Earlier this season when former Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen popped up on NBC’s studio coverage it got me thinking about Irish alums and their (perceived) lack of entry in to the coaching professions. This was aided by Brady Quinn’s recent emergence* as a color commentator and studio analyst with Fox Sports. They are joined by a long list of Notre Dame alums populating the football media:
Steve Beuerlein, Aaron Taylor, Joe Theismann, Tom Thayer, Evan Sharpley, Gerry DiNardo, Rocky Boiman, and both Mike Golics’s to name a few.
*I’m sure many of you have a man crush on Quinn and think he’d be a great future head coach at Notre Dame. Yeah, it’d be nice. However, he’s freaking phenomenal as a color commentator so we’ll have to sacrifice this one because there are too few of those in the game. I don’t know if he has a natural likable charisma like Kirk Herbstreit but at 32 Quinn is quickly on a similar career path.
Notre Dame’s first coach (technically, the first two) was a Michigan alum. However, alums coaching at Notre Dame used to be virtually a requirement. From 1918 until 1963 every non-interim head coach for the Irish was a former football player at Notre Dame. Times have changed as every coach since hasn’t been a former football player, although Charlie Weis was an alum, of course.
Is it common for alums to coach at their alma mater, though?
Richt, Harbaugh, Gundy, Kingsbury, Smart, Fitzgerald, Chryst, Sitake, Calhoun, and Shaw.
Those are the major coaches currently doing so, it’s a small list out of 100+ programs but it’s not an insignificant one, either. A few of them have major bowl wins and a couple others are in the conversation as the best coaches in their school’s history.
Former Players in the Coaching Ranks
Tom Clements ’75
Associate Head Coach, Green Bay Packers
Skip Holtz ’87
Head Coach, Louisiana Tech
Andy Heck ’89
Offensive Line Coach, Kansas City Chiefs
Steve Belles ’90
Head Coach, Hamilton High School
Greg Hudson ’90
Defensive Analyst, Notre Dame
Tim Grunhard ’90
Offensive Line Coach, Bishop Miege High School
Todd Lyght ’91
Defensive Back Coach, Notre Dame
Jeff Burris ’94
Analyst, Notre Dame
Ron Powlus ’97
Director of Player Development, Notre Dame
Autry Denson ’99
Running Back Coach, Notre Dame
Jarious Jackson ’00
Quarterback Coach, Saskatchewan Roughriders
Anthony Weaver ’02
Defensive Line Coach, Houston Texans
Maurice Stovall ’06
Wide Receivers Coach, IMG Academy
Derek Landri, ’07
Head Coach, St. Joe’s Collegiate Institute High School
Maurice Crum Jr. ’08
Cornerbacks Coach, Indiana State
David Grimes ’09
Assistant S&C Coach, Notre Dame
Justin Utupo ’14
Head Coach, Millikan High School
Tommy Rees ’14
Offensive Assitant, San Diego Chargers
If you have anyone to add to this list, please let me know.
I’d be interested to see how other major colleges compare but this doesn’t feel like many people in the coaching ranks when you consider we’re talking about three levels of football and hundreds of players throughout the years. I know that Notre Dame thinks it’s important to have alums come back in a coaching capacity because 9 of them are currently on staff in some form or have been in the past.
What’s frustrating is that no one on this list is showing any inclinations of being “The Guy” at some point in the future. Skip Holtz clearly has a leg up on the competition as an actual living, breathing college head coach but he’s no spring chicken and also a former walk-on who spent two years at Notre Dame after transferring from Holy Cross. His last name has brought him his minimal attraction as much as his alumni status.
Clements has been involved in rumors in years gone by but at 63 that ship has sailed.
Todd Lyght has a resume where you’d think he’d be an ideal candidate…if he was 10 years younger. Lyght waited several years after his NFL career to get into coaching and will be 48 next month as his career is just beginning. He could sky rocket through the ranks but he doesn’t look to have that “it” factor to do so.
Autry Denson is a little more intriguing. He also waited to get into coaching after his career ended but his life in the NFL wasn’t as long, thus he only just turned 40 years old.
Many have joked that Tommy Rees will be the future head coach but when you look at this he’s still only 24 years old. It remains to be seen if he’ll follow more in his father’s footsteps as a player personnel professional or if he’ll move into a full coaching role down the road. Interestingly, according to Lou Somogyi at Blue Gold Illustrated, Rees is a candidate to become the quarterbacks coach at Notre Dame.
Speaking of quarterbacks coach, Ron Powlus once felt like he could be “The Guy” but his coaching career has gone nowhere. He’s coached QB’s at Notre Dame, Akron, and Kansas and is back at the position he began with back in 2005. You can’t have a lost decade like that in the formative years of your coaching career.
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If it’s the case that Notre Dame doesn’t have as many former players in the coaching ranks as some of its peers there’s probably a few good reasons.
The 40-year decision and improving value of a Notre Dame diploma doesn’t exactly help. Getting into coaching is a hard business on the wallet and it can take several years to begin earning solid money. It’s a tough situation to start at the bottom of the coaching ladder for peanuts when there’s the possibility of a $80,000 job and a clear path to a steady wealthy career in your early 20’s.
With Notre Dame’s two most recent high profile NFL quarterbacks the amount of media attention showered on them both opens doors and prepares players to make that smooth transition to the booth and/or studio.
There are a lot of reasons NOT to get into coaching which is why the best candidates are probably from the NFL ranks. Someone from there could be financially secure and still want to stay in football. Someone like, Golden Tate? He made over $3 million with the Seahawks but his career earnings should push towards $20 million once his contract is up with the Lions. I can see the “Golden Boy Returns Home” headlines now.
I don’t know of any other ND alums to add to the list, but Kirby Smart played DB at Georgia.
Thanks, added!
Hudson?
Also, Mo Crum Jr.? I believe he ended up at ISU.
I just remembered I also recently saw a story about Utupo getting the HC gig at a high school.
Nice! I’ve add them all to the list, although not sure what to put for Hudson’s role anymore.
He’s the guy who jumps out of the cake.
Hat tip to ya.
What does it mean that Tommy is an offensive assistant? Â Is he one of the 9-10 allowable coaches (I presume the nfl has some limit) or is he some off the field offensive coaching analyst of sorts?
Basically, the NFL’s version of the grad assistant. Some minimal on-field coaching in practice but mostly game prep/scouting future opponents well in advance for the rest of the coaching staff.
Got it. Thanks Eric. I’ve seen “offensive assistant” for Tommy a few places and never quite understood what that meant.
I’ve wondered about this from time to time. Â Thanks for putting this together!
Same here, I’ve sort of haphazardly Googled recent alums this year while also tracking former assistants (Chuck Martin, Diaco). Not a great farm team right now when we may be hiring a new head coach in the near-term. But as was noted, attachment to the school isn’t nearly as common as it used to be.
Sadly an alum (or former assistant with an unusual sense of attachment to ND…unlike Urban in 2004) might be the only one who might have any reason to choose ND over another top-end Power 5 school. The days of Ara dreaming of the ND job, or Lou having a specific “ND Clause” in his contract, are probably over.
Yeah, I think the 10-15 jobs are pretty interchangeable. ND offers good money and a national profile but has clear downsides as well (academics). Every top school has its negatives though. Texas is run like a banana republic and they got their #1 guy.
If you’re a good coach at a G5 or mid-tier P5 school, you’re coming to South Bend if offered. Anybody better probably isn’t leaving their job for Notre Dame. That’s why its great to have a dude like Dabo Swinney earning their stripes elsewhere and (presumably) waiting for your job to open.
Tim Grunhard – head coach at Bishop Miege in Kansas (06-11). Left to coach KU OL (2 yrs.). Now coaches OL at Bishop Miege.
Added. Boy, that ’90 class really carrying the torch for coaching!
That seems…a backwards move.
If I remember correctly, he’s more of a local guy and it was a tough enough decision to go coach at Kansas – believe it was with Weis (another ND guy got him to do it basically).
I don’t mean dropping back to HS after a stint at a college. I mean taking the OL job at the same HS you had just been the HC. That kind of sucks for him.
After Kansas, I think it was about more time with his family.
That’s fair. Just seems that moving up the chain towards ND isn’t in his plans.
Not looking good so far for Future Notre Dame Head Coach PJ Fleck.
Going into the 4th Q down 17-10, pretty good. Have had chances. It looked like Wiscy was just going to steamroll over them the first two drives, but it’s at least a game.
Each time I see Western Michigan, I cringe a bit thinking about him on the ND sidelines. Can’t imagine that personality would wear well after just one disappointing season. Guessing some other schools thought the same so he’s back for another turn in Kalamazoo.
Going 13-0 again in 2017 would probably change my mind though…
He’s Harbaugh-crazy without the creepy….I hope.
Revisiting this–you’re right, I think his personality would absolutely drive the NDN crowd bonkers. Which is a feature, not a bug, in my opinion.
Ha, valid point.
Reesus Walks
I love it!
Lincoln Riley’s offense is an evolved and improved version of what Brian Kelly wants to do.
Really, any spread offense that has added new wrinkles since 2010 has improved on Brian Kelly’s offense.
I was hoping that the reports were true about Tommy Rees being named Notre Dame’s QB coach. Appears to be false. Even though I think he would make a excellent hire. He might not have had the physical tools needed to play in the league. But he understands the game and has a very high football IQ. He will be a head coach one day.
Can’t believe you omitted this one:
Ryan Mihalko ’91, head coach at Summit
http://www.lowellsun.com/news/ci_28649546/football-great-now-n-c-coach
I would have loved Tommy to be named QB coach. If for no other reason than to watch all of the wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Yes. Brady Quinn still is Man Crush #1 since 2005.