• A 30-year coaching veteran who has directed the offensive lines at football programs in the Southeastern Conference, Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference and National Football League for the past 19 seasons.
• Coached an offensive line that nearly helped the Irish average over 200 yards per game in both rushing and receiving, which had previously happened only twice in school history (1977, 1970).
• Notre Dame averaged 4.9 yards per rush in 2012 - the highest per carry average for the Irish since 1996 (5.2). Notre Dame ran for at least 200 yards seven times in '12, including six of the last nine contests. The Irish had not posted more 200+ yard rushing games in a single season since 1996.
• Only two offensive lines from a Bowl Championship Series automatically-qualifying conference, including Notre Dame, could lay claim to averaging at least 200 yards on the ground, 200 yards in the air and yielding 16 sacks or less in the '12 regular season.
• Coached at Tennessee the last two years (2010-11) after working with the offensive line of the Chicago Bears from 2005-09. He coached the offensive line at Illinois from 1997-2004 and at Missouri from 1994-96.
• Tennessee was one of only seven schools in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision that did not start a senior on the offensive line in any game in 2011.
• The Volunteers allowed only 18 sacks while attempting 400 passes in 2011--and only Alabama, among conference schools, allowed fewer sacks in 2011 than Tennessee.
• Freshman Marcus Jackson started the last five games of the 2011 season and was named to Phil Steele's Freshman All-America first team.
• In his first season with the Volunteers in 2010, only one player in his group had starting experience and that amounted to only three career starts.
• Started three true freshmen on the 2010 offensive line and still helped running back Tauren Poole tie for the SEC lead with six 100-yard rushing games. Poole recorded just the 16th 1,000-yard rushing season in Tennessee history with 1,034 yards.
• Freshman James Stone started eight games at center in 2010 and was named a Freshman All-American by both Sporting News and the Football Writers Association of America.
• Freshman Ja'Wuan James started every game in 2010 at right tackle and was named to the all-SEC freshman team by the SEC coaches.
• Freshman Zach Fulton started five games at guard for the Vols, and sophomore Dallas Thomas started all 13 games at left tackle.
• Prior to his arrival in Knoxville, spent five seasons coaching the offensive line of the Chicago Bears. The Bears were division champions in 2005 and 2006, advancing to Super Bowl XLI following the 2006 season.
• His offensive line helped Bears running backs eclipse 1,200 rushing yards three times in five seasons.
• Thomas Jones gained 1,335 rushing yards in 2005 and 1,210 yards in 2006, while Matt Forte totaled 1,238 yards on the ground in 2008. Jones and Forte joined an exclusive list of Bears running backs to ever gain at least 1,200 rushing yards in a season: Neal Anderson, Walter Payton and Gale Sayers.
• Two of Hiestand's players made the Pro Bowl while in Chicago. Center Olin Kreutz was selected in 2005 and 2006--and guard Ruben Brown earned the honor following the 2006 campaign.
• Kreutz was named first-team All-Pro in 2006 and became the first Bears offensive lineman to receive that honor in 17 years.
• Worked with the offensive line at Illinois from 1997-2004 and held the title of assistant head coach for the final five seasons in Champaign.
• During his tenure at Illinois, Hiestand tutored 12 all-Big Ten selections on the offensive line, and every senior starting offensive lineman in his first seven years with the Illini signed with an NFL team.
• Hiestand had six offensive linemen drafted during his eight seasons at Illinois.
• Three of the seven best seasons for total offense and scoring occurred with Hiestand on the offensive staff at Illinois--and four of the top-10 seasons for fewest sacks allowed happened on Hiestand's watch.
• Coached the offensive line at Missouri from 1994-96 and in his final season with the Tigers helped them average 250.7 rushing yards per game, the ninth-best rushing average in the NCAA in 1996.
• In his three seasons at Missouri, he helped the Tigers average 184.1 rushing yards per game, and four of his offensive linemen received all-Big 12 honors in 1996 (the first year of that conference's existence).
• Coached the offensive line at Cincinnati from 1989-93. In 1992 he added the title of run game coordinator and he added the duties of offensive coordinator in 1993 when the Bearcats won eight games, the most in 17 seasons.
• First coaching job at the FBS level occurred at Toledo where he worked with the tight ends from 1988-89.
• Worked with the offensive line as a graduate assistant at Pac-10 champion USC in 1987, after coaching the tight ends at a 10-0, Ivy League champion, Penn team in 1986.
• First assistant coach role came at alma mater, East Stroudsburg. Coached offensive line from 1984-85 and was assistant offensive line coach in 1983 at the NCAA Division II school after serving as a student assistant in 1982.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
• Began his college career as an offensive lineman at Springfield College (Mass.) before transferring to East Stroudsburg where injuries ended his playing career.
• Graduated from East Stroudsburg in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in health and physical education.
DYNAMIC DISCIPLES
C Braxston Cave, Notre Dame
• 2012 Athlon Sports Second Team All-American
• 2012 CBS Sports Second Team All-American
• 2012 Rimington Trophy Finalist
OT Zack Martin, Notre Dame
• 2012 Walter Camp Second Team All-American
C Olin Kreutz, Chicago Bears
• 2005 and 2006 Pro Bowl selection; Named to All-Pro team in 2006
G Ruben Brown, Chicago Bears
• 2006 Pro Bowl selection
LT David Diehl, Illinois (New York Giants)
• 2003 fifth-round draft choice; 2009 Pro Bowl selection; Two-time Super Bowl champion
RT Tony Pashos, Illinois
• Nine-year NFL veteran has started 70 of 92 career games played for four NFL teams
C Roberto Garza, Chicago Bears
• Started 94 consecutive games he has appeared in; Current captain of Chicago Bears
