Whether it was the unforgivable 58-7 humiliation that was Gerry Faust’s last game or the near riot prior to the 1988 thriller, the games were hard-hitting, emotion-fueled, big-play dramas. While games in both 1988 and 1989 largely decided the national championship, the 1990 game was actually ranked #3 by fans for the best games in Notre Dame Stadium in a 2005 poll.

It also played a huge role in propelling the Irish to a #1 ranking that they would hold on two different occasions during the 1990 season. Ultimately, an upset at home at the hands of Penn State and an Orange Bowl defeat would derail the Irish national title dreams. Nevertheless, the Irish win was notable for denying Miami a shot at a repeat national championship and it was the last meeting between the two until the 2010 Sun Bowl.

After locating and dusting off this old VHS gem from my archives, I was immediately reminded of a few things.

First, the ND in the end zone for home games in 1990 looks completely out of place in my book. Much like the critiques of “The Shirt” when it deviates from traditional colors, the end zones at Notre Dame should feature slashed lines…period!

I cannot express how much I miss Notre Dame coverage on CBS from the 80s.

I loved the sideline shots that they always had and the open microphones. After a key stop in the second half, you can hear Scott Kowalkowski exhorting his teammates with “good stop” and a fist pump.

For all the benefits of the NBC coverage we no longer get that close up. Perhaps in an era where coaches have billboard sized play cards covering their mouths, they just won’t let the cameras have that much access.

Finally, Notre Dame Stadium was bedlam in the this game. It was loud and stands appeared wild. For years, I’ve heard the crowds at Notre Dame are pedestrian. In all my trips to the stadium, I’ve never seen a crowd like this particular Miami game. I would argue the night game last year vs. USC seemed like a church gathering compared to this game.

Rick Mirer

The game itself was a classic and at the same time it shocks me that this particular Notre Dame team went 9-3. The running backs alone on this day for the Irish may be the greatest collective assembled in college football history. Dorsey Levens the listed starter got 0 carries. Nevertheless, he and the remainder of the group – Rodney Culver, Tony Brooks, Ricky Watters, Rocket Ismail (who while not a true running back was second in carries in this game), and Jerome Bettis – all played in the NFL.

The defense which was also much maligned coming into the game also featured a number of future NFL players.

The Irish would enter the game ranked #6 while Miami would enter the game with a #2 ranking. This particular contest dubbed the “Final Chapter” by some (the teams would end their series following this game) was true to the form of the other Miami/Notre Dame clashes in that it featured big plays, great athletes, and a few surprises.

Two of the bigger questions leading up to this game were whether Notre Dame could run the ball effectively vs. Miami and whether their defense – which had struggled to this point – would have any answers for a potent Miami offense.

The Shirt for the 1990 ND-Miami game

The Irish answered both questions with a resounding yes. On the day, the Irish shredded a Miami run defense – that had to date yielded just 62 yards per game – for a whopping 315 yards on the ground. The defense, though it gave up 473 total yards, forced four Miami turnovers and held the Hurricanes to 6 points on three trips inside the 10.

The final trip which resulted in a Leonard Conley fumble at the Notre Dame 2 proved to be the final undoing of Miami. Despite the run game and defense, a mainstay of the Holtz era may have been the biggest difference in the outcome.

Special teams play was absolutely brilliant for the Irish on this day as Craig Hentrich booted 5 field goals and Rocket Ismail accounted for 158 yards of kickoff return yardage highlighted by a brilliant 94 yard scamper. The kickoff return tied the score at 10-10 and seemed to stabilize the Irish after their offense had struggled greatly in the early going. On the day, Ismail would account for 268 all-purpose yards on his way to a season that featured over 1700 all-purpose yards and a second place finish in the Heisman race. How he lost the Heisman to a guy who threw 28 interceptions I’ll never understand, but that is a story for another day.

Lou Holtz would improve his record at this point in his tenure at Notre Dame to 18-8 vs. teams in the Top 20, underscoring his greatness in preparing for and playing in big games. In the build up to this game, it was well reported that Lou spent a ton of practice time working individually with the defense. On this day, it paid off as the Irish held Miami to just 3 second half points. When asked about the game and the crowd afterwards, Holtz responded, “There is something special about playing here.” There was something special about playing Miami too.

