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Notre Dame Doesn't Hire Legends, It Makes Them
UHND.com - Travis Donnelly - Used courtesy of IrishToday.com
1/9/2002
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Find me a single Notre Dame fan that doesn't love Ara
Parsegian. How about one that doesn't miss Lou Holtz? Both came to Notre Dame
with coaching records around .500. Frank Leahy, who had enjoyed some success at Boston
College, is regarded as one of the greatest coaches of all time. Would that have happened
if he had finished his career with the Eagles? Chances are slim and none.
The point is this - the University of Notre Dame does not hire legendary coaches. The
coaches become legends at Notre Dame and frankly, that's the way I like it. Most of
you probably know where I'm going with this. When Tyrone Willingham and his
"mediocre" record arrived at Notre Dame, there was an outpouring of negativity
from Irish fans that were hoping for an already-recognized superstar coach to take the
post. It just doesn't work that way at Notre Dame, never has, never will.
Don't get me wrong. I would have loved to see Jon Gruden or Mike Shanahan or Bob Stoops in
blue and gold. I went to Irishgruden.com everyday to check for new rumors. It was fun, as
it should be. But in the end, this is the way the University of Our Lady does business.
It has happened many times before. Don Shula was rumored to be the replacement for Ara
before the university took Dan Devine and his sub .500 record from the Green Bay Packers.
Oh, by the way, he won a National Championship. Bill Walsh's name circulated after the
Faust fiasco before Lou Holtz was brought in from Minnesota. Oh, by the way, Lou won a
National Championship too.
Now I'm not trying to say that I know Willingham will follow Devine and Holtz in winning a
National Championship at Notre Dame. I'm just saying that he should be given our full
support to go for it. If you want to compare records, consider that Willingham had a
better record at the Cardinal than Bill Walsh or Dennis Green. I think I heard somewhere
that Bill Walsh won some Super Bowls after he left the farm. Dennis Green, though now
looking for work, took the Vikings to the playoffs eight out of ten seasons, pretty
impressive in today's NFL. Maybe Willingham will follow the trend of Walsh and Green as
Stanford coaches who find their greatest successes AFTER they leave Northern California.
Tyrone Willingham's record at Stanford, just like Lou and Ara's before him, should be
taken in the proper perspective. The only record that matters is the one that now sits at
0 and 0, his record as head coach of the Fighting Irish. Until that changes, Tyrone
Willingham should be given every bit of our support. Why? Simply put, faith.
Faith is what endears many of us to Notre Dame to begin with and faith should extend
itself to the gold helmets we cheer for on Saturdays. In our world today, faith is seen as
whimsical and even silly by many. But that's what makes us different. We ARE Notre Dame
and frankly, that's the way I like it.
This article used courtesy of IrishToday.com. Click here for more of their articles.