Bob Davie

[poewelch84]

Has New Mexico in a bowl game against Arizona with a 7-5 record an is seeing some success as a head coach, I'm happy for the guy and hope they win their bowl game.

 

[whywork2]

Has New Mexico in a bowl game against Arizona with a 7-5 record an is seeing some success as a head coach, I'm happy for the guy and hope they win their bowl game.

I went to see Notre Dame with my Pa in 1998 and watched them defeat Baylor , I can't recall everything but I know we seen him before the game as he went into the stadium. It was a good day and a Irish victory. I'm happy for Davie too but Lou Holtz will always have a special place in my heart. I just love his enthusiasm and sense of humor. "Now go out and beat Florida State, but just save Jimmy Johnson for me."

I got a chance to meet Joe Theismann for a brief time a handful of years ago when he was working on Monday Night Football. No one knew he was and I looked over and him and said how you doing Theesman. because I knew that was how he and his family really pronounced his name prior to all the Heismann Trophy hype. His photos at Notre Dame are precious, he looks like we was 15 years old when he played. I forget the name of the room where they display all the Notre Dame lore. It was cool though.

 

[jjc2009]

I went to see Notre Dame with my Pa in 1998 and watched them defeat Baylor , I can't recall everything but I know we seen him before the game as he went into the stadium. It was a good day and a Irish victory. I'm happy for Davie too but Lou Holtz will always have a special place in my heart. I just love his enthusiasm and sense of humor. "Now go out and beat Miami, but just save Jimmy Johnson for me."

I got a chance to meet Joe Theismann for a brief time a handful of years ago when he was working on Monday Night Football. No one knew he was and I looked over and him and said how you doing Theesman. because I knew that was how he and his family really pronounced his name prior to all the Heismann Trophy hype. His photos at Notre Dame are precious, he looks like we was 15 years old when he played. I forget the name of the room where they display all the Notre Dame lore. It was cool though.[/QUOTE
Fify

FIFY

 

[jjc2009]

Meh. Part of the downfall of the program IMO. I've also always suspected that he had a hand in the university pushing Lou out the door (no proof, just a feeling).

I don't wish ill on the man but don't really care if he succeeds or not.

 

[Wamu]

Meh. Part of the downfall of the program IMO. I've also always suspected that he had a hand in the university pushing Lou out the door (no proof, just a feeling).

I don't wish ill on the man but don't really care if he succeeds or not.

I once heard that Holtz walked from N.D. because he didn't wanna break Knute Rockne's W total. Is there any truth to that? Holtz finished his career there w/ a 100-30-2 record, Rockne was 105-12-5.

 

[poewelch84]

Meh. Part of the downfall of the program IMO. I've also always suspected that he had a hand in the university pushing Lou out the door (no proof, just a feeling).

I don't wish ill on the man but don't really care if he succeeds or not.

He was but that was because the AD gave the keys to a guy that just wasn't ready. I thnk he could have been a decent coach had he gone out and gotten the a head coaching job for a few years before coming to Notre Dame. It's really the kind of place that an experienced Head Coach takes over not a coordinator.

 

[poewelch84]

I went to see Notre Dame with my Pa in 1998 and watched them defeat Baylor , I can't recall everything but I know we seen him before the game as he went into the stadium. It was a good day and a Irish victory. I'm happy for Davie too but Lou Holtz will always have a special place in my heart. I just love his enthusiasm and sense of humor. "Now go out and beat Florida State, but just save Jimmy Johnson for me."

I got a chance to meet Joe Theismann for a brief time a handful of years ago when he was working on Monday Night Football. No one knew he was and I looked over and him and said how you doing Theesman. because I knew that was how he and his family really pronounced his name prior to all the Heismann Trophy hype. His photos at Notre Dame are precious, he looks like we was 15 years old when he played. I forget the name of the room where they display all the Notre Dame lore. It was cool though.

Lou Holtz was an impossible act to follow

 

[jjc2009]

I once heard that Holtz walked from N.D. because he didn't wanna break Knute Rockne's W total. Is there any truth to that? Holtz finished his career there w/ a 100-30-2 record, Rockne was 105-12-5.

Don't know, I've never heard that before. I think the reality is that it is just a very high pressure job and nobody last long there forever. The pressure to win is as big as any major program, success is measured by national titles, especially because there is no conference title to play for. Add to that the academic rigors placed on the players and the locale, a rural part of Indiana in the snow belt of Lake Michigan and it makes it difficult to recruit or retain players there.

