Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/542018
UNDER THE DOME ✦ GIMME FIVE Believe it or not, with 65 games coached though his first five seasons, Brian Kelly enters his sixth campaign at Notre Dame already with the sixth most contests in school history. That's partly because even though Elmer Layden was at the helm seven years (1934-40), the Fighting Irish played only nine games back then, as did most of college football, resulting in only 63 games and a 47-13-3 record. With a 45-20 ledger so far — which averages out to exactly 9-4 per sea- son — Kelly this year will pass 1975- 80 head coach Dan Devine for the fifth-most games patrolling the Notre Dame sidelines. With five more years — and with several extra Playoff games thrown in for good measure — Kelly could end up with the most contests ever coached for the Fight- ing Irish. Here is the top five: Coach (Years) Games (Record) 1. Lou Holtz (1986-96) 132 (100-30-2) 2. Knute Rockne 122 (105-12-5) (1918-30) 3. Ara Parseghian 116 (95-17-4) (1964-74) 4. Frank Leahy 107 (87-11-9) (1941-43, 46-53) 5. Dan Devine (1975-80) 70 (53-16-1) TOM LONGO: 1942-2015 Tom Longo, a starting defensive back on Ara Parseghi- an's 1964-65 teams before playing in the NFL, died July 2 at 73 near his Wayne, N.J., home after a two-year battle with cancer. A s t a l w a r t a t Ly n d h u rst ( N . J . ) High, Longo en- ro l l e d a t N o t re Dame in 1961 as a quarterback pros- p e c t w i t h J o h n Huarte and Tony Carey. Huarte went on to win the Heis- m a n Tr o p h y i n 1964, while Carey and Longo were the starting corners, joined by former wa l k- o n ru n n i n g back Nick Rassas, an All-American at safety in the 4-4-3 scheme employed then. All three defensive backs returned as fifth-year seniors in 1965. After recording two interceptions and 17 tackles in 1963, Longo became a starter under new head coach Parseghian in 1964 and tied Carey for the team lead in passes broken up (10), was second in interceptions (four, with two of them against Purdue star Bob Griese) and finished fourth in tackles (72). The Irish won a share of the national title by being awarded The MacArthur Bowl. In 1965, Longo was fifth in tackles (73) and second in interceptions again with four, giving him 10 for his career. Longo was drafted on the 14th round by the Philadel- phia Eagles in 1965, and made the New York Giants roster in 1969 as a defensive back and kick returner. In 1970, Longo was the starting strong safety for all 14 games, and in 1971 he played with the St. Louis Cardinals before retiring. In his later years, Longo was very active with the NFL's Retired Players Foundation. MOVING? Let our customer service department know your new address! CALL US 1-800-421-7751 Tom Longo enrolled as a quar- terback prospect in 1961, but ended up starting on the strong 1964-65 Notre Dame defensive backfields with Nick Rassas and Tony Carey. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS