The past 50 seasons of Notre Dame football have produced plenty of highs, even if they have also brought a few low points.
Since 1972, Notre Dame has won three national titles, notched 14 Associated Press top-10 finishes and won at least 10 games 16 times. Current program health is at its best in at least 25 years.
That’s a lot of success — and it doesn’t come without good leadership. Three former Irish head coaches were recognized for exactly that. ESPN’s Bill Connelly ranked the best 101 coaches of the last 50 years and included three from Notre Dame in the top 50. His list considers a coach’s entire résumé, but a successful tenure at Notre Dame is usually the most compelling part of someone’s career.
Current boss Brian Kelly — who is four victories away from passing Knute Rockne as the Irish’s all-time winningest coach — is No. 36 on the list. He will also jump Rockne as the longest-tenured coach in program history (13 seasons) if he stays through next 2022. Kelly is 102-39 in 12 seasons at Notre Dame, with two College Football Playoff appearances, a BCS Championship Game berth and six 10-win campaigns.
In his college career, he is 273-96-2 and built one of Division II’s most dominant programs at Grand Valley State from 1991-2003. He won a combined three conference titles in Division I stops at Central Michigan (2004-06) and Cincinnati (2007-09) before coming to Notre Dame.
“From Allendale, Michigan, to South Bend, Kelly is one of the few coaches who has both gotten the opportunity to win big, and done so, in multiple divisions,” Connelly wrote. “He nearly brought Cincinnati to the BCS Championship and has brought sustained, high-level success back to Notre Dame.”
Dan Devine, Notre Dame’s head coach from 1975-80, made the list at No. 24. His Irish tenure contains his greatest career accomplishment — a national title — but he had an impressive 12-year stint at Missouri (1958-70) before that and broke in as a head coach at Arizona State (1955-57).
“He went 10-0 in his last year at ASU, won Missouri its last two conference titles (among four top-10 finishes) and, after a brief NFL dalliance, led Notre Dame to three top-10 finishes and, behind Joe Montana, its second-to-last national title,” Connelly wrote.
The head coach who most recently won a national championship in South Bend is ranked No. 19. Lou Holtz spent 11 of his 33 seasons as a head coach at Notre Dame (1986-96), posting a 100-30-2 record with five 10-win years. All told, he went 249-137-2 at six Division I schools. His most successful stop outside of Notre Dame was Arkansas (1977-83), where he led the Razorbacks to three top-10 finishes.
“He won conference or national titles at four schools and took six to bowls,” Connelly wrote. “A journeyman for decades, he found his home in South Bend, where, with a title and five top-fives, he became the greatest Notre Dame head coach of the past 40 years.”
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