freshman.

Losing running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price suggests regression for the Notre Dame offense next season, but continuity with Carr and Denbrock at the helm may be enough to offset the departure of two electrifying running backs.

Season	Quarterback	Offensive Coordinator
2025	CJ Carr	Mike Denbrock
2024	Riley Leonard	Mike Denbrock
2023	Sam Hartman	Gerad Parker
2022	Drew Pyne/Tyler Buchner	Tommy Rees

Stability is key for Notre Dame offense in 2026

For the last four seasons, Notre Dame quarterbacks and offensive coordinators have had to learn each others tendencies, coaching styles and playbooks on the fly. That can add to the difficulty level of early-season games, which, partly due to Notre Dame's independence, are often against marquee opponents.

So heading into 2026, Carr and Denbrock will have a relationship unlike any previous Notre Dame quarterback-offensive coordinator combination during the Freeman era. He's excited for what a heightened level of continuity can do for the Irish offense.

"That's something that the consistency with what our offensive and defensive plans will be, and also the consistency in what that quarterback position will be is really exciting," Freeman said on Jan. 14. "So, you're at a different level in terms of how you go through your process. It's not teaching CJ, okay, here's how to become a starting quarterback. He knows the expectations. Now the challenge is, how does he elevate and advance?"

Carr is coming off a strong redshirt fresman season with the Irish. The 6-foot-3 Saline, Mich. native completed 195-of-293 passes (66.6%) for 2,741 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions. His 168.1 passer rating ranked fifth nationally –– only behind Fernando Mendoza, Julian Sayin, Diego Pavia and Drew Mestemaker –– and he finished eighth with an 82.7 adjusted total quarterback rating.

Going into the 2026 season, Carr is tied with Texas quarterback Arch Manning as the Heisman Trophy favorite with +750 odds, according to the DraftKings Sportsbook. Freeman has always raved about Carr's talent. But this time around, Carr's experience and enhanced knowledge of the offense could be a difference maker in avoiding early-season losses that kept the Irish out of the playoff last year.

"I was walking in [quarterbacks] coach [Gino] Guidugli's office two days ago, and [Carr] is in there, he's watching Matthew Stafford. And it's like, last year CJ would have been trying to, again, learn what we're asking him to do," Freeman said. "But now, he's trying to elevate at a different level. So he's as talented of a player as I've ever been around, and I'm really excited about what his future holds here this season but also our offense."

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