via @LTorbin

Corbett Family Head Football Coach Brian Kelly can look back on 2016 and enjoy the moment. With seven players selected in the most recent NFL draft, a solid recruiting class (ranked twelfth by Rivals, sixteenth by ESPN), and a ten-win season behind him, the case that Coach Kelly belongs in the pantheon with Lou and Ara and Knute has only gotten stronger.

In addition to the seven drafted players, which included Notre Dame’s highest pick since 1993, Ronnie Stanley, six players signed free agent contracts with NFL teams over the weekend, giving Notre Dame thirteen players with opportunities to play professionally. That the Dallas Cowboys’ were willing to take such a chance with their pick on Jaylon Smith speaks to the quality of the emergency orthopedic care Smith received at the Fiesta Bowl and to the player’s strength, both physical and mental.

Brian Kelly’s motto for the 2015 season was “culture beats scheme.” From his earliest days in South Bend, when he mandated locker organization, Brian Kelly has been instilling a championship mentality in his players. At the same time, he has had to deal with circumstantial challenges unlike any faced by his coaching predecessors.

This is where KeiVarae Russell’s selection as the Chief’s second pick comes in. Russell was one of 2014’s “Frozen Five,” players who were suspended for violations of school policy that likely involved the honor code and something called “peer editing.” Sidelined for an entire season, Russell roared back in 2015 as a starter, notching two interceptions, four pass breakups, and sixty tackles. While Russell will not graduate before going pro, he’s made enough remarks about being the first in his family to graduate from college “when” he does, that he can rightly be considered one of the better redemption stories to come out of the locker room in a long time.

Sure, the Irish lost to tOSU in the Fiesta Bowl. But they did so without Jaylon Smith and Jerry Tillery on defense, and that they got there at all was due to the depth Coach Kelly developed at the quarterback position. No one thought a playoff spot within reach when Zaire went down at Virginia, but there was Kizer, ready for prime time. He wouldn’t have been without Coach Kelly and his staff.

With fifty-five wins in six seasons, Brian Kelly is just one shy of Lou Holtz’s win total, and while he lacks the national championship Lou, Ara, Devine, and Leahy were all able to manage by their third-season, you have the sense that Coach Kelly has the Irish were the program needs to be to compete for championships every couple of seasons. I wouldn’t bet against 2016 being one of them.

The post The Case for Brian Kelly…Grows Stronger appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

It’s completely unfair to compare coaches from different eras because of the college game has evolved in the past 80 seasons. There’s also several issues that are beyond the head coaches’ control: academic issues, injuries and transfers to name a few.

However, I’m going to do it to provide an additional perspective on Brian Kelly’s tenure (Bayou Irish kicked off the discussion Wednesday) and because I believe fans do this sort of “apples-to-waffles” comparison anyway.

I’ll be comparing Kelly, Dan Devine, Lou Holtz, Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian and Knute Rockne through their first 65 games in a multitude of categories. Kelly, as I’ll prove, consistently fares poorly in a comparison to these legendary coaches.

JUST WIN, BABY

Fans and alums want nothing more than for their football team to win.

While Brian Kelly was 3 wins off Lou Holtz’s pace before the 2014 season started, he finished 5 behind after posting an 8-5

Picture courtesy of Robert Pernett (via Flickr)

record. I’m skeptical that Kelly can ever overtake Holtz. Lou went 9-3-1 in games #66-78 – which would be the equivalent of a 12-game regular season and a bowl game in the upcoming season for Kelly. Then Holtz won his next 17 in a row before the team lost to Boston College in 1993.

TOUGHER SCHEDULE

For all the talk about Notre Dame being “too chicken” to play Michigan or other opponents perceived as “tough,” Kelly has faced the second-hardest schedule among his predecessors through 65 games.

Ara Parseghian’s 52-9-4 record is certainly commendable, but its impressiveness is surely dulled by the fact that he was beating a lot of bad teams.

BIG GAME BRIAN? NOT QUITE.

There is perhaps no bigger obsession for fans than analyzing Notre Dame’s place in the standings. To be the best, you have to beat the best. Knute Rockne falls to the bottom of this list because AP rankings didn’t exist when he was coach.

Kelly is 9-9 against ranked opponents and 5-7 (.417) when Notre Dame and its opponent are both in the AP’s top 25.

