Twenty-eight years ago, Kelly and Denbrock were Grand Valley State graduate assistants, which began a relationship that led to Denbrock’s second stint at Notre Dame.
When Brian Kelly tabbed 33-year-old Mike Sanford in early-March to hold the title of offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach, it summoned the infusion of a fresh set of ideas to an offense that had just reached its zenith.
After failing to reach a 30-points-per-game average from 2010-13, Kelly’s 2014 unit – with Mike Denbrock in his first season as offensive coordinator -- averaged 32.8 points per game and set regime highs in passing (285.