Ara only lasted a decade, and all he did was manage two national titles. He was at the height of his success, just two years removed from the '73 NC when he quit. Lou's situation was that the incoming president and a lot of the university brass was becoming concerned that the school was a football factory under Holtz. More players with questionable academic credentials got in under Lou, there was an uptick in player incidents (Mike Miller, etc), and the whole Kim Dunbar incident. I think Lou was being nudged out the door, or at least saw that the school was not going to be serious about maintaining ND's position at the top of the polls in football and bailed.

Its happened before. Even Fr. Hesburgh, who is practically canonized at ND, expressed concern about ND's image as a football factory when Leahy was stringing together NC's. In the early 50's he wanted to limit ND's scholarships for football.

I think Lou would have been fine surpassing Rockne, the question a lot of folks have was, did he have the university support to realize that success. His last season at ND was not that spectacular, and there were signs of rust. The year after the '93 title run was a disappointment, and '95 was okay, but it also marked the beginning of our struggles in big bowl games which, God willing, will be corrected on 1/1/16. Sorry @Wamu .

 

[Wamu]

Don't know, I've never heard that before. I think the reality is that it is just a very high pressure job and nobody last long there forever. The pressure to win is as big as any major program, success is measured by national titles, especially because there is no conference title to play for. Add to that the academic rigors placed on the players and the locale, a rural part of Indiana in the snow belt of Lake Michigan and it makes it difficult to recruit or retain players there.

Ara only lasted a decade, and all he did was manage two national titles. He was at the height of his success, just two years removed from the '73 NC when he quit. Lou's situation was that the incoming president and a lot of the university brass was becoming concerned that the school was a football factory under Holtz. More players with questionable academic credentials got in under Lou, there was an uptick in player incidents (Mike Miller, etc), and the whole Kim Dunbar incident. I think Lou was being nudged out the door, or at least saw that the school was not going to be serious about maintaining ND's position at the top of the polls in football and bailed.

Its happened before. Even Fr. Hesburgh, who is practically canonized at ND, expressed concern about ND's image as a football factory when Leahy was stringing together NC's. In the early 50's he wanted to limit ND's scholarships for football.

I think Lou would have been fine surpassing Rockne, the question a lot of folks have was, did he have the university support to realize that success. His last season at ND was not that spectacular, and there were signs of rust. The year after the '93 title run was a disappointment, and '95 was okay, but it also marked the beginning of our struggles in big bowl games which, God willing, will be corrected on 1/1/16. Sorry @Wamu .

Thanks for the answer. And of course I'm gonna be rooting for the Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl. Should be a helluva game though.

 

[bbirish73]

I'm not a fan of Davie so I don't really care if he is successful or not. In my opinion he sent notre dame back at least a decade. He recruited well but couldn't win. He started the mediocrity trend and now Kelly is finally bringing the program back to being respectable but it is taking a lot more time then I would like

 

[poewelch84]

I'm not a fan of Davie so I don't really care if he is successful or not. In my opinion he sent notre dame back at least a decade. He recruited well but couldn't win. He started the mediocrity trend and now Kelly is finally bringing the program back to being respectable but it is taking a lot more time then I would like

I'm not a fan either but I don't wish ill on the guy. Yes he did set the team back but I hold the AD just as culpable for hiring a guy that wasn't ready to coach a program like Notre Dame and at that point it was a much more desirable job.

 

[whywork2]

FIFY

How did I mess that one up? That's for the heads up JJC. Bobby Bowden was too damn old for Lou to kick ass.

 

[jjc2009]

How did I mess that one up? That's for the heads up JJC. Bobby Bowden was too damn old for Lou to kick ass.

Some fan you are. You probably don't even know what farm to table means.

 

[whywork2]

Some fan you are. You probably don't even know what farm to table means.

in all sincerity I don't. I been a fan for nearly a half a century but unfortunately I can't say I know what you're referring to. Lay it on me man. The Miami deal was more a Freudian slip. Catholics vs. Convicts series. Oh and by the way I don't get my ass hauled up on some mountaintop vacation during Notre Dame football Saturdays. I have a memory like an elephant.