DAVID VS. GOLIATH

My experience with Notre Dame fans is that they never like losses. But, if the team has to lose, it better be against a good team. Simply put, our team should make easy work of inferior opponents. And when that doesn’t happen: That’s when they want to put the coach on the hot seat.

Brian Kelly’s 17-3 record when his team is ranked and his opponent is unranked would be commendable, if not for the fact that the fan base tends to remember those three losses vividly (South Florida in 2011, Pittsburgh in 2013 and, of course, Northwestern last year).

Kelly is 18-8 (.692) when both his team and his opponent are unranked at game time, which is also last among the six coaches we’re examining.

BAD LOSSES

Ugh. There is simply no excuse to lose to a team than cannot finish its season with a winning record. Notre Dame has several advantages in recruiting, training and coaching. It simply should not be outclassed by a terrible opponent on Saturday.

Ara Parseghian was a perfect 35-0 against teams that ended their season with a losing record through his first 65 games as coach. Frank Leahy was 28-0 and Rockne was 18-0-1. Kelly ranks last, with a 17-2 (.895) record. Those “bad losses” were to two teams that would finish their seasons 5-7: South Florida in 2011 and Northwestern last year.

PROTECT THIS HOUSE

A win at Notre Dame Stadium is a perfect capper to a great fall weekend in South Bend. The thinking goes: No one should come to our house and push us around.

Kelly is 23-8 at Notre Dame Stadium, which almost exactly mirrors Dan Devine’s home record through 65 games. It still puts him last on this list.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Photo courtesy of OSU Special Collections & Archives (via Flickr)

It’s admittedly also satisfying to steal a win in someone else’s place, although my experience with the fan base is that they tend to value home wins more. Kelly’s 11-9 record in games played at the opponent’s home stadium is not very impressive. (He’s 11-3 in games played at neutral sites.)

STOMP ON THEIR THROATS

I’ve been a fan of Notre Dame football for more than 25 years now. I can’t recall many instances where Notre Dame just absolutely blew the doors off an opponent. I can recall many instances where we as fans pleaded with Notre Dame to curb-stomp a team. It just doesn’t happen a lot. Here’s the scoring differential in each coaches’ first 65 games.

Ara Parseghian was whooping on opponents. Knute Rockne was annihilating opponents. Frank Leahy was destroying opponents. Brian Kelly? At a touchdown differential per game, his teams are just not running away from people. (I recognize this is an imperfect stat to draw the conclusion I’m making, but the data backs it up.)

IT’S STILL A SUCCESSFUL SEASON IF WE BEAT USC

Beating a historical rival is a feel-good elixir for many of us. I studied six historical opponents – most are considered rivals; a few are not.

Here’s how each coach is doing through 65 games, with the caveat that our coach has no control over the ultimate successes or failures of other institutions during certain eras:

vs. USC

• Lou Holtz: 5-0-0 (1.000)
• Frank Leahy: 4-0-1 (.900)
• Brian Kelly: 3-2-0 (.600)
• Ara Parseghian: 2-2-2 (.500)
• Dan Devine: 1-4-0 (.200)
• Knute Rockne: n/a

vs. MICHIGAN

• Lou Holtz: 4-2-0 (.667)
• Dan Devine: 2-1-0 (.667)
• Frank Leahy: 1-1-0 (.500)
• Brian Kelly: 2-3-0 (.400)
• Ara Parseghian & Knute Rockne: n/a

vs. MICHIGAN ST.

• Frank Leahy: 2-0-0 (1.000)
• Lou Holtz: 5-1-0 (.833)
• Dan Devine: 5-1-0 (.833)
• Brian Kelly: 3-1-0 (.750)
• Knute Rockne: 3-1-0 (.750)
• Ara Parseghian: 4-2-1 (.643)

vs. NAVY

• Lou Holtz: 5-0-0 (1.000)
• Frank Leahy: 7-0-0 (1.000)
• Ara Parseghian: 6-0-0 (1.000)
• Dan Devine: 6-0-0 (1.000)
• Brian Kelly: 4-1-0 (.800)
• Knute Rockne: n/a

vs. PURDUE

• Lou Holtz: 6-0-0 (1.000)
• Frank Leahy: 4-0-0 (1.000)
• Brian Kelly: 5-0-0 (1.000)
• Ara Parseghian: 3-4-0 (.429)
• Dan Devine: 5-1-0 (.833)
• Knute Rockne: 6-0-0 (1.000)

vs. STANFORD

• Frank Leahy: 1-0-0 (1.000)
• Ara Parseghian: 1-0-0 (1.000)
• Knute Rockne: 1-0-0 (1.000)
• Lou Holtz: 3-1-0 (.750)
• Brian Kelly: 2-3-0 (.400)
• Dan Devine: n/a

