Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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IRISH ECHOES JIM LEFEBVRE 94 MARCH 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED D uring Notre Dame's run to the College Football Playoff cham- pionship game, plenty of men- tion was made of the historical connec- tion among Fighting Irish coaches who captured the national championship in their third season on the job. From Frank Leahy (1943) to Ara Par- seghian (1966) to Dan Devine (1977) and Lou Holtz (1988), the Year 3 magic seemed more than coincidental. And now, in the last two regimes, Brian Kelly and Marcus Freeman have both reached the national title game in their third year. How have other Notre Dame head coaches fared in Year 3? Here's a look. Frank Hering (4-2, 1898) Hering, a University of Chicago quar- terback in 1893-94, has been called the "Father of Notre Dame Football" for his success in expanding the football pro- gram to a full-fledged intercollegiate sport as coach in 1896-98. He also coached Notre Dame basketball and baseball. He went on to greater fame for his role in the founding of Mother's Day as a national holiday. Hering and his wife, Claribel, left a legacy in South Bend with the establishment of Hering House — a community center for African Americans. Jesse Harper (7-1, 1915) After guiding the Irish to a 7-0 mark with Knute Rockne as captain in 1913, Harper would go on to lose only five games the next four seasons. The only blemish in 1915 was a 20-19 loss at Nebraska. Harper's squad handled Army, 7-0, at West Point, then wrapped up the sea- son with a successful two-game trip to Texas, whipping the Longhorns, 36-7 on Thanksgiving Day, then clobbering Rice, 55-2, two days later. Knute Rockne (9-0, 1920) Plenty of schools would claim a na- tional championship for an undefeated season that included victories over Nebraska, Army, Purdue, Indiana and Northwestern, but Notre Dame only counts consensus national titles. The 1920 season ended up with a plethora of squads vying for honors, with Princ- eton, Harvard, Georgia and California all receiving national title mention. Before his untimely death in Decem- ber, George Gipp helped the Irish out- score opponents 251-44. Gipp, Eddie Anderson, Roger Kiley and Frank Cough- lin all earned All-America honors. H e a r t l e y " H u n k " A n d e r s o n (3-5-1, 1933) As a player, Anderson was Gipp's pro- tégé from Calumet, Mich. As a coach, he was Rockne's trusted assistant. Upon Rockne's death in 1931, Hunk was pro- moted to head coach, and for two sea- sons kept the Irish respectable at 6-2-1 in 1931 and 7-2 in 1932. But things fell apart in 1933 and spelled the end of Anderson's tenure. The Irish were shut out in their losses to Carnegie Tech, Pitt, Navy, Purdue and USC, and a season-ending win over Army wasn't enough to keep Hunk in charge. Elmer Layden (6-2-1, 1936) The fullback on the Four Horseman backfield had established himself as a winning coach at Duquesne when he was hired over several former team- mates to guide Notre Dame after An- derson's departure. In 1936, the first year of the Asso- ciated Press poll, he led the Irish to a No. 8 finish. It was typical of his seven years at the helm — respectable, but with some blemishes. The Irish defeated Ohio State, Army and No. 1 Northwest- ern, but were shut out by Pitt and Navy. Terry Brennan (2-8, 1956) The former Irish halfback coached Notre Dame's freshmen under Leahy in 1953, then ascended to head coach the next year, at the tender age of 26. His first two years were successful enough — 9-1 and 8-2, with a pair of top-10 finishes. But in 1956, with mostly sophomores starting, things went off course. The Irish lost games to highly ranked Michi- gan State, Oklahoma and Iowa by a com- bined score of 135-22. Despite the record, Paul Hornung won the Heisman Trophy. Brennan rebounded with two winning seasons before stepping down in 1958. Joe Kuharich (5-5, 1961) Kuharich brought a decade worth of experience as an NFL coach, as both as- sistant and head coach, to Notre Dame when he took over in 1959. He had his own disastrous 2-8 season in 1960 before helping the Irish rebound to 5-5 — his record in three of four seasons on the job. What Do Third-Year Results Tell Us About Notre Dame Coaches? Elmer Layden (far left) guided the Irish to a 6-2-1 mark in his third season at the helm in 1936, which was typical of his seven-year tenure with the Irish. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME