Sources – Troy hires Notre Dame OC Jerad Parker as head coach

Notre Dame offensive coordinator Jerad Parker is set to become the next coach at Troy, sources told ESPN. The deal is expected to be finalized and announced on Monday, according to sources.

Parker is a veteran coach who served as Purdue’s interim coach and has been an assistant coach at places like Penn State, West Virginia and Duke.

Parker has a similar background and personality traits to the two previous coaches who had success at Troy – Neil Brown and John Sumrall. Parker played for them at Kentucky and worked with Brown for two years as an assistant at West Virginia.

He will replace Sumrall, who won two straight Sun Belt titles before leaving for Tulane recently. Sumrall went 23-4 in his two seasons at Troy.

Parker is a high-energy coach with extensive experience. According to sources, Troy officials were attracted to his background as an offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator. He is the second football player hired at Troy for athletic director Brent Jones, who brought in Summerall.

His departure leaves one of the top coordinator jobs in the sport. Notre Dame just landed former Duke star quarterback Riley Leonard to the NCAA transfer portal, which should help attract a top coordinator. This will mark Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman’s third offensive coordinator during 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 lure a coordinator from a major conference school.

Troy Chancellor Jack Hawkins has long prioritized success in athletics — and investment in football — as crucial to the school’s growing stature.

Troy will play Duke in the Birmingham Bowl on Saturday.