Notre Dame has been playing football for 135 years and along the way some momentous decisions were made to shape the history of this storied program now entering a daring new phase of college sports. This off-season, we look back at the 10 best decisions made for the Fighting Irish in the decades past.
#1
Hiring Knute Rockne
How does someone accurately summarize the impact of Knute Rockne on Notre Dame and college football in general? Any brief look at Notre Dame football in the mid-1910’s could see the program was set up for success and on a track to improved results against better competition. It’s an interesting discussion to think what becomes to Notre Dame if Knute Rockne ultimately was not hired and went in a different direction with his life after being a student-athlete and assistant coach. We’d probably see some of the same things that came to be, with likely nowhere near the national acclaim, and that might have massive consequences decades down the road for the football program and university as a whole.
Rockne was truly special. He wove together innovative tactical schemes, rugged toughness, aggressive recruiting, and a genius-level acceptance of promoting Notre Dame (and specifically himself!) in the ever-changing media landscape of the early 20th Century. Perhaps most importantly, Rockne laid the foundations for the football program by constantly engaging in a tug-of-war battle with school administrators and consistently crossing the line, or threatening to cross the line, in a way that created an archetype of the modern college football coach.
His untimely death helps the mythology of his life and career. Due to his behavior throughout the 1920’s you can imagine had he lived a messy divorce from Notre Dame probably would’ve been likely at some point. How much would have that changed the course of Notre Dame? But if it happened and had he lived how much more winning and fame would have come Notre Dame’s way?
Either way, the transformation from 1918 in Rockne’s first year as head coach to the end of the 1930 season was utterly outstanding. As a student-athlete, Rockne was involved in the epic upset of Army and then as coach was the driving factor for getting Notre Dame Stadium built. Not only is he no. 1 atop our list but he was instrumental in 2 other submissions from the top 10, too.
It’s coming up on 100 years since his death and Rockne remains the most important and influential figure in Notre Dame’s history.
but
If ND loses Deuce, a kid that seemed so committed only a month ago, then I think the writing is on the wall, as to where things are headed. If Auburn and their scumbag coach can lure that kid away, I have to imagine the enticements are absurd. Add to it, Ivan Taylor and Derek Meadows and it looks like a trend lately, no? It all would leave me doubting that anyone could come close to leveling the recruiting playing field for ND. These kids didn’t back away because ND didn’t try hard enough.
It makes me sad to post this, as I’m really looking forward to this season. I’ve seen kids flip before but, not one that seemed so all in as Deuce. Hopefully he sticks with ND.
My maybe hot take is that Deuce, while it would be great if he stuck, is not as big a deal as Taylor and Meadows given that CJ Carr is only a year ahead of Deuce. Obviously it would be very good to stack high-level QBs back to back, but also we just really need WR talent and having a 5-star with legit early interest pick another school despite ND apparently making very serious NIL offers is pretty harsh.
I think the bottom line is the offseason vibes have shifted to bad and if we don’t make the playoffs this year Freeman will be on the hottest seat in the country going into next season. So, like, let’s make the playoffs and win some games.
IMO the Deuce situation isn’t really new. We’ve been losing 5-stars to southern programs for a long time, dating back to at least the Weis era. I actually don’t think NIL has changed this dynamic much if at all.
The reality, I think, is that ND has no credibility with top-flight QB and WR recruits. We have no performance to sell them on in college or the NFL. Freeman and the staff are going to have to manufacture a shockingly good passing offense to start attracting these kind of recruits.
Deuce seemed all in. As all in as anyone in the class. The reports are the crazy NIL amount Auburn is dangling has changed his situation.
I can think of another time Auburn dangled “NIL” money to get a star QB who was already enrolled at another school!
Allegedly.
The only sensible choice for #1.
Here’s an interesting longform article from SI in the 1970s about Rockne when some of his players were still alive. I like the part about his favorite play, Old 51.
Without Rockne, we’d be rust belt Villanova. Good school sure, it pretty far down the list of nationally relevant things.
That was a great read, thanks! My favorite part was the anecdote about the athletic supporter. Yes, that kind.
Yes, a super piece. Makes me wonder how the Rock would have done with modern recruiting. I am thinking he would have found a way to big NIL.
Sorry to come late to this thread. Paris Olympics in person.
Anyway, total agreeance with the choice of # 1. Nicely done Monsieur Murtaugh.
It all takes me back to my uncles on my mom’s side who played with the Rockne’s kids, since granddad taught chemistry with the Rock.