Mike Sanford to Be Named Notre Dame OC: Latest Details and Reaction

Notre Dame's offense struggled down the stretch in 2014, so head coach Brian Kelly is hoping to strike gold with his new offensive coordinator. The Fighting Irish are reportedly going to hire Boise State's Mike Sanford for the position.   

According to Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports, who first reported the news, Sanford's hire could be the first move in a bigger plan for the Fighting Irish:

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Sanford is the type of candidate that could ultimately be a successor to Kelly down the road. Besides Notre Dame, he’s interviewed recently at several schools including Ohio State, Oregon State and Vanderbilt.

Under Sanford’s direction during his first season at his alma mater this past fall, Boise State ranked 14th nationally in yards per game in 2014 and ninth in scoring as the Broncos finished 12-2 including a win over Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl.

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Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports confirmed the news that Sanford is likely to be Notre Dame's new offensive coordinator:

This does leave Notre Dame's current offensive coordinator, Mike Denbrock, in an interesting position. Keith Arnold of NBC Sports recently reported on Twitter that Denbrock turned down a head coaching job to stay with Kelly:

Whatever happens with Denbrock, something had to change for Notre Dame. After starting last season looking like a title contender, going 6-0 before losing a heat breaker at Florida State, things fell apart.

The Fighting Irish lost five of their last six regular season games and got inconsistent play from the offense, particularly quarterback Everett Golson. 

Given Sanford's body of work at Boise State, he will certainly add a dimension to Notre Dame's offense that has been lacking in recent years. Kelly is known for his innovative offensive game-planning, so being able to add another similar thinker could bring the program back to the forefront of college football soon.