CONCLUSIONS

I’ve acknowledged that this sort of comparison is greatly flawed because of the evolution of college football. However, I went forward and compared these coaches in 83 statistical categories. I assigned 1 point to the coach who had the most wins, least losses, most ties, best win percentage and so on. The coach in last place in these categories received six points. Like golf, the lower the score, the better. Here are the final results:

1. Frank Leahy: 172 points
2. Knute Rockne: 211 points, 39 behind leader
3. Ara Parseghian: 228 points, 56 behind leader
4. Dan Devine: 259 points, 87 behind leader
   4(t). Lou Holtz: 259 points, 87 behind leader
   6. Brian Kelly: 329 points, 157 behind leader

By the metrics I selected, Brian Kelly is least successful coach who has been employed for 65 games or more. My findings should not be construed as advocating for Kelly’s firing. (I personally believe the opposite; I really like Brian Kelly.) Instead, the only conclusion I can safely make is: They’re not putting a statue of Brian Kelly outside Notre Dame Stadium when he retires.

I’d imagine Brian Kelly is perfectly content with being a good, but not legendary, Notre Dame coach.

LOOKING FORWARD

If Notre Dame is successful in 2015, they’ll be invited to a bowl game, which would be their 13^th contest. Here’s how each of Kelly’s five peers did in games #66-#78.

• Knute Rockne: Rock starts the 1925 season with wins over Baylor, Lombard and Beloit, before a decisive loss to Army in Yankee Stadium. He’ll finish 1925 at 7-2-1. His first three games of the 1926 season are all wins, bringing his record in this 13-game period to 10-2-1.
• Frank Leahy: Leahy’s team is #1 by game #66, which occurs during the last half of the 1949 season. He beats Iowa and USC at home and SMU on the road. His team is again ranked #1 heading into the 1950 season, but falls to Purdue in its second game. By the end of a disappointing 4-4-1 season, the Fighting Irish are unranked. Leahy’s squad, ranked #14 in the pre-season of 1951, wins its home opener against Indiana. His record in this 13-game stretch is 8-4-1.
• Ara Parseghian: Ara’s 66^th game as head coach pits the #3 Fighting Irish against #18 Missouri. It’s a decisive three-touchdown win on the road, followed by wins against Navy (in Philadelphia), Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech and LSU. An end-of-season loss to unranked USC spoils a perfect season, but the #6 ranked Irish beat top ranked Texas in the Cotton Bowl. Ara opens the 1971 season with a #2 ranking and five straight wins, but drops the sixth game to an unranked USC team (again!). His record during this 13-game period is 11-2-0.
• Dan Devine: It’s the end of the road for Devine, who will coach just 5 more games in his Notre Dame career. He finishes with a 2-2-1 record, including wins over Alabama and Air Force and losses to USC and a Herschel Walker-led Georgia team in the 1981 Sugar Bowl.
• Lou Holtz: As previously mentioned, Lou compiles a 9-3-1 record during his 13-game stretch that starts in mid-1991 with wins against #12 Pittsburgh, Air Force, USC, Navy, Hawaii and #3 Florida in the Sugar Bowl. His #3 ranked Irish tie #6 Michigan the following year and lose to #18 Stanford at home.

The post Let’s Give ‘Em Something To Talk About: Notre Dame Coaches at 65 appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Since 1887, we’ve had worse seasons, but few as divergent as this one.  A fine defeatist platitude says, “These things happen.”  But this is so true.  In Rockne’s 11^th season, he only had one more victory than his four losses.  Leahy’s eighth season was flat, with only four wins, just as many losses, and a tie.  The Ear of Ara was marred by a 7-2-1 finish in the fifth year of his tenure.  In his penultimate year with the Irish, Devine managed only 7-4.  And in year nine, Holtz eked out but six wins, suffered five losses, and settled for one tie.

