Could one of the most beloved and most celebrated players in recent Notre Dame history be on the path to one day coaching under the golden dome? If everything goes according to plan, the answer would appear to be yes for [autotag]Tom Zbikowski[/autotag].
If you’re a certain age, which I am, you will recall the stardom Zbikowski brought to Notre Dame, especially from the 2004-2006 seasons. Not only was he an outstanding boxer away from the football field, but he was an All-American safety and one of the best punt returners Notre Dame has ever had.
Zbikowski, who keeps a fairly low profile these days, joined his former teammate Mike Goolsby on “The Mike Goolsby Show” on Sunday night. During the roughly hour long discussion some very interesting things were brought up, including the former Irish stars discussing their biggest rivals, spilling some beans on a former head coach’s love for PowerPoint presentations, memories of the big upset at Tennessee in 2004, thoughts on name, image and likeness and plenty more.
It’s worth checking out in full, but worth noting is that Zbikowski recently interviewed for the special teams coordinator position at Western Michigan. Zbikowski spent this past season serving as a volunteer defensive analyst for the Broncos. The former Notre Dame star admits he doesn’t follow the Irish too closely these days, but he has been impressed from what he’s seen and heard of Marcus Freeman from afar. He also added that he’d like to help improve Notre Dame’s punt return game one day.
It’s the work of Goolsby and his co-host Mike Singer at Blue and Gold Illustrated, so I don’t want to give away everything that’s discussed but instead want to encourage you to check it out. If you were a big follower of Notre Dame football for the first five or six years of the 2000s then it’s certainly worth an hour of your time.
In the meantime, check out some of the best photos of Zbikowski’s time at Notre Dame below: