Tag: Gerry Faust

Notre Dame Football: All-Time Losingest Coaches

The program has lost more than 300 times in its history. So which coaches are responsible for most of those?

Notre Dame has a long football history that fans nationwide flock to.  “Win one for the Gipper”, the Four Horsemen, and the “Play Like a Champion Today” sign are all parts of Fighting Irish lore.  In that long football history that has been played at the university since an 8-0 loss to Michigan in November of 1887, it hasn’t always been national championships and 10-win seasons.

In fact, Notre Dame has lost a total of 330 times in the more than 13 decades they’ve been playing football.  We know which coaches won the most of those games as Brian Kelly set that record before leaving in 2021.  But who has lost the most as Notre Dame’s head coach?

Marcus Freeman isn’t there – yet – but with five in 13 career games he’s already in the top 16.

We went ahead and listed the the top 13 in program history as that’s how many have lost double-digit games at Notre Dame.  Here they are, the all-time losingest coaches at Notre Dame.

The day after: Lasting thoughts on Notre Dame’s loss to USC

What stood out in your mind?

It was a good effort but not quite enough for Notre Dame to get an upset on the road against USC. The game was closer than the score, even if the Irish failed to get the game within one score late in the game. There were positive and negatives and here are my thoughts that have lingered in my mind since the game finished last night.

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Notre Dame head coaches who also played college football

What Notre Dame coaches have played at the collegiate level?

It’s amazing to think that for all of its rich history, Notre Dame has had only six former college football players as head coach. To make it even more amazing, you have to go all the way back to the beginning of the program’s history of coaches to find half of them. What’s more, it has been 36 years since the Irish had a former college player in their head coaching role. With Brian Kelly only four wins away from passing Knute Rockne on the program’s all-time list, it doesn’t appear the Irish will be adding to this short list anytime soon.

Whichever former college football player eventually ends up as Notre Dame head coach will be joining some rare company. We’re talking three apiece in the 19th and 20th centuries with none coming in the 21st yet. Until then, Irish fans will have to settle for these men holding what is a rare distinction in South Bend:

Former Notre Dame Football Player/Coach Dies at 79

Former Notre Dame tight end and assistant football coach Brian Boulac has died at 79 after spending his life with Notre Dame.

Former Notre Dame football player and assistant coach Brian Boulac has died.  He was 79 years old.

Boulac arrived at Notre Dame in the fall of 1959 and played for the Fighting Irish football team from 1961-63, a run where the team went just 9-20.  The tight end would go on to become a graduate assistant at Notre Dame that kicked off a career in coaching and ultimately in the Notre Dame athletic administration.

Boulac would serve as an assistant coach under Hugh Devore, Ara Parseghian, Dan Devine and Gerry Faust and was also the first recruiting coordinator for the Notre Dame football team.

From 1959 through at least 2009, Boulac either played in or attended every Notre Dame home football game as a fan.

 

Boulac was also the first varsity softball coach at Notre Dame and led the Irish to four 30-win seasons and a pair of conference titles despite having only two scholarships to offer.

To learn more about Boulac, check out the write-up about him from the 2009 Notre Dame vs. Boston College game program.