Pete Thamel, ESPND18. December 2023, 12:17 p.m. ET
According to ESPN, Notre Dame offensive coordinator Gerad Parker is expected to be the next coach at Troy. According to sources, a deal is expected to be finalized and announced on Monday.
Parker is a veteran coach who served as interim coach at Purdue and has served as an assistant coach at places like Penn State, West Virginia and Duke.
Parker has similar backgrounds and personality traits to the last two coaches who succeeded at Troy – Neal Brown and Jon Sumrall. Parker played with both at Kentucky and worked with Brown as an assistant at West Virginia for two years.
He will replace Sumrall, who won two straight Sun Belt titles before recently transferring to Tulane. Sumrall posted a 23-4 record in his two seasons at Troy.
Parker is an energetic trainer who has a wide range of experience. Sources said Troy officials were attracted to his background as an offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator. He is the second football hire at Troy for athletic director Brent Jones, who brought in Sumrall.
His departure leaves behind one of the most prestigious coordinator jobs in sports. Notre Dame just landed former Duke star quarterback Riley Leonard in the NCAA transfer portal, which should help lure a top coordinator. This is Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman's third offensive coordinator in his three years at Notre Dame.
Troy has won or shared eight Sun Belt titles since 2006. The school is at or near the top of the league in its financial investment in football, which allowed the Trojans to poach a coordinator from a major conference school.
Troy Chancellor Jack Hawkins has long emphasized that success in athletics – and investment in football – is paramount to the school's growing profile.
Troy will play Duke in the Birmingham Bowl on Saturday.