The post Film Session: Notre Dame vs. Miami, 1990 appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

PODCASTS

• Irish Sports Daily: 2-16-15 Power Hour (1:06:27)

RECRUITING

• Irish Sports Daily: In the film room: Donnie Corley
• Irish Illustrated: Irish offer 2017 four-star (Maleik Gray)
• Bleacher Report (Monaco): Notre Dame football recruiting offers of the week (Cary Angeline, Maleik Gray and E.J. Price)
• UW Dawg Pound: 2016 UW football recruiting: The rest of the West (Devin Duvernay, Byron Murphy and Chase Lucas)
• USA Today: Nation’s No. 3 player in Class of 2016 set to commit; Ole Miss seems to be the favorite (Shea Patterson)
• Shreveport Times: Calvary QB Shea Patterson to pick college Tuesday
• WLOX: Ole Miss could make biggest catch on Fat Tuesday: Blue chip quarterback Shea Patterson
• Northeast Ohio Media Group: Gregory Little, Jaylon Jones and T.J. Vasher – looking at Ohio State’s recent scholarship offers (Little, Patrick Bethel and Khalid Kareem)
• The Patriot News: Pennsylvania’s top 2016 football recruits; Pittsburgh C.C. corner Damar Hamlin
• Victory Bell Rings: Penn State football recruiting: Top 10 2016 recruits – Pennsylvania (Damar Hamlin & Cary Angeline)
• Burnt Orange Nation: Texas offers Florida QB Xavier Gaines
• 247 Sports: Best of the Midwest Combo MVPs (Quinton Baker)
• Slap the Sign: Notre Dame football recruiting class: Defensive grades

CURRENT TEAM

• Inside the Irish: Spring solutions: Quarterbacks
• UHND: At long last, depth for Notre Dame football
• St. Paul Pioneer Press: Twinsights: Torii Hunter Jr. returns to baseball at Notre Dame

COACHING

• Irish Illustrated: Piecing together assistant coaching puzzle
• Slap the Sign: Something new for 2015, a six-year coach at Notre Dame
• Bleacher Report (Arnold): Projecting Brian Kelly’s 2015 coaching staff
• Idaho Statesmen: Boise State football coaches Harsin, Yates up for new contracts (Mike Sanford)
• Mountain West Connection: Broncos extend Bryan Harsin to a new five-year, $7.35 million deal (Mike Sanford)
• Fansided: Boise State, Bryan Harsin agree on 5-year extension (Mike Sanford)
• ESPN: Roquan Smith got it right by waiting (Charlie Weis)
• Eleven Warriors: After coaching turnover, familiarity might correlate with stability for Ohio State (Tony Alford)
• Vavel: Charlie Weis on coaching again: ‘Highly doubtful’

IRISH IN THE NFL

• St. Paul Pioneer Press: Vikings’ Rudolph eyeing a full season
• The Times-Picayune: 2015 NFL draft: Brandon Scherff could be great tackle or all-pro at guard, says Mike Mayock (Zack Martin)
• Heavy: Jess Gysin, Jimmy Clausen’s wife: 5 fast facts
• Steelers Depot: Jerome Bettis says it’s too early for Browns to give up on Johnny Football
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Ray Fittipaldo’s Steelers chat (Ben Koyack)
• Carolina Panthers: Panthers name Steve Wilks assistant head coach
• The Republican: Patriots NFL Draft 2015 position preview: Looking for Rob Gronkowski insurance (Ben Koyack)
• News-Sentinel: NFL Combine brings annual scrutiny to Indy (Ben Koyack, Kyle Brindza and DaVaris Daniels)

HISTORY

• Chicago Tribune: How Michigan State’s Duffy Daugherty helped integrate college football (1966 & Ara Parseghian)

MISC.