What’s interesting is that Rockne’s nadir came after three undefeated seasons and one championship, and it fell immediately before his two final undefeated championship seasons.  Leahy bottomed out after four championships, four undefeated seasons, and came in advance of a final undefeated effort.  Parseghian had one championship and one lossless season under his belt before he faltered, but came back with two more undefeated years and one more championship.  And Devine and Holtz were both national champions before they were brought low, Devine’s crown blemished by one loss, and Holtz losing two crowns by dropping the last game of two regular seasons.

Thus, Brian Kelly and this team, though not doing well, have not done anything out of the ordinary – except in the manner that they have done it.  No team has ever stoked the fires of hope by starting with six straight wins, then thrown a urine-soaked blanket on that blaze with five losses.  If the offense hadn’t been able to score a slightly more obscene amount of points than North Carolina, we’d be staring at the season-equivalent of a tie, a draw, a very stale stalemate.

People love to use the word EPIC – usually shouted in exultation or awe.  Read a damn darn Classical Epic, people!  Lots of heroes die; and even if they don’t, they all suffer horrible, degrading defeats and losses.  Epics are long, in excess of 20 books; and they are not defined by the first five.  Everything turns out well after all the blood and death, but the hero must have courage, belief in himself, and hope.

Behold the epic comparisons:

* The Trojans lost to the Greeks, but founded Rome…just like we lost to the Trojans, but we look forward to vanquishing them when next they come here to Little Rome.

* Everett Golson made spectacular plays but had abysmal turnovers…just like Odysseys fought his way through the Mediterranean returning return home to his devoted wife, all the while cheating on her.

* Agamemnon defeated Priam but was axed to death in his bathtub…we shutout Michigan but got cut to pieces by USC.

* We lost many fine players to injury, even a captain…just like Achilles lost Patroclus, Aeneas lost Anchises, and Odysseus lost his whole crew.

* Dido fell on Aeneas’ sword when the Trojan wouldn’t marry her…just like that USC cheerleader was flattened by her own Trojan player.

* We escaped Navy like Odysseus escaped Poseidon, but both were costly victories; Hoke coached like he only had only one eye in the middle of his forehead; Sarkisian sounds like some sort of island monster (the Sarkisian devoured a whole sow in two bites!); and Odysseus’ guide was blind…just like Brian Kelly went for two.

* The similarities go on and on, of course without the murder, idolatry, and incest – that would be the SEC.  My point is that the greatest stories in history have their dark moments.  Heroes have their flaws.  We had a good run, followed by a terrible fall.  But like our five greatest coaches, we still fight, and we march onward to victory.

I began this reflection with a literary echo of Dickens’ epic A Tale of Two Cities.  The hero Charles Darnay escapes the bloodbath of the French Revolution to see a better day; but right now we’re more like his identical counterpart Sydney Carton – young, talented but sloppy, and drunk.  Let’s just try to avoid the Guillotine Bowl brought to you by Robespierre.

EFS CSC

The post Good Fridays w/Padre: A Tale of Two Teams appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

My own cher vieux papa sired nine of us little Sorins.  We didn’t have Father’s Day in France, but I think it’s a noble American custom to set aside a day and celebrate dear-old-dad.  Though I have no children of my own, I count my loyal sons and daughters by the tens of thousands.  And that brings me to an important reminder for you all: Don’t forget the Holy Cross Fathers this Father’s Day.  After all, it was the CSCs who, sacrificing family of their own, gave birth to and raised this University (with The BVM, of course).  And the CSCs continue as the fathers of Notre Dame to this day.  So if you had a favorite Father Rector, Father Professor, or Father AlwaysCheerfulontheQuad, if you have been inspired by a particular Father Chaplain or Father President, or if you’re just grateful to all the Fathers, here are some gift ideas for the deserving CSC on this Father’s Day.

Spiritual Bouquet – No one’s really sure what this is, so if you tell Father that you’ve arranged one for him with your prayers, he’ll be happy.

Pagan Baby – I’m told this is no longer considered “Politically Correct”…whatever that means.  So just give a couple dollars to the CSC missions – with or without the punch-up boxing match.

A National Championship – Any sport will do, but a football National Championship would be an extra special gift for Father.  And don’t tell me only the players can give this – everyone contributes to the effort with hearts, and hands, and voices.

Don’t Give Money – Father has a vow of poverty and would just have to turn the cash in to his Superior…but I don’t think Canon Law says anything about gift certificates.

Nothing in Black – If you’re giving clothing to a CSC, make it colorful.  Black gets quite monotonous after a while, and it’s hot in the summer, and it shows dust and dirt, and it just doesn’t pop.

Promises of Good Behavior – Lads, this applies to you and your life in the dorms come August.  Tell Father he can pick one Friday or Saturday during the school year, and you’ll all pool your resources of self-restraint and give him a peaceful, no damage, no rule violation, no bathroom disaster, no hassle evening-night-morning.  He’ll weep tears of joy and thanksgiving.

Fine Wine or Spirits – If you can’t behave, lads, at least give Father something to take the edge off living with a hundred-odd louts and ruffians.

New Breviary – If you’re unfamiliar with this item, it’s the book of prayers a priest goes through every day of the year.  By the end of football season, Father’s is worn through and all prayed out.  So get him a spare.

A Glow-in-the-Dark BVM – Those things are just so cool.  If you can get one for each Corby Car, that would be fantastic.

Rosary – Can never have too many.

Or you can just write Father a note thanking him for his service to Notre Dame.  Trust me, he’ll really appreciate it…and a National Championship – I’m serious about that one.

EFS CSC

The post Good Fridays w/Padre: Fr.’s Day appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Notre Dame Irish running back # 32 Vagas Ferguson in action during the 1978 Cotton Bowl against the Texas Longhorns, photo: US Presswire.

Although Vasquero Diaz “Vagas” Ferguson grew up in Richmond, Ind., Notre Dame was nowhere on his radar. A resourceful Notre Dame recruiter discovered him, in this small town near the Ohio border and won him over with some Fighting Irish magic. Ferguson finished his senior year as the nation’s fifth-leading rusher, fifth in Heisman Trophy voting and with All-America honors. He ranks third all-time for total yards (3,472) among Notre Dame running backs, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. He was a first-round pick in the 1980 NFL Draft and played for five seasons with the New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns, and Houston Oilers. He now lives back in his hometown of Richmond, Ind. and is active in his local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and a member of the Indiana Football Hall of Fame.

Q: Growing up in Indiana, surely you had heard about Notre Dame football and all of its legendary players and coaches. Right?

A: “To be truthful, I didn’t hear about Notre Dame until my sophomore year of high school. The schools that most of us talked about were Purdue, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio State. Those schools got a lot of local coverage. I had the chance to visit Notre Dame during my sophomore year in high school because my cousin Lamar Lundy, Jr., a tight end, was being recruited by Notre Dame through a Notre Dame alum who lived in Richmond. He was a senior when I was a sophomore and I got to tag along on his visit to Notre Dame. My cousin ended up going to California – Berkeley, but that trip to Notre Dame left quite an impression on me. I took official visits to Big Ten schools primarily. I went to Indiana, Purdue, Ohio State, Michigan and Iowa; Notre Dame was the last school I visited. (Notre Dame recruiter) Brian Bulac was a driving force behind my decision to attend Notre Dame. He came to my home to speak to my grandparents (Vagas’ mother died when he was eight, and his father lived nearby). Education was top on my grandparent’s list. They wanted to make sure we got a good education, and that was the first thing he talked about when he walked in the door. You will be a football player at Notre Dame, but you are a student first. That impressed my grandparents, and impressed me as well. Most schools only talked about what I could for them on the field.”

Q: Can you talk about the diversity issues at Notre Dame in the 80s?

A: “When I was at Notre Dame in the late 1970s, we were in a time of awareness. Racial issues were very much being addressed and it wasn’t any different at Notre Dame than it had been at my high school back home. You tended to hang out with people who looked like you. You congregated as a group, black females and males. Women had not been at Notre Dame very long at that time either, so they had an especially tight bond as well. The black students that I met the first few weeks I was at Notre Dame, guys and girls, we became really close. We were new and didn’t know any of the upperclassmen so we just kind of took each other in. We still stay in touch today. You gravitate to people who are more like you. It’s not a negative thing. You renew yourself through people who have similar experiences as you do. Today, that is changing. I can see it my kids and grandkids today. I have bi-racial grandkids. They don’t even see that kind of stuff at all.”

Q: What is your favorite Notre Dame football memory?

Notre Dame Irish running back #32 Vagas Ferguson in action during the 1979 season at Notre Dame Stadium. Photo: US Presswire.

A: “The most important thing that I took from Notre Dame was the development of relationships, and crossing the barriers of race. Football did that for us. We had to play as a team and support one another and that broke down a lot of racial barriers that we were facing during that time as players. My favorite memory on the field had to have been the 1979 Cotton Bowl against Houston. It was below zero; so cold, in fact, that they had to put salt down on the field to thaw it out. In the fourth quarter, we were behind 34-12 with seven minutes left. Late in the game the defense made a big play (a Tony Belden blocked punt) and got points on the board which really changed the momentum for us. (Quarterback Joe) Montana, who had been sick with the flu and missed most of the third quarter fighting below-normal body temperature, returned to execute an unforgettable fourth quarter comeback.”

“Down 34-28 with six seconds remaining, we had just enough time to run two plays. The first play was a pass pattern where myself and receiver Kris Haines went to the flat and we had to get across the goal line from the 8-yard line. With the limited amount of time remaining in the game, if we caught the ball, we had to score. The first play we ran was not successful. At this point there was only two seconds on the clock. On the next play, Montana looks over to the sidelines and the coaches put up their hands as if to say, ‘Do whatever you want to do. Joe, you call it.’ He got down on one knee and drew the play (the same play we had just run), just like you would in the school yard, and told myself and Kris Haines how to run it. Haines said he could beat the guy that he was covering. Joe told him, ‘I’ll hit ya in the corner of the end zone.’ We ran the play, scored and won on the last play of the game. Incredible.”

Q: How do you remember your NFL draft experience?

A: “I was dating my fiancée at the time and she was a student at Purdue. Most of the guys were in their rooms watching the draft, but I really did’’t even think about it. I never got into that stuff. If I got drafted and got the chance to play in the NFL it was just an added benefit. All I knew was that it wasn’t going to make or break me. It wasn’t that important and I wasn’t worried about it at all. I had always told the guys, ‘I don’t care where I go, but I really want to go some place warm.’ And where did I end up? New England. My buddies ended up in San Francisco and New Orleans. How the heck did they end up there and I’m stuck in New England and I played there for three years (1980-82). Going into my fourth year we had a new coaching staff come in and I didn’t get along with them, so I got cut. After New England I played a little bit for the Houston Oilers and a little bit for Cleveland Browns. After that I moved to the USFL in 1984 and played for a year in Chicago. Then the USFL went under and I was pretty much done.”

Q: How would you describe your NFL career?

A: “The friendships you make and the people you meet are definitely one of the best things that I took away from the NFL. If I think of anything it is those relationships that I developed. I still keep in touch with many of the guys I played with in New England. Looking back you don’t remember the records or the individual touchdowns, but you do remember people. It’s a blessing to know I can go anywhere in the country and run into people that I know. It’s no longer about football it’s about relationships.”

Q: Where did life take you after football?

Vagas Ferguson

A: “Believe it or not, there was a Fortune 500 company in Richmond, Ind., called Belden Wiring Cable Company. They did wiring for computers internationally and all over the U.S. I was looking for a job once I finished playing football and I had sent out a lot of resumes in the Chicago area without much luck. It’s all about who you know, and I didn’t know many people in Chicago. A friend of mine recommended that I call the president at Belden and I landed an interview. I went to Richmond for the interview and they really liked me. They needed a salesman in Chicago and I was already there, so it was a good match. They trained me and I started working there for 6 1/2 years until 1991.”

“Going into 1991 I decided that I needed to get back home. My grandparents were getting older and I had gone through a divorce and wanted to move back home so that my kids could be around family. I also wanted to go back to school and get my masters, but without a support network I could not continue to work, raise kids and go back to school. So in December, 1991 I went home for Christmas and a family friend who worked at the local Richmond school system called me. She was in HR/administration and she asked me if I’d be interested in coming in for an interview. They were creating a new position, to have someone oversee the non-sport extracurricular activities at the high school and thought that I would be perfect for the job. The timing could not have been better. Here I am trying to move back home and a job practically falls into my lap. The Lord blessed me indeed. I went in and spoke with them and told them that the job sounded great but I’d need a little time to think about it. They told me to take my time as they were in no rush. They were not even going to implement the program until the following school year.”

