Notre Dame assistant coach finds his name mentioned again as one of the worst coaching hires this century

When former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden left for the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason, the name Chris Ash was not on anyone’s shortlist to succeed him. In fact, there aren’t many who would have been able to tell you what Ash had been up to the last couple of seasons. 

It has been a turbulent ride for Ash, who was once considered one of the very best defensive coordinators in college football during his time with the Ohio State Buckeyes from 2014-15. Then he did something that set his career back, opting to become the newest head coach of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. That is a four years he would love to forget. 

Due to that time with the Scarlet Knights, Ash has continuously seen his name mentioned when discussing the worst head coaching stints in college football in recent memory. For the second time this offseason, Ash was mentioned. He was included in an article by CBS Sports College Football reporter John Talty, who ranked the 25 worst head coaching hires this century. 

Coach Ash came in at No. 21 on the list from Talty. Here is what he had to say about Ash, and his inclusion. 

21. Chris Ash, Rutgers

Record: 8-32

Rutgers is a well-known challenging job, but Ash's struggles were particularly egregious. The first-time head coach, who was Ohio State's co-defensive coordinator at the time of his hire, won only three Big Ten games in four seasons, lost 11 games in Year 2 including to Buffalo and never showed any signs of competency or improvement. If there was a positive from the Ash era, it led Rutgers back to the guy who knows how to win in Piscataway: Greg Schiano. 

Fellow CBS Sports writer Will Backus wrote a very similar article earlier this offseason, ranking the 15 worst coaching hires in the last ten years. Ash was also included on that piece. 

When it comes to Ash, he has had a ton of success as a defensive coordinator in his career. That is the criteria that he should be judged on for his current position. How good of a head coach that Ash is doesn’t matter in this conversation. 

There were also two former Notre Dame head coaches that unfortunately were a part of the list. Ty Willingham was mentioned because of his time with the Washington Husky program. Charlie Weis also made it due to his tenure with the Kansas Jayhawks. 

Both coaches would love to fast forward through memories during that time of their careers.