Last July, amid overtures from USC, James Blanchard reportedly signed a two-year, $800,000 contract to remain at Texas Tech.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - A report by Pete Thamel of ESPN says Notre Dame has hired Chris Ash as its new defensive coordinator to replace Al Golden. Golden did a fantastic job as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator the past three years, but he recently announced that he had accepted the defensive coordinator position with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Just over a week after losing to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the national championship game, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have their next defensive coordinator. According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, the university is hiring Chris Ash as their new DC.

Chris Ash could be returning to college football with a big job at a powerhouse program. The former Rutgers head coach “has emerged as a strong candidate” to be named the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame,

Notre Dame football has wasted little time attempting to fill its defensive coordinator vacancy after losing Al Golden to the NFL. The Irish are eyeing former Rutgers Scarlet Knights head coach Chris Ash to join head coach Marcus Freeman’s staff as the program attempts to build off its College Football Playoff runner-up finish this season,