“When I got back to Chicago after Christmas, the HR woman from the high school called me yet again, and this time she asks me if I’d be interested in taking over as the interim athletic director at the high school. I asked her if I could think about it and she said, ‘Don’t think about it too long!’ I hung up the phone and was literally jumping up and down. I called her right back and said, ‘Yes!’ I explained that I would have to give my company notice and couldn’t start until Feb, and she replied, ‘We’ll hold the job for you until February 1.’ I moved my kids back to Richmond, moved in with my grandparents, got the kids enrolled in school and started as the interim athletic director … and I’ve been here 20 years now. Taking that job allowed me the opportunity to go back to school and earned my Masters in Education and Certificate of Principal through the University of Miami of Ohio, which I never would have been able to do if I had stayed in Chicago. It allowed me to take care of my grandparents and my kids were in a much less hectic environment and surrounded by family. Blessings all around.”

Q: What advice do you have for current college athletes?

A: “Get your education and get that degree! When it’s all said and done and you have to put sports away, you will have to make a living for the rest of your life. The effort you put into your school work will determine the quality of life that you’re going to live. My grandparents always told me, ‘Don’t always hang your hat on football, you have to get your degree.’ I had to remind myself constantly that I had to get the education piece so that I at least had that going for me. I knew that as a Notre Dame graduate I could get a job anywhere. That degree meant a lot me.”

Q: What is your favorite Dan Devine memory?

Next week on “Where are they now?” former Notre Dame lineman, Mike McCoy.

A: “What made Dan Devine good as a head coach is that he surrounded himself with good position coaches. You dealt with your position coach way more often than you actually dealt with Coach Devine. He was not very outgoing, didn’t talk to people a lot and was kind of withdrawn. He would talk to us, but he didn’t talk to the public very much. He and his family had previously had some bad experiences with the media and I think that was part of why he was so withdrawn. We didn’t know that, we just accepted him the way he was. You have to be able to delegate to people and trust them. Coach (Gerry) Faust, unlike Coach Devin, was not able to do that.

“I had two backfield coaches when I was at Notre Dame, Jim Gruden (his son is former NFL head coach and ESPN football analyst Jon Gruden). Indiana had recruited me starting in my sophomore year of high school all the way through, and Coach Gruden was there before he got the job at Notre Dame. During the recruiting process he told me, ‘I’m gonna coach you some day’. During my junior year of college he left Indiana and came to Notre Dame. He taught me more about the running back position than any other coach and took me to another level of play. I absolutely contribute the success I had my junior and senior years at Notre Dame to Coach Gruden. I trying to stay in touch with him to this day.”

I’d like to give Vagas Ferguson a big thank you for stopping by the blog. Next week I sit down with Notre Dame lineman Mike McCoy.

Cheers!

Thank you to Norm Sanders for his editing help & perspective on this story. Norm is the St. Louis Blues beat writer for the Belleville News-Democrat and you can catch him on Twiter at @normsanders

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The third year has transformed into that “line in the sand” in regards to a college coach’s future at their current school. But just how accurate is that mark? And where should we place our expectations in 2012 considering that the Irish will be facing one of the toughest schedules in the nation?

A rain-soaked Brian Kelly walks off the field of the Colosseum a victor in 2010, becoming the first Irish coach to beat USC since Bob Davie. (Photo Credit: Neon Tommy)

These were the questions that I sought out to answer in this post. Even without digging into any data though, I can definitely see why year three is such a popular measuring stick. Especially considering all of the changes that we just made here at HLS.

Our move to this version of HLS had two major steps. First, we put our team in place. With that firm foundation, we moved into the next step in our vision and rebuilt HLS from the ground up, adding in a new look and several new features.

In year three, Kelly, like any coach, has done the same. He has his team in place. These are his players, his RKGs. Even if they were brought in by Weis to being their careers, Kelly has undoubtedly made his mark on them over two seasons. With his guys now in place, it is time for his true vision of his offense to unfold. Plays like QB draws and options have been noticeably absent from Kelly’s usual arsenal. With Rees now out at Navy, these features, Kelly’s vision all along, can make their return with the proper players now in place.

So, yes, from a logistical standpoint, judging at year three makes all the sense in the world.

However, I am a stats and numbers guy at heart. So in my quest to tackle the year three question, I turned to Notre Dame’s history. Below are how all Notre Dame coaches, starting from Ara Parseghian to now, their records in their first two years, their third year, and their records after that.