 

[jjc2009]

in all sincerity I don't. I been a fan for nearly a half a century but unfortunately I can't say I know what you're referring to. Lay it on me man. The Miami deal was more a Freudian slip. Catholics vs. Convicts series. Oh and by the way I don't get my ass hauled up on some mountaintop vacation during Notre Dame football Saturdays. I have a memory like an elephant.

It's a joke. From a South Park episode this season.

Google farm to table and randy marsh

 

[jjc2009]

in all sincerity I don't. I been a fan for nearly a half a century but unfortunately I can't say I know what you're referring to. Lay it on me man. The Miami deal was more a Freudian slip. Catholics vs. Convicts series. Oh and by the way I don't get my ass hauled up on some mountaintop vacation during Notre Dame football Saturdays. I have a memory like an elephant.

I also dispute your elephant claim. I've never gone to the mts during football season. I did have to watch the TX game on the watch nbc app because I was in the Magic Kingdom.

 

[Irish7478]

Don't know, I've never heard that before. I think the reality is that it is just a very high pressure job and nobody last long there forever. The pressure to win is as big as any major program, success is measured by national titles, especially because there is no conference title to play for. Add to that the academic rigors placed on the players and the locale, a rural part of Indiana in the snow belt of Lake Michigan and it makes it difficult to recruit or retain players there.

Ara only lasted a decade, and all he did was manage two national titles. He was at the height of his success, just two years removed from the '73 NC when he quit. Lou's situation was that the incoming president and a lot of the university brass was becoming concerned that the school was a football factory under Holtz. More players with questionable academic credentials got in under Lou, there was an uptick in player incidents (Mike Miller, etc), and the whole Kim Dunbar incident. I think Lou was being nudged out the door, or at least saw that the school was not going to be serious about maintaining ND's position at the top of the polls in football and bailed.

Its happened before. Even Fr. Hesburgh, who is practically canonized at ND, expressed concern about ND's image as a football factory when Leahy was stringing together NC's. In the early 50's he wanted to limit ND's scholarships for football.

I think Lou would have been fine surpassing Rockne, the question a lot of folks have was, did he have the university support to realize that success. His last season at ND was not that spectacular, and there were signs of rust. The year after the '93 title run was a disappointment, and '95 was okay, but it also marked the beginning of our struggles in big bowl games which, God willing, will be corrected on 1/1/16. Sorry @Wamu .

I agree with almost all of what you wrote with a couple of comments. Ara announced his retirement at the end of the 74 season, (before the bowl game) one year after his championship year. (he announced it a week before finals, costing me at least a full point in my GPA). The rumor about Holtz leaving was that the administration didn't want anyone passing Rockne. I don't know where that was started, but everyone thinks that rumor was complete BS. I agree with you that the whole climate around the team was changing and the admin wasn't comfortable with it.

I honestly don't think Davie ever felt comfortable at ND. I think he was much happier during his time at Texas A&M.
With respect to Hesburgh, I agree that he didn't like the focus on football in the '50's, but as he spent more time as president he saw the impact that football had on turning ND into a national university and saw it as a positive.

And we can thank Kim Dunbar for the NCAA inventing the Idea that the administration didn't know what was happening, but should have known. (prelude to a "lack of institutional control"?)

 

[jjc2009]

I agree with almost all of what you wrote with a couple of comments. Ara announced his retirement at the end of the 74 season, (before the bowl game) one year after his championship year. (he announced it a week before finals, costing me at least a full point in my GPA). The rumor about Holtz leaving was that the administration didn't want anyone passing Rockne. I don't know where that was started, but everyone thinks that rumor was complete BS. I agree with you that the whole climate around the team was changing and the admin wasn't comfortable with it.

I honestly don't think Davie ever felt comfortable at ND. I think he was much happier during his time at Texas A&M.
With respect to Hesburgh, I agree that he didn't like the focus on football in the '50's, but as he spent more time as president he saw the impact that football had on turning ND into a national university and saw it as a positive.

And we can thank Kim Dunbar for the NCAA inventing the Idea that the administration didn't know what was happening, but should have known. (prelude to a "lack of institutional control"?)

Thanks for your post, esp. Because you were boots on the ground so to speak.

 

[craigk217]

How did I mess that one up? That's for the heads up JJC. Bobby Bowden was too damn old for Lou to kick ass.

It's because you're a fng cheesehead ... ya cheesehead.