Notre Dame Football: The 10 Most Important People in the Program

When running a college football team, there are a lot of people who work together to try and make things run smoothly. The players, of course, are the ones who get majority of the credit, but there are tons of people behind the scenes who deserve their fair share as well.

Notre Dame hasn't experienced the type of success it would like over the last couple of years, but it surely isn't because of a lack of effort. From trainers, to coaches, to the school president, there is a lot of work that goes into each season to try and build the best possible team year in and year out.

With the season rapidly approaching, here are the 10 most important people for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team.

10. Running Backs, Slot Wide Receivers and Recruiting Coordinator, Tony Alford

How can Tony Alford not be on this list? After all, he has three jobs to take care of.

Not only does he coach the running backs and slot receivers, but he is also the recruiting coordinator, who does his best trying to maintain Notre Dame's reputation for landing some of the top high-school players in the country. 

No pressure or anything, but Alford does a ton for this football team and deserves credit for taking on such a huge task.

Despite losing several top recruits during the offseason, I think it's safe to say that he is doing a great job on the little amount of sleep he must get throughout the year.

9. Offensive Coordinator and QB Coach Chuck Martin

Last season, Martin coached the defensive backs for the Irish. This year, he will call the shots offensively and coach the quarterback position. Notre Dame shouldn't have too much trouble on this side of the ball, returning seven starters, but the quarterback position is still a question mark.

Last year's starter Tommy Rees was recently arrested, leaving a big mystery with many inexperienced replacement options to choose from. Poor quarterback play has really hurt this team the last couple of seasons.

The Irish simply can't afford another sub-par season.

It will be up to Martin to figure things out and make a decision that could determine how successful this season is going to be.

8. Quarterback, Gunner Kiel

While Martin has to find a starting quarterback, it likely won't be true-freshman Gunner Kiel, but he is without question the future of this program.

He is a five-star recruit from the 2012 class and has all of the tools to succeed at the BCS level. His arm strength may still need a little work, but accuracy, leadership, confidence and good decisions with the football are all there.

Due to his youth, it would be wise for Notre Dame to sit Kiel down for a year and let him learn. But, as early as next season, he will be given the keys and expected to produce right away.

7. Running Back, Cierre Wood

While Notre Dame tries its best to figure out the quarterback situation, the running back position will be relied on heavily.

With Jonas Gray in the NFL, it will be Cierre Wood once again who will be expected to help carry this offense. Wood had his best season last year, rushing for over 1,100 yards and scoring nine touchdowns.

The best friend of a young quarterback would be an effective running game; Wood will be the one who will help get that started one again.

6. Director of Football Strength and Conditioning, Paul Longo

Paul Longo has been the director of football strength and conditioning since 2010. It is his job to make sure that everybody gets sick from his workout schedule.

Seriously though, he is known for holding a grueling workout program to help get his team in shape and last the entire season. (You can see some of the drills here.)

It is up to Longo to make sure his players are conditioned enough to last the season and finish the strongest in the fourth quarter. Last season, it was a little shaky on the football field, but you can guarantee the players will make up for it in the weight room the next couple of months.

5. Quarterback, Everett Golson

Back to the quarterback position for a second.

A starter hasn't been named just yet, but with Rees getting arrested and Kiel a true-freshman, it looks more and more likely that Everett Golson is going to be this year's starter. Golson is a dual-threat quarterback who should fit in nicely in head coach Brian Kelly's system and put up huge numbers.

In the spring game a few months ago, Golson completed 11 of 15 passes for over 100 yards and scored two touchdowns, while not turning the ball over once.

The former five-star recruit could add excitement to this team again and give opposing defenses something else to worry about going into each matchup.

4. Linebacker, Manti Te'o

Notre Dame lost many playmakers and leaders on the defensive side of the ball due to graduation and transferring.The top player who returned is without question linebacker Manti Te'o.

He has led the Irish in tackles the last two seasons and picked up five sacks last year as well. He is also the front-runner for the Lott IMPACT Trophy.

Te'o is a difference maker on defense and will be a leader and mentor to some of the younger players on this team. It was huge that he decided to put the next level on hold for another season, considering he would have been a first-round pick if he left early.

3. AD, Jack Swarbrick

Swarbrick has done a great job as athletic director since replacing Kevin White back in 2008. He fired head coach Charlie Weis and hired Brian Kelly, which still hasn't quite paid off but looks to have been the right move. He got rid of the 7-4-1 scheduling format and installed a 6-5-1 which gives the Irish a little more flexibility.

He also stayed true to the independence of Notre Dame and wouldn't budge, despite many teams leaving for different conferences.

Swarbrick has done a fabulous job for Notre Dame over the years and is keeping this program in good hands moving forward.

2. NBC Executive and a Senior Adviser, Dick Ebersol

This may be cheating a little bit, because Ebersol, of course, isn't a part of the Notre Dame program, but he is a huge reason the Irish still have their contract with NBC. Back in 2008 when Notre Dame extended its contract with the television station, Ebersol was the chairman of the network and helped get the deal finalized.

"We're big believers in how Notre Dame time and time again over all these generations has maintained its strength," he said. "I don't see that going away." (Via ESPN)

This contract is a huge reason why Notre Dame doesn't need to join a conference. The games are always televised and they make millions of dollars each year that the school doesn't have to share with anybody. The current deal runs through year 2015.

1. Head Coach, Brian Kelly

Right now, the most important person to Notre Dame has to be head coach Brian Kelly.

Kelly is the guy Notre Dame wanted and fired Charlie Weis for. He is also the guy who received a contract extension through 2016, despite a 1-1 bowl record and sub-par 16-10 combined record in the first two seasons.

Obviously Notre Dame believes in Kelly and believes he is the coach who can get their program back to the top of college football. It hasn't quite worked out yet, but Kelly has at least four more years to prove he has what it takes to get the job done.

With a long-term commitment in place, Notre Dame football will either sink or swim under the current head coach.