For Notre Dame fans, it is very clear why year three holds so much weight: National Titles. Ara, Devine, and Lou all won titles in year three and then went on to finish their Notre Dame careers with a solid winning percentage. Faust stayed rather consistent through his entire career and his third year was no exception to his sub-par win-loss record.

Most striking though is the recent history post-Holtz. Davie, Willingham, and Weis all had solid records in their first two seasons. However, in year three proved disastrous for each and all of them were worst than even Faust’s mediocre 7-5 mark. Unlike Faust though, the remaining years after year three all saw a sharp drop compared to their initial success. For Ty, his third year came on the heels of a poor second year, causing ND to justifiably pull the plug on his era immediately. For Weis, as much as it is easy to blame Ty for his poor third year, and such criticisms are valid, he still couldn’t right the ship, posting the worst winning percentage post year three of any of the above coaches.

So for ND, the measuring stick looks pretty solid, but what about the other top-tier coaches in college football? Did year three predict their success?

Now the data becomes less clear.

Save for Mac Brown and Pete Carroll, each of these coaches came out of the gates firing with great winning records. Most notably, Bob Stoops who won a title in only his second year. Only Ara, Devine, and Weis stack up to that success at ND in such a short amount of time. And, only two of those (Ara and Devine) continued their winning ways.

Some coaches like Meyer and Miles even had their winning percentage decrease over time despite a solid third year as well. This is a trend that we simply don’t see in Irish coaches.

Carroll and Brown are the only two coaches that appeared to have to “rebuild” their teams, but their winning percentages were still rather high to even use that term. In comparison, Holtz didn’t even break .600.

These elite coaches found themselves on very talented squads. There was no major rebuilding and gigantic gaps in recruiting to fill. They got their talented squads and simply won. The path to consistent success wasn’t nearly as rocky.

Perhaps even more striking are the coaches that I couldn’t put on this table. I thought of other coaches considered elite like Chip Kelly and Lane Kiffin; however, they have yet to be at their jobs for more than three years. In fact, in this current climate, many of the perceived elite coaches are still rather new to their jobs, especially in comparison to ND legends like Ara and Holtz or coaches like Mack Brown and Bob Stoops.

The final piece to this puzzle lies in the man himself, Brian Kelly:

Kelly’s year threes all have one thing in common: improvement. However, Kelly was hired for a new job after his third years in Central Michigan and Cincinnati. This leaves Grand Valley State as the lone data point that Kelly’s huge improvement in year three lead to future success for the Lakers. [Edit: I misread a table here, and Kelly’s third year was actually a slight decline, yet he improved after that year moving towards a far more consistent and improved record.]

But that was Division II football. Central Michigan is in the MAC. Cincinnati was able to feast on a weak Big East schedule. Notre Dame’s year three will have Brian Kelly facing a schedule unlike any he, or some of the coaches above, have ever seen.

With all of this in mind, where does that leave us?

Taking all of the data into account, the year three measuring stick is more myth than certainty. If anything the “test” appears to be more of “are you going to fall flat on your face?” than anything else. The bottom line is that any good coach will simply continue to win and a bad year here or there doesn’t really define them as a poor coach–consistent piss-poor seasons will.

However, this doesn’t mean that year three’s results should simply be ignored before the first snap of the Navy game. This also doesn’t mean that Notre Dame fans should lower expectations, despite the tough schedule.

Kelly has brought in much better talent into South Bend and, even with a new QB under center and this schedule, we should still expect Kelly to remain consistent this season. While I’m sure another 8-5 season doesn’t have everybody trying to make plans to be at the final year of the BCS in 2013, for a program that hasn’t seen three consecutive 8+ win seasons since the Lou Holtz era, a coach providing some manner of consistency will be a welcome change.

Even if we don’t see an improvement on last season’s record, it isn’t exactly and indication that Kelly will be mired in mediocrity. Mack Brown had three straight 9-win seasons and then lead Texas into a string of 10+ win seasons that was only recently snapped in 2010 with a 5-win season when his starting QB position faced a noticeable drop in talent (poor QB play causing issues–sound familiar?).

Consistency is the goal, but year three alone will not be enough of a predictor for Kelly’s future success or failure at Notre Dame.

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