In comparison to him, a key member of the Dame team announced his retirement.
Harry Hiestand, a 40-year collegiate coaching veteran who served as the Joe Moore Offensive Line Coach during his second visit back to Notre Dame in 2024, has announced his retirement from the game.
Hiestand declared, “I’ve decided to retire.”
“Spending time with my family is important to me because I have two kids participating in college athletics, one of whom is in his final season, and I’ve decided it’s time for me to be involved in that.” I am grateful for the chance to return to Notre Dame for a seventh season as the offensive line coach, which was provided by Father Jenkins, Jack Swarbrick, and Coach Freeman in particular.
Every day, Coach Freeman leads by example for Notre Dame football and brings out the best in each and every one of us. I want to thank the players for their hard work; they are the best part of this fantastic job, especially the offensive line.
After serving as the offensive line coach for the Chicago Bears in 2018 and 2019, Hiestand returned to Notre Dame for the 2022 campaign. He served as a member of the Notre Dame football team for the first time from 2012 to 2017.
Marcus Freeman, the head coach of Dick Corbett, stated, “I want to personally thank Coach Hiestand for coming out of retirement for my first year as a head coach and raising the standard, not only for our offensive line but for our entire team.”
“For all of the work he has done during his two stints here at Notre Dame, we are incredibly appreciative. Coach Hiestand is a highly successful coach, and I will always be appreciative of the knowledge he has given me and our entire coaching staff. Forever, Coach Hiestand will be associated with Notre Dame football. Greetings on a well-earned coaching retirement to Harry, Terri, and his whole family! We hope the best for them.
Hiestand contributed to the 2022 squad becoming one of the nation’s more reliable groups. The Irish finished 35th in the nation with 189.9 yards per game and ran for more than 200 yards six times in the 2022 campaign. Notre Dame also provided excellent quarterback protection, giving up just 1.62 sacks per game (40th in the nation). By season’s end, sophomore left tackle Joe Alt had garnered five first-team All-America honors from different publications, and the American Football Coaches Association named left guard Jarrett Patterson a Second Team All-American.
In 2022, the Irish ran for 2,457 yards, the sixth-highest total for the team since 1996.
Several offensive linemen that Hiestand developed during his first stint with the Irish were selected in the top three rounds of the NFL Draft. Six of his offensive linemen—Quenton Nelson, first; Ronnie Stanley, first; Zack Martin, first; Mike McGlinchey, first; Nick Martin, second; and Chris Watt, third—were chosen in the first three rounds during his six years in South Bend. Only two Irish offensive linemen were selected in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft in the 11 years (2002–12) before Hiestand’s arrival, and not one since 2007.
Three of the six linemen who were drafted—Nelson, who was selected fifth in 2018; McGlinchey, who was selected ninth in 2018; and Stanley, who was selected sixth in 2016—were among the Top 10. Ever since the Seattle Seahawks selected Rick Mirer second overall in the 1993 draft, Nelson has been the highest-drafted player from Notre Dame.
Before his first stint at Notre Dame, Hiestand worked with the offensive line for the Chicago Bears from 2005 to 2009, and he also spent two years as a coach at Tennessee (2010–11). From 1994 to 1996, he was the offensive line coach at Missouri, and from 1997 to 2004 at Illinois.
Hiestand worked with the tight ends at Toledo from 1988 to 1989 in his first FBS coaching position. After coaching the tight ends at Penn in 1986, he joined the USC offensive line as a graduate assistant in 1987.
His first assistant coaching position was at East Stroudsburg University, Hiestand’s alma mater. Hiestand served as a student assistant in 1982 before taking on the roles of offensive line coach in 1984–1985 and assistant offensive line coach in 1983 at the NCAA Division II institution.
At Springfield College (Mass.), Hiestand started his collegiate career as an offensive lineman. He later transferred to East Stroudsburg, where injuries put an end to his playing career. In 1983, he received his bachelor’s degree in health and physical education from East Stroudsburg.
Michael, Matthew, Mark, and Sarah are Hiestand and his wife Terri’s four children. Hiestand was born in Malvern, Pennsylvania, on November 19, 1958.
