Impressions of Coach Davie
UHND.com - Dean Renner
November 17, 2000
And I’d like to share with you some of my impressions of coach Davie, and why my faith is restored.
There are several qualities, which if possessed in sufficient measure, seem to ensure success. Among these are leadership, preparedness, and confidence. So how does coach Davie measure up?
You know, leadership is the most important ability a head coach can possess; and in the end, really determines the level of success a coach enjoys. Leadership is about having a vision for the future, having your players subscribe to that vision, and earning their trust. And trust is by far the most critical of these qualities. Your players must have absolute faith that, if they do what you tell them to, they will win. Without that, your team is a rudderless ship adrift upon the ocean of mediocrity.
Coach Davie began his head-coaching career with the disadvantage that all assistant coaches begin with – lack of a winning track record. It is difficult for players to have absolute faith in your leadership if there’s nothing to base it upon. And after his first couple of seasons, I was beginning to believe his leadership ability wasn’t up to par, that it might not ever be, and that perhaps a change of leadership was in order.
And then here we are – a 7-2 team, vying for a BCS bowl game, our uneasiness calmed, our faith restored.
Coach Davie’s leadership ability has begun to blossom – and the entire Notre Dame football community delights in the wonderful aroma!
An area of concern though, is that Notre Dame all too frequently comes out flat to begin games and the kids don’t always seem ready to play. Of course Coach Davie isn’t the only victim of this malady – every coach suffers from this occasionally; and coach Holtz suffered some spectacular examples in his career. I guess I’m just wishing for the impossible! I’d love to see Notre Dame fired up to begin all of its games, that’s all.
You know, one thing I loved about coach Holtz, that I’d love to see coach Davie employ, is a little gamesmanship during the season. I’d love to see him confidently poormouth his team a little at press conferences; and run a trick play occasionally to give future opponents more to prepare for. Lou Holtz is a master of gamesmanship. Of course, coach Davie is still young and has many sterling years ahead of him to evolve into a crafty veteran himself. This speaks to preparedness and is an area that merits further attention from coach Davie.
And speaking of trick plays, and fourth downs, is this the same shy unconfident coach Davie we’ve heretofore seen? Last year it seemed he would have rather had open-heart surgery than go for it on fourth down – and this year he goes for it with regularity! It seems he has left his hesitation and self-doubt behind, and found within himself the ability to make decisions and the confidence to know they’re right. Players draw their strength from their coach’s confidence – and if he believes in their abilities, they too will believe.
And we come to the final of our three qualities – confidence. Confidence is one of those things that is difficult to develop and oh so easy to lose. Confidence is built upon a string of successes leading to a beneficial result – faith in one’s abilities. Coach Davie has progressed from the hesitant and unsure coach of the last few years to the purposeful and confident coach we all see today. And isn’t that impressive? To progress from an assistant coach with no proven track record, to a head coach of suspect leadership ability, to a promising leader with a brilliant future ahead. Confidence is the path, that when traveled far enough, leads us to spectacular successes. Coach Davie’s confidence portends great things for the future – Notre Dame’s -- and ours.