Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/941859
4 MARCH 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED M entioning the name Nick Saban in the first sentence of a Notre Dame magazine article feels more than a little blasphe- mous. But the similarities be- tween Alabama's five-time na- tional championship skipper and Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly make this rare ref- erence forgivable. As so often happens around Kelly's program, any news of player defections, recruit de- commits or assistant coach departures brings an impul- sive forecast of unavoidable armageddon. Such was the case again this offseason when popular Irish defensive coordinator Mike Elko — who many considered the best assistant hire Kelly had ever made in his eight years here — left Notre Dame after just one sea- son for warmer weather and a bigger bankroll at Texas A&M. Elko's departure left Kelly search- ing for his third defensive coordina- tor since Brian VanGorder was fired four games into the 2016 season … heavy turnover indeed. Yet heavy turnover is one of the challenges college coaches forever face, especially the elite ones, and that is where Saban again enters the picture. At Alabama, running backs coach Burton Burns is the only member of the Crimson Tide staff that has been with Saban for all of his 11 seasons as the head coach there. Beyond Burns, every other coach- ing position at Alabama has changed hands at least three times — seven times at offensive coordinator — since Saban's initial staff was con- structed in 2007. The Crimson Tide coaches turn over faster than their players do. Following Alabama's latest na- tional championship run in January, Saban lost both his offensive and de- fensive coordinator, plus his second- ary coach. Armageddon? Not hardly. Ala- bama is listed as a prohibitive 3-to-1 favorite to win the national title again next season because, ultimately, win- ning comes from the head coach, not the assistants that come and go. A couple of legendary Irish coaches help prove the point. During a history of sustained suc- cess at Notre Dame, former Irish skipper Lou Holtz averaged three coaching staff changes per each of his 11 seasons from 1986-96. Yet, despite having 34 assistants during his time on the job — the most of any Notre Dame head coach — Holtz still man- aged two 12-win seasons and three others of at least 10 wins, while suf- fering only two seasons with fewer than eight victories. And even during the era of col- lege football when loyalty meant much more than prosperity, beloved Irish head coach Ara Parseghian had only three assistants stay with him throughout all of his 11 seasons at Notre Dame from 1964-74. They were backfield coach Tom Pagna, defen- sive backs coach Paul Shoults and defensive line coach Joe Yonto. The point is, great coaches survive heavy turnover. The elite ones even thrive on it and sometimes create or invite it to guard against compla- cency and sterility. To Kelly's credit, in 2016 the Irish coach recognized that sweeping changes were necessary after a 4-8 season, and he responded by replac- ing six on-field assistants along with most of his strength and condi- tioning crew. The staff shakeup brought a major atmosphere change and 10 wins last season. And like Saban and Holtz and so many other head coaches, Kelly was asked to prove himself all over again a year later this offseason when two of Notre Dame's top assis- tants, Elko and offensive line coach Harry Hiestand, moved on. Looking to keep continu- ity instead of make change this time around, Kelly took a less seismic approach to fill- ing these two important posi- tions. He stayed in-house and moved Clark Lea from line- backers coach to defensive co- ordinator and Jeff Quinn from senior offensive analyst to of- fensive line coach. Kelly's defensive staffing decision paid quick dividends when less than a week after Lea's promotion, Irish All-America linebacker candidate Te'von Coney and lineman Jerry Til- lery both announced they would de- lay their NFL pursuits and return in 2018 for their senior seasons. It's unlikely either of these two breakout players from last year would've returned to school had Kelly discounted continuity and named anyone other than Lea his next DC. "What I've said to every player I've talked to is this: we're going to go out and build on what we've started," Lea told senior associate athletic director John Heisler in a story for UND.com. Holtz and Saban showed time and again their mastery of recognizing af- ter each season when their program needed a full defibrillation or just a low-volt jolt to keep the operation ticking properly. Kelly correctly chose the former method before last season. We'll see how well the latter approach works this year. ✦ Saying Goodbye Is Hard, But Necessary UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com Linebackers coach Clark Lea will take over as Notre Dame's defensive coordinator — replacing Mike Elko, who left to take the same position at Texas A&M this offseason. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN