FAN FORUM
MIRRORING THE 1970S
I read with great interest Mr.
Driskell's very fine article in the
Sept. 21 magazine regarding defend‑
ing the option. It certainly has been a
thorn in the Irish's side for a long while
now. It contributed to the demise of
Gerry Faust — losing four straight to
Air Force from 1982‑85 — and contin‑
ues to cause problems today with an
annual dogfight with Navy and this
year also Georgia Tech.
One of the great mysteries to me is
how people ignore history. Notre Dame
practically invented a defense to stop
the wishbone/option offense called the
"mirror" defense. It was designed in
1970 by Ara Parseghian's staff to stop
the powerhouse rushing attacks of
Texas and Alabama.
Perhaps it's simplistic to go back
to those principles, but it has always
bothered me and my father that the
school that invented the mirror defense
cannot now stop the option. It's like
Ben Franklin struggling to understand
electricity.
One time in the early 1980s, Joe
Yonto, Notre Dame's defensive line
coach from 1964‑80 and then 1986‑87,
was a guest speaker at a picnic of the
local Notre Dame club near our town.
My father jokingly asked him how they
could lose to Air Force's option when
he invented the mirror defense.
Coach Yonto took a puff of his cigar
and with a twinkle in his eye said, "It's
because Coach Yonto is no longer on
the field." Gerry Faust had given him
an administrative job at the time. Mrs.
Yonto, who was at his side, chuckled
and said that Joe and Ara almost lost
their happy homes over that defense
— implying the amount of time they
devoted to devising it.
With all respect, I find it hard to be‑
lieve how you shut down Alabama
and Bear Bryant and Darrell Royal
and Texas, but struggle against service
academies who possess almost no pass‑
ing threat.
Ed Polli
Via the Internet
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Longtime Irish defensive line coach Joe Yonto and
head coach Ara Parseghian invented the "mirror"
defense, which was successful in slowing wishbone
and option offenses.
PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS
