Chris Ash arrives, Mike Mickens stays to lead Notre Dame defense

But perhaps the most overlooked element of the first changeover heading the Irish defense since Freeman’s one-year run in 2021 turned into a promotion is that Chris Ash’s arrival is coupled with the expectation that defensive backs coach Mike Mickens will stay at ND.

And some résumé riddles as well that require some decoding.

The successor to Al Golden as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator brings some of the same elements that made the now-Cincinnati Bengals DC such a perfect fit for what head coach Marcus Freeman has been building in the first three years of his regime.

And the importance of that cannot be overstated in terms of continuity, in terms of elite recruiting, in terms of coaching a defensive backfield that helped Notre Dame (14-2) finish No. 1 in pass-efficiency defense each of the past two seasons.

“Chris Ash and Mike Mickens are an excellent duo,” longtime recruiting analyst Tom Lemming said, “along with Marcus, who’s a coordinator himself. I think you can’t go wrong with that combination.

“Ash is a good in-house recruiter, like Golden was. I think they’re similar in style. Both good guys. They put effort into recruiting and they’re good coaches too. You can’t replace Golden, but I think Ash is the closest thing.”

A source Wednesday confirmed with Inside ND Sports the imminent hiring of the 51-year-old Ash, a college safety himself in his college playing days at Drake with extensive experience coaching DBs. Same confirmation for the 37-year-old Mickens, who will be heading into his sixth season with the Irish likely with a title and salary bump after joining. Mickens was originally hired on Brian Kelly’s staff as a cornerbacks coach in 2020.

Like Golden, Ash brings college head coaching experience (Rutgers 2016-19) and experience coaching in the NFL, though Ash’s most recent role with the Jacksonville Jaguars was as an area scout.

The Ottumwa, Iowa, native has a national championship ring with Ohio State under Urban Meyer from the 2014 season in which Ash served as safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator for the Buckeyes. That was the first year of the four-team College Football Playoff.

OSU finished 19th in total defense that season, and, as the No. 4 seed, upended top seed Alabama 42-35 in the semis, then crushed Oregon 42-20 in the title game. The Buckeyes reprised their national title in the first 12-team playoff this past season, beating Notre Dame, 34-23, Jan. 20 in Atlanta.

In 2015, Ash's second and final season with the Buckeyes, OSU finished ninth nationally in total defense and second in scoring defense. In his final game as Ohio State's defensive play-caller, juggling his new job at Rutgers with his old duties, he faced Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, with OSU prevailing 44-28 on Jan. 1, 2016.

So what’s to nitpick with Ash’s past?

His most recent job as a defensive coordinator was with Texas in 2020, and UT head coach Tom Herman was fired after the season. The Longhorns were a meh, 64th nationally in total defense, but that’s actually a significant step up from the No. 97 ranking the season before Ash was elevated into that position.

At Rutgers, Ash was fired four games into his fourth season following a 52-0 road loss to Michigan, four weeks before that same Wolverines team ambushed a No. 8 Notre Dame team, 45-14.

Ash was 1-3 in 2019 and 8-32 overall. Nunzio Campanile was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season, with the Scarlet Knights finishing 2-10.

“Rutgers was a tough job at that time,” Lemming said of the programs early days of Big Ten membership. “When he was at Ohio State, he was hot property. That’s how he got the Rutgers job. Just like Jim Knowles [who left OSU for Penn State this past weekend and was considered for ND's DC opening] was hot property after winning a title with Ohio State this season.

“I think Chris learned a lot from Urban Meyer on how to organize things and get things going. He had to be a good recruiter under Urban, or else Urban gets rid of you. Same thing with Nick Saban.”

After Texas, Ash coached safeties for Jacksonville for one season (2021), then defensive backs with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022-23, before coming back to the Jaguars as an area scout when he was not retained after the Raiders changed head coaches.

Ash’s previous college coaching stops include alma mater Drake, Iowa State, San Diego State, Wisconsin and Arkansas, before Meyer hired him in 2014 at Ohio State, where he stayed for two seasons. Ash had defensive coordinator roles during his stints at Drake, Wisconsin and Arkansas.

Notre Dame is scheduled to open the 2025 season Sunday, Aug. 31 against the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

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