(Photo: Chad Ryan)
When Brian Jean-Mary addressed the media for the first time as Notre Dame’s linebackers coach and defensive run game coordinator recently, he made clear his first priority isn’t scheme.
It’s relationships.
“I think the best thing is the players that come in and coaching is trust,” Jean-Mary said. “They have to get to know me the same way I have to get to know them.”
That process began immediately after his arrival in South Bend.
“I jumped right in,” he said. “Every new coach is going to dive into the film and try to learn as much as you can about the system… But the biggest thing is building trust.”
Jean-Mary arrives with 25 years of experience and a résumé built on production. His defenses have consistently ranked among the nation’s best against the run and in generating negative plays. Notre Dame didn’t hire him to rebuild its linebacker room.
It hired him to sharpen it.
A Career Built on Run Defense
Jean-Mary most recently served at the University of Michigan as defensive run game coordinator and linebackers coach. In 2025, Michigan ranked 19th nationally in rushing defense and 23rd in total defense. The year before, the Wolverines fielded the nation’s 10th-ranked defense and held eight opponents under 100 rushing yards.
That production follows him.
At the University of Tennessee, his defenses finished top-10 nationally in tackles for loss in each of his three seasons. At the University of South Florida, his units ranked among the national leaders in tackles for loss and turnovers. His 2013 defense at the University of Louisville led the nation in rushing defense, sacks and total defense.
The pattern is consistent: stop the run, create disruption, dictate the game.
Jean-Mary said the expectations at Notre Dame were a major draw.
“It’s one of the best jobs in the country,” he said. “Some people look at that as pressure. I look at that as a blessing… When the standard is to be the best, that’s a challenge for us as coaches and that’s what you want to be a part of.”
Ten players he has coached have gone on to be selected in the NFL Draft, another selling point that gives him instant credibility.
A Veteran Room
Jean-Mary steps into a linebacker room that already features experience and depth.
WILL (Weakside)
- Jaiden Ausberry (RS JR)
- Jaylen Sneed (RS SR)
MIKE (Middle)
- Drayk Bowen (SR)
- Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (JR)
- Madden Faraimo (SO)
Bowen provides leadership and physicality inside, something Jean-Mary said is invaluable during a coaching transition.
“The best thing that happens with any group is when you have an established leader in the room,” Jean-Mary said. “You can lean on him… if anything is off, he’s the guy that can kind of get it back on the right track.”
The one variable entering spring is health.
Viliamu-Asa is returning from a torn ACL suffered late last season. His rehab is progressing well, and he is expected back for the 2026 campaign, though his full participation this spring could be limited.
That reality makes depth especially valuable early in the year.
Jean-Mary said competition — and the possibility of rotating multiple linebackers — will be central to how the room develops.
“I think the best coaching in the world is competition,” he said. “When you have four or five guys competing, it keeps everybody on their toes… If everybody is still playing at a high level, we’ll try to rotate as many guys as possible.”
The Next Step
For Jean-Mary, the early weeks are about learning how his players think as much as how they play.
“You can watch tape and think they’re doing it the way you want it done,” he said. “But until you sit down with them and ask what they’re thinking, where their eyes are… you really don’t know.”
The process has already begun through film sessions, meetings and conversations off the field.
Because for Jean-Mary, trust isn’t built in the meeting room alone.
“It’s relationships,” he said. “Sometimes we’re not talking about football. We’re talking about life… That’s how you really get to know someone.”
Notre Dame already has the talent in its linebacker room.
Jean-Mary’s task now is to refine it — and ensure the standard at one of college football’s most demanding programs remains exactly where it belongs.