The 2009 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Charlie Weis and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Weis entered his fifth season as head coach with the expectation from the Notre Dame administration that his team would be in position to compete for a BCS Bowl berth. Notre Dame started the first part of the season 4–2, with close losses to Michigan and USC but ended the season with four straight losses, including a second loss to Navy in three years. Weis was fired as head coach the Monday after the Stanford loss at the end of the season. Although Notre Dame was bowl eligible with 6 wins, the University announced on December 4 that the Irish had chosen not to play in a bowl game. Irish athletic director Jack Swarbrick hired Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly after a 10-day coaching search.
Preseason
Coaching changes
Following the 2008 season, offensive coordinator Michael Haywood left the team to become the head coach for the Miami (Ohio) University Redhawks. Following what some critics called a disappointing 7–6 season, Charlie Weis announced several major changes to the coaching staff, including the replacement of the offensive and defensive line coaches. Frank Verducci was hired to replace John Latina as the offensive line coach and was placed in charge of revamping the Irish running game as the running game coordinator. Tony Alford was hired to replace Mike Haywood as the running backs coach. Finally, Weis hired defensive line coach Randy Hart, a veteran coach at University of Washington from 1988–2008. Former Notre Dame standout and NFL veteran Bryant Young was also hired as a defensive graduate assistant with the possibility of eventually stepping in to coach the defensive line.
Roster changes
Graduating players
Senior safety and captain David Bruton was the only player drafted from the team, going in the fourth round to the Denver Broncos as the 114th pick overall. Five more players would sign quickly after the draft, including David Grimes with Broncos, Pat Kuntz with the Colts, Terrail Lambert with the 49ers, and fullback Asaph Schwapp and offensive lineman Mike Turkovich with the Cowboys. Defensive lineman Justin Brown and captain Maurice Crum Jr. also exhausted their eligibility.
Transfers
Tight end Joseph Fauria transferred from Notre Dame to UCLA prior to the start of the season following an undisclosed University violation that would have sidelined him for the season.
Recruiting
The Irish added 18 players to its roster with high school recruits. Included in the class were five-star linebacker Manti Te'o (top defensive player in the nation), four star runningback Cierre Wood, and five-star offensive lineman Chris Watt. The class was named No. 11 by Rivals, No. 14 by ESPN and No. 23 by Scout.
Outlook
Award candidates
The following players were announced to award watch lists prior to the start of the 2009 season:
Armando Allen – Doak Walker Award
Jimmy Clausen – Davey O'Brien Award, Maxwell Award
Kyle Rudolph – Mackey Award (only sophomore named to the list) Golden Tate – Biletnikoff Award, Maxwell Award Dan Wenger – Rimington Trophy Sam Young – Outland Trophy
Schedule
Roster
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Quarterback
7 Jimmy Clausen – Junior – Captain
10 Dayne Crist – Sophomore
13 Evan Sharpley – Senior (5th)
Tailback
5 Armando Allen – Junior
25 Jonas Gray – Sophomore
33 Robert Hughes – Junior
20 Cierre Wood – Freshman
32 Theo Riddick – Freshman
Fullback
34 James Aldridge – Senior
86 Bobby Burger – Senior
30 Steve Paskorz – Junior
47 Mike Narvaez(w) – Senior
X Wide Receiver
23 Golden Tate – Junior
18 Duval Kamara – Junior
1 Deion Walker – Sophomore
19 George West – Senior
11 Shaquelle Evans – Freshman
Z Wide Receiver
3 Michael Floyd – Sophomore
82 Robby Parris – Senior
81 John Goodman – Sophomore
21 Barry Gallup Jr. – Senior
84 Robby Toma – Freshman
Tight end
9 Kyle Rudolph – Sophomore
83 Mike Ragone – Junior
80 Tyler Eifert – Freshman
88 Jake Golic – Freshman
Left Offensive Tackle
72 Paul Duncan – Senior (5th) 70 Matt Romine – Sophomore 73 Lane Clelland – Freshman