Decades-old collegiate ties reignite as Partridge and Ash reunite, bringing a proven synergy to elevate Notre Dame's defensive dominance.
The Notre Dame defensive coaching staff has seen significant turnover in the last two seasons. Following the their run in 2024, defensive coordinator Al Golden elected to take a position with the Cincinnati Bengals paving the way for new defensive coordinator Chris Ash to take over in 2025. After finishing this past season 10-2 and narrowly missing the playoffs, the Irish were needing to replace all three of their defensive position coaches after Al Washington, Mike Mickens and Max Bullough all departed.
The first hire that was made was former Pitt Panther's and Indianapolis Colts defensive line coach Charlie Partridge who has extensive experience coaching the defensive line at multiple levels and has a long-standing relationship with Notre Dame's current defensive coordinator. Partridge's track record and his previous relationship with Ash made this a no-brainer type of hire for head coach Marcus Freeman.
"I loved my experience with the Colts, and my experience in the NFL," Partridge explained. "I learned a lot. It was not an easy decision, but then it was. I certainly had the opportunity to stay with the Colts, but whether you guys know it or not, it was a pretty special place led by a pretty special head coach. Then you combine that with a pretty unique relationship with me and the defensive coordinator, it became an opportunity that was obvious."
Partridge's ties with Ash date back to their collegiate playing days where they were both on the same team at Drake. That blossomed into them becoming co-workers on various defensive coaching staffs. Now, they reunite in South Bend to coach up the Notre Dame defense and their outstanding talent in the trenches.
"We've always talked football through all the years, whether we're working together or not," Partridge stated. "He's gone on to his systems and additional systems, as have I. Me and Chris are way beyond where we have to be nice. We can have real conversations without an emotional barrier, come to a solution and there's no problem. That's hard to do because all us coaches, we're all the same. We're all alphas. We all believe in what we believe in. All that stuff with me and Chris doesn't matter. We can really have real conversations and move on, which is pretty special."
Both coaches have learned and grown since their last time coaching together. But Ash and Partridge both understand what it means to be at a place like Notre Dame. Ash has a year under his belt of being the defensive coordinator while Partridge spent several seasons coaching against the Irish when he was with Pitt. Their working relationship and previous work history leaves Partridge with a lot of confidence moving forward.
"We both love to learn," Partridge explained. "We really embrace watching tape, learning other systems, trying to figure it out ourselves, talking to each other, seeing if it fits what we do, what we have player-wise and then coming to a solution that makes sense wherever we are. We've bounced ideas off each other when we were together, even when we were not, and I have a ton of respect for Chris' vision on game day. He's really gifted now being able to see 22 moving parts. He solves issues on game day as good as anyone I've been with, and I have a lot of respect for that."
Notre Dame's defensive line has the potential to be a strength of the defense this upcoming season. When you have a room with guys like Boubacar Traore, Bryce Young, Keon Keeley, Jason Onye, Armel Mukam, Tionne Gray and Francis Brewu, just to name a few, the expectations will be high. The potential for this unit is off the charts and it will be up to Partridge and Ash to get them up to championship-caliber.
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