Chris Zorich Wants to be an AD, Someday

I was a bit busy last week at work and didn’t get the chance to post about Chris Zorich returning to Notre Dame to work in the athletic department as manager of student welfare and development, but in a recent interview with the Chicago Tribune, Zorich talked about his decision to return to his alma mater and where he hopes to go from here.

“The reason I came to Notre Dame is because of Notre Dame,” Zorich said of his alma mater, where he emerged as the nation’s top lineman in 1990.

What he also wants is to become an athletic director. And he’s not shy about letting that be known.

“A lot of people are like: ‘Wow. You haven’t started Day One and you’re coming into this wanting to be the head guy,’ ” Zorich said.

The list of former Notre Dame players who have risen up the ranks of various athletic departments has been well documented to the last week in light of Notre Dame’s current AD search and it seems as though Zorich intends to follow in their footsteps.

It’s too bad that Zorich is just entering into this arena at this point and time since he would make a very interesting potential replacement for Kevin White if he had the experience for the position.

As for what Zorich’s new job will entail, the AP release had this to say last week.

Zorich will be responsible for developing, coordinating and implementing programs designed for athletes in areas that include academics, personal development, community involvement and career preparation and development. He’ll also direct Notre Dame’s summer sports camps programs.