MichiganRadio

Revolving Door of Coaches Hurts Notre Dame ANN ARBOR, MI (Michigan Radio) - The Michigan football team might have more total wins, and a historically higher winning percentage, than any other team in the country - but the Wolverines have never captured the nation's imagination like the Fightin' Irish of Notre Dame.

Notre Dame's success is partly the Wolverines' fault. Knute Rockne wanted to get his Fightin' Irish into the Big Ten in the worst way - but Michigan's Fielding Yost wanted to keep them out even worser.

Yost probably expected Rockne to take his team and go home. Rockne had other ideas. He took his team to Chicago and Boston, which had large Catholic populations. They also played in Yankee Stadium - in front of the national media - and in Los Angeles, in front of Hollywood moguls.

And that's why Notre Dame didn't shrink without the Big Ten, but grew into the only college team with a national following. The sports writers told tales of The Four Horseman, while the movie makers immortalized the Irish with films from "Knute Rockne: All American," to "Rudy."

It took Father Ted Hesburgh, however, to leverage Notre Dame's success on the football field to success in the academy. What started out as a podunk private school that would accept live cattle for tuition - I am not making that up -- is now among the most respected universities in the world.

But, while Notre Dame's academic reputation has been steadily rising, the status of its football team - which made it all possible - has been in a steady decline. The Irish earned at least one national title every decade from the twenties to the eighties - eleven total -- but not one since 1988. Worse, Notre Dame has fired three head coaches in the last eight years - including Charlie Weis, just last week.

Part of the problem is Notre Dame's tradition - which makes them think they can hire anyone and he'll succeed. How else can you explain why they hired Gerry Faust in 1981 from Moeller High School in Cincinnati? Faust had not coached a single college game --and flamed out in five years.

Faust's successor, Lou Holtz, left for South Carolina under a cloud of suspicion.
After firing two more coaches, Notre Dame had to go searching again in 2005. But, to their surprise, the coach they wanted the most, Urban Meyer, who was named after Pope Urban, fer cryin' out loud -- didn't want to work for a school that fired its last coach after just three years. Michigan fans, take note.

So, they hired Charlie Weis, a Notre Dame alum who had never played or coached a down of college football. His greatest victory, the joke goes, was a close loss to top-ranked Southern Cal. Notre Dame was so impressed by this close loss that they signed Weis to a ten year extension worth tens of millions - to make sure he couldn't go anywhere else. Well, be careful what you wish for.

The good news: U.S. News and World Report just ranked Notre Dame the 18th best university in the country - a much higher ranking than the football team has enjoyed in years.

Rockne must be spinning - but Father Ted must be thrilled.
© Copyright 2012, Michigan Radio