Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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the fifth quarter M lou somogyi 2013 And Beyond: Now Comes The Hard Part any years ago, a former Notre Dame head coach who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame explained to his son why he left in his prime despite posting an extraordinary record. Here's how that conversation was recorded in future Notre Dame books: "It wasn't because of the school or anything else; I had a marvelous relationship, but I could see the handwriting on the wall. I could see the pressure by the alumni to do nothing but win, win, win, regardless of what you did to the boys, the school or anything else … "You do not have any easy games. Every team that plays you is up. Every team that beats Notre Dame has a successful season. It's just a crazy, marvelous sport, the finest sport we have. It does more to develop character in men for future life than any sport we have. But I had to leave Notre Dame because winning was getting too important there." Who was this esteemed coach? The eminently quotable Lou Holtz (1986-96), who was at his best when building a juggernaut rather than sustaining it? Dan Devine (1975-80), who constantly was mocked as too bland despite much success, including a national title? How about Ara Parseghian (1964-74), who was a tender 51 years old his final season — the same as current head coach Brian Kelly — but was too emotionally drained and physically exhausted to add to his two consensus national titles? Maybe it was Frank "The Master" Leahy, who had four consensus national titles and six unbeaten seasons in his 11-year stint before retiring from the game for good at …45? None of the above. The answer is Jesse Harper, the mastermind of Notre Dame's dramatic ascent into big-time college football in 1913 (see page 140). Welcome to the big time. It was not nearly the same scrutiny and pressure 100 years ago as it is today, but it was enough to begin setting a pattern for Harper's successors. The 1913 ascent was the fun part for Harper, and maybe Kelly's 12-0 2012 regular season might be like Harper's 1913. It was one of those once-in-a-generation, whowould-have-thought-it rides that come out of nowhere. It even had a perfect 24-year symmetry with Parseghian's legendary debut in 1964 and Holtz's stunning march to the 1988 national title. Consequently, the 2013 campaign has "letdown" written all over it because whereas a Irish head coach Brian Kelly, center, will learn this year what predecessors Ara Parseghian, left, and Lou Holtz, right, already know: The job gets a lot harder after you start to win at Notre Dame. photo by joe raymond 10‑3 finish last season might have been welcomed in 2012, it could be scorned this season. That's what happens once the monster is fed and expectations become insatiable. You aren't truly the Notre Dame head coach until a top-10 finish is deemed merely "okay." From Sept. 1, 2012 until the early evening hours of Jan. 7, 2013, Notre Dame's football program had returned to Camelot. Since the 42‑14 drubbing from Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game, it's been, according to many Fighting Irish faithful, "The Offseason From Hell." Kelly's interview and flirtation with the Philadelphia Eagles … Manti Te'o's fictional girlfriend that elicited national ridicule … five-star quarterback Gunner Kiel, plus two freshman receivers, transferring during the spring … incumbent quarterback Everett Golson ineligible in 2013 … five-star defensive end Eddie Vanderdoes reneging on his signed National Letter of Intent and attending UCLA instead … It's been one off-the-field headache after another. In other words, it's just like the days when one of Parseghian's initial questions each day to his secretary was, "Where's the fire today?" Or like when Holtz saw 17 players from his top-rated classes from 1987‑90 transfer to other schools, while many others opted for other sports or could no longer play because of health issues … It's in the job description of being a bigtime head coach. Or as Holtz used to say, "If there's not a crisis, I'll create one," just to keep everyone on his toes. "You characterize it as headaches," Kelly said of the events since January 2013. "I characterize it as things that you have to deal with being a head football coach in the BCS. Other schools have other problems that are different … I know they garner a lot of attention from a media standpoint. It doesn't take a lot of energy or my time. It allows me to still focus on our team." The 2012 season was a long-awaited breakthrough at Notre Dame, although there have been some fool's gold in the past (2000, 2002 and 2005). Now comes the tough part: Sustaining excellence over a period of time — something like the 64-9-1 mark from 1988‑93, with one national title, two near misses and a 5-1 record in major bowls — and dealing with the immense expectations. Welcome to the big time in 2013 … again. ✦ Senior Editor Lou Somogyi has been at Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 1985. He can be reached at lsomogyi@blueandgold.com 2 ✦ Blue & Gold Illustrated 2013 Football Preview 2.5th Quarter.indd 2 6/25/13 8:31 AM