Notre Dame Special Teams In Good Care
Brian Polian remembers almost the exact day when special teams became an important part of his life.
Polian, now in his second stint and 10th year serving as special teams coordinator at Notre Dame, was a linebacker at Division III John Carroll University near Cleveland when another linebacker named London Fletcher transferred in.
“I thought I was going to play some linebacker but I figured out pretty quick that he was much better than me,” Polian accurately recalled of Fletcher’s arrival.
Fletcher recorded 202 tackles as a senior at JCU (still a school record), was named the Division III National Linebacker of the Year and eventually enjoyed a 16-year NFL career.
“I just figured out then if I was going to make a contribution, I’m going to have to cover kicks, and be on punt, and be on return teams,” Polian added. “And through that, I developed a passion [for special teams].”
Polian began his coaching career in 1997 as a graduate assistant at Michigan State.
Then, after bouncing between jobs while working on his master’s degree from Baylor, Polian became running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Buffalo.
And during his 20 years as a college coach — including four seasons as the head coach at Nevada (2013-16) — 15 of his years have been spent working with special teams in some capacity, a role that Polian said suits him well.
“I think one of the things that I love most is that I get to interact with such a wide swath of the entire football team,” Polian explained. “I reach such a big cross section that I develop relationships with guys all across the locker room.”
Topping that list this season of important player relationships is the one with Irish placekicker Jonathan Doerer. As a graduate student, Doerer has worked with Polian since the two arrived to Notre Dame together in 2017.
“Obviously we’ve gotten to know each other really well now and just the stability of that has meant a lot to me,” Doerer said of having the same unit coach for five years, a rarity in college football. “… Just to have that consistent voice, that has been a really steady presence for me.
“When I get too high, he brings me down. When I get too low, he brings me up. Going off the mental part, that’s a huge role. He’s like a caddie, of sorts.”
When campus was closed because of the pandemic and Irish players and coaches were primarily locked down and isolated, Polian called on his 20 years of experience and evolution and wrote a book on the challenges and changes of coaching players from Generation Z, which is encompassed by folks born from about 1995 to about 2010.
On the “Tony Kornheiser Show podcast,” Polian explained how he’s witnessed a dramatic change in how to effectively teach and develop young people.
“Generation Z has grown up in the age of technology. They’ve never known anything different,” Polian told Kornheiser. “This generation can have heartfelt serious conversations and do it via text and it wouldn’t bother them one bit.
“To me, that would have been unfathomable that I could have a serious conversation with a coach or a teacher and not have it sitting there eye to eye. But this generation can address serious matters and have deep conversations and do it with their thumbs on a phone. To not understand that as a coach puts you at a disadvantage with this generation.”
Known as a tireless recruiter and a road warrior on the prospect trail, while working at Notre Dame under Charlie Weis from 2005-09, Polian became best known for all the travel and effort he put into bringing star linebacker Manti Te’o from Hawaii to Notre Dame.
Polian went 23-27 with two bowl appearances during his four seasons as head coach at Nevada and believes his time as a special teams coach equip him well for another head coaching gig someday.
“Hopefully that opportunity will come again,” he said. “And I think that is part of the preparation.”
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