Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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them being where they are taking on so many multiple looks and pressures and coverages. "We don't always do it in a way from an execution standpoint that we want to, but it will keep getting better." By trying to utilize so much person- nel, VanGorder said his biggest lesson came in the 50-43 victory versus North Carolina Oct. 11, when the Tar Heels ran an up-tempo attack that wore down the Irish defense. In fairness, several of Carolina's touchdowns were a result of the Irish offense putting the defense in bad positions, including a pick-six, plus 37- and 23-yard TD drives following turnovers. Still, Van- Gorder blamed himself. "That was on me," he said. "I didn't do a good job. We had a lot of pack- ages and a lot of different ways and schemes, and that wasn't the game really to do that. I thought we settled it down and did a better job in the second half. "Up-tempo offense is the enemy — that's what defensive coaches don't like. It takes some of the football away from us, takes your inventory and shrinks it way down. We couldn't win third down that day [Carolina was 6 of 9 in the first half]. We need to win third down against teams like that and get them off the field. "Trying to go from a third-down package back to a first-down package, it's hard to do. That's what up-tempo does, unfortunately. It just removes some of the strategy of the game." SETTLING IN Since 1983, VanGorder is the 14th different defensive coordinator at Notre Dame, meaning the average ten- ure is about 2.2 years. After six different coaching stops from 2004-13, VanGorder is primed to settle in for the long haul with Brian Kelly at Notre Dame for several rea- sons. One, the roots of his career go back to his days with Kelly at Grand Valley State from 1989-91. Two, he's been a head coach be- fore — at alma mater Wayne State in 1992-94 and Georgia Southern in 2006 — and there comes a point in your career when sitting in the top chair is not a priority. Finally, his son Montgomery is a freshman quarterback for the Irish, and the chance to interact with him daily "is a blast." The four-year college experience can be shared again, this time with his son. "I've been through so much in my career," VanGorder said. "At this point in time, I'm ready to be at a place working for Brian and working with these coaches, Over the years I've learned it's the people you work with that make it great. "My working relationship with Brian is fantastic … but then the kids here — I knew they'd be good kids, but I didn't anticipate how much I'd respect who they really are and what they represent. The people I'm work- ing with and coaching these kids every day, it just couldn't be better. "I still want to learn everything about Notre Dame because I certainly appreciate its history … It's been awe- some. I can't imagine missing this ex- perience and hopefully can be a part of it for a long, long time." ✦