• Inside the Irish: Mailbag: What to expect from defense
• TigerNet.com: Clemson announces 2015 football game designations, spring game date (Notre Dame game is IPTAY Day)
• Addicted to Quack: Roundtable: Oregon’s out of conference football games
• USA Today: Examining college basketball’s scheduling conundrum
• Bleacher Report: Meet college football’s most inexperienced head coach (Gerry Faust)
• EDSBS: The presidents assigned to their proper schools (Abraham Lincoln assigned to ND)
• ESPN: Ultimate ESPN 300: 15 things to know

The post Morning Roundup: Feb. 17, 2015 appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Notre Dame Football (Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images)

A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives. ~Jackie Robinson

Byron Spruell had aspirations of becoming an engineer since he was in the sixth grade, when his teacher told him that his math and science talents would serve him well in the engineering field. When he reached high school and not only excelled academically, but also athletically on the football field and basketball court, Byron received the opportunity to attend the University of Notre Dame on a football scholarship. Recruited by head coach Gerry Faust and ultimately finishing his collegiate career playing for head coach Lou Holtz, Byron experienced what it was like to play college football under two very different personalities. Now Byron is a vice-chairman of Deloitte LLP, managing principal of the organization’s Central region, as well as managing principal of Deloitte’s Chicago office. Spruell helps drive Deloitte’s national strategy for client and business growth, as well as the firm’s strategic positioning in local markets across 17 states in the Central region. Byron and his wife Sedra have two children: Devyn and Aleah.

Q: Growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, how did you end up playing football at Notre Dame?

A: “I was the product of two excellent role models. My mother was a seamstress/tailor and my dad was an engineer at the sewer district. They wanted my siblings and I to do our absolute best in everything we did. At the culmination of my high school career I was co-valedictorian of my high school class, and I had several opportunities to play football and basketball at Division I schools. The key criteria for what I wanted to get out of college helped me narrow down my choices to end up selecting the University of Notre Dame. What I was looking for was a school that was not only serious about academics, but also had a great athletics program. I also wanted a school that was close enough to home that my family could come see me play. Notre Dame passed all of my requirements with flying colors.”

“My parents ended up being able to come see me play for the majority of the home games through my senior year, and then for my fifth year of eligibility they were able to see every home and away game. It’s one thing to be good on the field, or off the field, but Notre Dame helped me excel in both of these areas and that was exactly what I wanted and aspired to achieve.”

“The other schools that I looked at besides Notre Dame were Vanderbilt, West Virginia, and Ohio State (particularly considering that I grew up in the Buckeye State). I knew once I got on campus for my visit at Notre Dame that it was a great fit for me. The style of teaching and learning in the classroom, the people walking around, I immediately felt welcome. My host during my visit to Notre Dame was Allen Pinkett. He was one year ahead of me and was in the school of engineering, so I’m sure they matched me up with him so that I could have the chance to meet another football player in a path that I wanted to pursue. By the time I got to ND the next year though, Allen had decided that trying to study engineering and play football was too rigorous of a schedule for him and he had transferred into the school of business. (The engineering school was aptly nicknamed ‘pre-business’ and they often times told freshman, ‘look left and look right…one of you will be gone at the end of your freshman year.’) When I was a senior at ND they paired me up with a visiting Rod West, who was very focused on academics and mildly interested in studying engineering at Notre Dame. After shadowing with me he made a comment that his head would explode if he had to take the engineering classes that I was in and it confirmed his choice to go straight to the business school!”

“I would have to say though, that one of the main reasons that I chose Notre Dame was because of how well they combined academics with athletics. My sixth grade teacher told me I was good at math and science and that I should become an engineer. I wanted to be a design engineer for one of the big three U.S.-based auto companies and that’s why I chose to study mechanical engineering, but as I neared graduation they were not doing so well. I had the chance to extend my studies and begin work on my MBA during my fifth year at ND which was also special because it was Tim Brown’s Heisman year. When I wasn’t drafted in the NFL after that year, I decided to remain at ND and finish my MBA. The year I finished my MBA, Notre Dame won the national championship. It was fun and rewarding to be on campus and witness the team’s success. Coach Holtz gave me and my fellow co-captain Chuck Lanza national championship rings because we had done so much to get the team to that point.  I cherish that ring and my relationship with Coach Holtz as he is a mentor to this day (a ‘Coach for Life’ as he would say).”

Q: What is your best Notre Dame football memory?

A: “The game against USC in 1986 sticks out in my mind. Out in Los Angeles, the whole environment, the Coliseum, the Trojan horse, down by 22 points…we rallied together as a team that day to pull out the win. It was Coach Holtz’s first year at Notre Dame. We lost five games that year by a total of six points. It was crazy how close we were but just couldn’t pull out the wins. It was the final game of the season and we were down 37-15 at halftime.”

“Sure, we were down 22 points out in Los Angeles, but we rallied under Coach Holtz’s leadership and came back to win the game on a last-second field goal by John Carney. We had started to build some real camaraderie that season and that win over USC gave us great momentum to carry us into the next year. On the flight back, Chuck Lanza and I got the indication that we would be co-captains next year. To have that type of victory in a hostile house environment and then to know the team felt that I was a leader moving forward is something I will never forget.”

Q: What was it like playing for Coach Faust? Coach Holtz?

1987 Fighting Irish Captain Byron Spruell

A: “Coach Faust really delegated a lot to his assistant coaches as compared to Coach Holtz who leveraged his coaching staff but still had command of every single detail. Holtz used his coaches but was completely involved. Coach Faust appeared to be more of a figurehead and was not so much in full command.”

“As a result, Coach Holtz really spent a lot of time, not only with his coaches but with his players, too. He helped us grow and develop into men (and this carried off the football field as well). I still remember going into his office for career advice as I was deciding between several employment offers.  He advised me to focus on “What’s Important Now” (WIN) and to secure a good foundation with a company that cared about my continued growth and development, a place that promoted excellence with people I could trust.  Those words have always been in my mind throughout my career and the organizations I have been associated with.”

“Coach Holtz made sure you understood three things. One, that he cared about his players. Two, that he made sure you were ready for what you were going to face on the football field. Three, that he was your coach for life, and made sure you were ready for your future both on and off of the field. He prepared you with the details that would make you a good football player, but also prepared you to be a good man in the business world or wherever life would take you.”

“Again, one of the most important factors that led me to choose to attend Notre Dame was how well they combined academics and athletics — Coach Holtz was a big part of why this worked so well. He prepared you for the details that would make you a good football player, but this same attention to detail was also what was going to make you a good man and successful at whatever you pursued after football.”

Q: What was it like being a student-athlete at Notre Dame? How did being a student-athlete at Notre Dame prepare you for life after college?

A: “For the most part it was all about balance, work ethic, and discipline. I like to be busy anyways but you need to cut through the clutter and be organized to succeed at a place like Notre Dame as a student-athlete. I really liked the environment at Notre Dame. It was a good fit for me. At Notre Dame you are truly a student-athlete. There are no athletics dorms. You are a student first and an athlete second — you carry yourself that way. You are given certain opportunities but you are not separated and you are not made to feel special or privileged compared to your fellow students. With the exception of Wednesday training table and game day (when we had steak), we ate dining hall food just like everybody else (only a few hours later).”

“Class, film, study, practice, training table, and then you go back to your dorm and study some more. You are tired and don’t feel like studying, but you still have to get it done. I definitely spent some late nights with David Letterman on in the background while getting my work done. It took hard work and discipline to play football and get my engineering degree and my MBA from Notre Dame.”

“My wife lived in Badin. I met her at an SYR (“Screw Your Roommate”) dance freshman year (that was our first date). We dated all four years, studied together as undergraduate engineering students, and got engaged between our fifth year and the final year of graduate school. She got her graduate degree in Aerospace Engineering and I got my MBA.”

“The engineering department was a challenging place to be — it definitely was not a place for the faint of heart! I had some adversity athletically as well, suffering some injuries at Notre Dame. I had hoped to work in the NFL and pursue some business opportunities during the offseason, but the knee injuries that I suffered as a student-athlete came back to haunt me, and the NFL didn’t think I was good enough or hungry enough. Even though this was a disappointment, I was okay with it. It allowed me to go back and get my MBA. It was a wonderful experience playing football at ND and I would have loved to continue that path, but at the end of the day the NFL is a business and you learn that fact very quickly. I would not change a thing.”

“From a diversity perspective, the environment at Notre Dame was very similar to my high school experience so I was not shocked when I got to ND. I didn’t have any situations that were negative as a student-athlete and the situations that I did encounter got me ready for the business world in terms of connecting with people from all walks of life and it was a very positive experience.”

“When you come out of Notre Dame you are prepared for the next chapter. In my case, I had a great football experience (and was molded by a great coach), two degrees that I could build a career upon (and be branded as a “Double Domer”), and a bonus of meeting a wonderful young woman with whom I could build a life and future family.  I definitely look back and appreciate all of the opportunity that the ND experience afforded me.”

Q: Where did life take you after football?

Byron Spruell, Deloitte LLP

A: “True to form as a coachable and approachable person given my athletics background and ability to connect, I always sought out advice. I spoke with Coach Holtz and he wanted me seek out a company where I could trust the people, love what I do, and they were committed to excellence.  I talked to one of my professors, Clay Smith, and he told me that I probably wanted to start out in consulting and special services and get exposed to a lot of different things. Then, after that experience, I could move back into the corporate world if I saw fit. I simply wanted to use both my engineering skills and my MBA skills that I had attained. With all of this input, I looked at a number of corporate and consulting opportunities and decided on taking a job with Peterson Consulting, which was founded by Alan Peterson who came out of the old Andersen firm and started this business that focused on consulting and litigation support. They were headquartered in Chicago and they had an office in Houston which was great for me since my wife got a job at Rockwell on site at NASA. At Peterson, I definitely got the opportunity to use both sets of skills (engineering and MBA/financial skills), and I also got to work with attorneys to use the dispute skills that I learned in my business law class.”

“For the first seven years of my career I did bankruptcy work, construction claims, and environmental claims which was a great proving ground and exposed me to client service and what I do today. Then I made the move to Deloitte & Touche. I was on the road a lot during my time with Peterson Consulting and my wife and I were ready to start a family. The move to Deloitte allowed me to stay at home more. It got me into a new practice that had an entrepreneurial spirit like Peterson had, but with the support of a big company and brand behind me. It was also in Houston and I focused on the oil and gas industry and business insurance claims consulting.”

“In 2004 I moved to the Deloitte office in Chicago to focus on broader financial advisory services, and then in 2007 I moved to the New York Deloitte office and served as Chief of Staff to former U.S. CEO and current global CEO Barry Salzberg. I was involved in operations, communications, strategy, global, regulatory/policy, talent, and clients/market matters. I spent a great deal of time shadowing Salzberg, and foreshadowing him as well. You need to always try and be a couple steps ahead of him in order to avoid any surprises. Like Holtz, Barry had a huge impact on me as a person and helped shape my professional career. In 2011 I became Global Managing Director of Financial Advisory and now I am back in the Chicago office as the Central Region and Chicago Managing Principal.”

“One of the most important things that I have learned along my career journey is to always be coachable. Never feel as though you know everything or that you can do this alone. Be prepared for new opportunities and be flexible and adaptable. Notre Dame really teaches you how to learn — this is also the culture at Deloitte. We pride ourselves in growing leaders and also have a great connection to Notre Dame and the Mendoza School of Business.”

Q: What advice would you give current student-athletes?

A: “I currently sit on the monogram club board and one of our jobs is to be a liaison between the current student-athletes and former student-athletes through mentoring and providing advice about the professional and business world. The biggest thing, particularly for ND student athletes, is to stay focused, perform, and be coachable. Know that Notre Dame is a special brand that people really do respect. IF you come through a place like Notre Dame and do well both academically and athletically, you will have a great value in the marketplace. Use that to your advantage.”

Q: Can you talk about your involvement with the Jackie Robinson Foundation?

A: “One of the things I most enjoy is giving back to the community. I love to give back and invest in people. My passions are diversity and education. We do a fair amount of mentoring for Jackie Robinson scholars. I give my time, talent, and treasure because it is about mentoring and developing, growing them into young men and women and giving them opportunities to go to college that they might not otherwise have. I keep a fair amount of relationships going to provide advice and counsel to give them perspective on what they are going through. I look forward to continuing to work with them. They have a lot of credibility in the market with the successes they’ve achieved.”

I’d like to thank Byron Spruell for graciously taking some time out of his busy schedule to stop by the blog. We all greatly appreciate it! Stay tuned for many more great stories in the “Where are they now?” series! If you enjoy this series, you can also read more stories in my new book, “Echoes From the End Zone: The Men We Became” now available for purchase.

Cheers & Go Irish!

The post Where Are They Now? Byron Spruell 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

The post Where Are They Now? Vagas Ferguson appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

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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