Notre Dame will hire Memphis offensive coordinator Chip Long for the same position, according to Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman and multiple reports. Long will replace Mike Sanford, who left Notre Dame for the head coaching job at Western Kentucky earlier this month.
Memphis ranked 35th in yards per play (6.25) and 16th in points per game (38.8) in 2016, Long's first year as an offensive coordinator. Previously, Long was Arizona State's special teams coordinator and tight ends coach from 2012-2015, and also coached the Sun Devils' running backs in 2015.
Long was Illinois' tight ends/fullbacks coach from 2010-2011 under Ron Zook, and got his coaching start as a graduate assistant under Bobby Petrino at Louisville from 2006-2007 and Arkansas from 2008-2009.
Long spent four years in the NFL as a wide receiver/tight end for the Detroit Lions from 2002-2005 after spending his college career at the University of North Alabama.
Whether or not Long will call plays in 2017 remains to be seen, though, given the departures of Sanford (who didn't call plays) and Mike Denbrock (who did). Coach Brian Kelly could wind up deciding to call plays next fall, as he did earlier in his tenure at Notre Dame.