Back To The Notre Dame Football Future With Reggie Brooks
In 2004, former 1989-92 running back Reggie Brooks returned to Notre Dame to work in management information systems for the Notre Dame Office of Information Technologies. Eventually he shifted into the monogram/football alumni relations office before becoming assistant athletics director of athletics alumni relations. He also assisted with football pre- and post-game radio shows for Notre Dame Sports Properties.
Late last year, Brooks’ wife, Christina, was hired in her native Texas as Fort Worth’s first diversity and inclusion director after having a similar role in South Bend. Brooks will be joining her while serving as the executive director of the Holtz’s Heroes Foundation (formerly Lou’s Lads), whose mission is to aid underprivileged students and legacies of Notre Dame.
When Brian Kelly took the helm as Notre Dame’s head football coach in December 2009, the Fighting Irish had endured a 16-year stretch (1994-2009) of winning only 59 percent of their contests — a drop of about 17 percent from its career average that had been No. 1 — and had only one top-10 finish (No. 9 in 2005)
After Kelly’s hiring, we did a Q&A with some of the most distinguished players in school history on what will be needed to revive Notre Dame as an elite football program. A favorite interview was with the typically candid Brooks.
Brooks’ 1992 season at Notre Dame may have been the best ever by an Irish running back when you combine the spectacular with the fundamental. While rushing for 1,343 yards during the regular season, he averaged an astounding 8.04 yards per carry and also didn’t fumble. His fifth-place finish in the Heisman Trophy voting that year was the lone season from 1991-2004 a Notre Dame player placed in the top 10.
Particularly appreciated about Brooks was his patience and humility. In backfields with people such as Jerome Bettis, Ricky Watters, older brother Tony Brooks, Rodney Culver, and Raghib Ismail, among others, Brooks bided his time and even played cornerback before getting his chance as a senior.
Here are excerpts from that interview with Brooks we did 10 years ago — and how so many principles still apply today:
BGI: Joe Montana indicated that Notre Dame, because of its academic requirements, has become similar to Stanford in football — where an 8-4 or maybe 9-3 record is now regarded as a fine season. Do you agree?
Brooks: “At this point, yes. Is that good enough? No.
“People can talk about the challenges presented here academically and athletically, but do they really understand it? You can’t be the best at everything, and I know that’s not always popular to say. There are lots of special people willing to take that challenge, you just need to find them. Notre Dame definitely is not for everyone, and they have to find a reason to love this university. And for Notre Dame to get back in football, it will take more than just a handful of people.
“On the plus side, because Notre Dame demands so much, those individuals who can flourish here will find success easier once they graduate. When you’ve been challenged and overcome, you can deal with a lot more, and you find success because you’re naturally driven.”
BGI: Do you agree with Lou Holtz that with the improved facilities, early enrollees, better salaries, friendlier schedules, including seven home games, etc., Notre Dame is in a better position to win now than 20-25 years ago?
Brooks: “I agree to a degree. He understood the differences of Notre Dame — but he was the kind who accepted it and actually relished it. More than ever, you have to really be a better salesman because kids today are softer and look into more options. I don’t see the edge of, ‘I’m coming here to win!’
“Lots of kids would love to come to Notre Dame, but then all of a sudden they see all the different areas where they will be challenged. Do they look at it that way, or do they start to complain that Florida State has this, or Arizona State has that, it’s warmer here, there’s more to do. … There’s a lot to complain about, but if you choose to look at it closely, there’s a whole lot of opportunity too. It gets down to, “Do the coaches know what they are selling at Notre Dame?”
BGI: Besides winning, what would be your top recommendation to Brian Kelly?
Brooks: “Getting to know the academic side of things, and that comes from having my own daughter in college now and my wife working in admissions. I have an appreciation of what it takes to get admitted.
“You have students coming here with an average 1,490 SAT (on a 1,600 scale) — but not football players, and you have to bridge those gaps to have a comfort level.
“If a student-athlete from a tougher background struggles here socially and academically, it will hurt him athletically, which in turn hurts development. You will play better if you feel better academically and socially, so that integration and bridging of the gap might be better achieved through communication with academia and professors. Again, it goes back to perception, and how some kids will think it will be easier at other places.
“We’ve always said, ’You have to really fight to fail here.‘ We give you the resources, the tutorial services, etc., to graduate, but you have to want it too. At the same time, you also have to achieve a comfort level in the overall environment.”
BGI: What are the most overrated and underrated aspects of coaching?
Brooks: “Overrated is getting too exotic with schemes. Emphasize and stick with the basics first, and don’t overcomplicate. You’re not getting kids here with the same mentality as the pros, guys who know how to read defenses, coverages … they’ve seen it all
“Most underrated is the relationships coaches develop with a player. I don’t think that’s valued nearly enough. A coach isn’t there to be your friend — the athlete has plenty of friends — but it’s important to develop a relationship to be able to help through tough times off the field in order to help them on the field.
“There are lot of issues the public might not know about: family life, struggles and personal hurts among the players. For a coach to be there — not as a friend but with a social worker mentality — is important.”
BGI: What has been the biggest change in football coaching you’ve seen over the years?
Brooks: “The erosion of fundamentals and the catering to kids, starting even at the Pop Warner level. I recently spoke with [1986-89 Irish guard] Tim Grunhard who was coaching in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, and he said kids struggle just with the snap exchange because offenses are more about the shotgun. It all comes back to fundamentals. They have talent, more so maybe than ever, but a lot of it is raw. Tackling is a lost art. Everything goes back to discipline and fundamentals.
“You’re not doing kids any favors when you cater to them in grade school or high school, but you have a generation growing up with the T.O.s [Terrell Owens] and how it’s about them. I see a lot less respect for the history of the game. My father taught me to know and respect the history of people like Johnny Unitas, Sammy Baugh, Gale Sayers, Bubba Smith, Dave Casper … and respect the work put into it. I knew Deion Sanders, and truth be known, he created that “Prime Time” persona to sell himself. He didn’t like “Prime Time,” but that’s what people wanted to see.
“Student-athletes are different today, but that began in little league where they didn’t understand team concept. So you have a lot of people who are chiefs but not Indians. You can’t lead until you’ve followed.”
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