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With just 13 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed delivered a touchdown strike to the back corner of the end zone, giving the Aggies a 41-40 lead and dropping Notre Dame to 0-2 after an opening loss to Miami. Fans left the Cathedral of College Football deflated, their hopes for a Fighting Irish playoff run on the brink of extinction, with one name on their minds: defensive coordinator Chris Ash.

The frustration was overwhelming, as Notre Dame redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr greatly exceeded expectations in his first career starts, putting up 64 points against two eventual College Football Playoff teams. Yet, the Irish had nothing to show for it in the win column. Even when they secured their first victory in week four, the defense was still unimpressive, allowing 30 points to a Purdue team that was ranked 100th in the country in yards per game.

Just one season ago, Notre Dame had one of the top defenses in the country, ranking fourth in the nation in points allowed per game. After losing coordinator Al Golden to the Cincinnati Bengals, fans expected Chris Ash to have a better start; after allowing almost 100 points in his first three games, the fanbase began to call for his removal. “Fire Ash” started trending on X, with one fan expressing how “this team has too much talent and potential for it to all be ruined by a crappy DC” (@SSN_NotreDame, X).

Head coach Marcus Freeman, however, backed his play caller, asserting that the defensive struggles stemmed not from scheme but rather execution. “It’s not what we’re calling at this time or why we’re calling it, it’s why we aren’t executing,” he explained, choosing to stick with Ash. 

This decision paid off, as the Fighting Irish defense would undergo a dramatic shift, propelling them to a ten-game winning streak. In the final nine games of the season, Notre Dame allowed just 12.6 points per game to opponents, a dramatic improvement from the 32.7 the first three contests. Even in the two ranked wins against USC and Pitt, the Irish allowed an average of just 19.5 points per game.

This shift stems mainly from an increase in quarterback pressure and turnovers. In the two losses, Chris Ash’s defense had just one sack and one turnover. Compared to the six sacks and four turnovers in the ranked wins, the improvement could not be more obvious. Ash attributes this shift to hard work and dedication. “Just we stayed consistent. We didn’t change anything,” he said. “There was nothing magical with what we had to do or what we did. We just had to continue to keep working.”

In a season that started with heated fans calling for his removal, Chris Ash was able to turn the Notre Dame defense into a squad that finished fourth in interceptions and 11th in scoring defense. So, while many fans may have some resentment after Notre Dame failed to make the College Football Playoff, the “Fire Ash” chants need to be left in the past.