Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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44 JANUARY 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI I n 2016, Brian Kelly became the sixth straight Notre Dame head coach to have a losing season with the Fighting Irish. It began with Gerry Faust's 5-6 debut and closing seasons (1981 and 1985), followed by Lou Holtz also going 5-6 in his inaugural campaign in 1986. Then it happened to Bob Davie in 1999 (5-7) and 2001 (5-6), Tyrone Will- ingham in 2003 (5-7), Charlie Weis in 2007 (3-9) and Kelly's 4-8 outcome this season. Can Kelly overcome this immense setback in year seven? The answer is yes — but it comes with a caveat. Dating back to Terry Brennan's third season in 1956, and excluding only Holtz in his debut year, there is a three- pronged pattern: • Stun the college football world with a "where did that come from?" losing season. • Make a comeback the next year, with a few major upsets in some cases. • Eventually fall out of grace and get fired or step down. Here's the breakdown: TERRY BRENNAN (2-8 IN 1956) Why A Losing Season Was A Sur- prise: Brennan, only 26 years old in his first season in 1954, was 17-3 his first two years as the successor to the legendary Frank Leahy. He was consid- ered the new "Boy Wonder" of college coaching. The Year-After Rebound: Follow- ing the 2-8 debacle, Brennan led the Irish to a No. 10 finish in the Associ- ated Press poll in 1957, highlighted by ending Oklahoma's NCAA-record 47- game winning streak with a 7-0 win in Norman. Eventual Fallout: Two years after the 2-8 finish, Brennan was fired with a 6-4 mark (still good enough to finish No. 17 in the AP poll), because he could not overcome the residue of the 1956 implosion. JOE KUHARICH (2-8 IN 1960) Why A Losing Season Was A Sur- prise: After closing his first season with upset wins at No. 16 Iowa and versus No. 7 USC to finish No. 17 in the AP poll, Kuharich opened year two with a 21-7 win over Cal to move to No. 12 — and then lost a school-record eight straight. The Year-After Rebound: Kuhar- ich's Irish soared to No. 6 in the AP poll after toppling Oklahoma, Purdue and USC, coached by future College Football Hall of Fame coaches Bud Wilkinson, Jack Mollenkopf and John McKay, respectively. Later, the Irish also would upset No. 10 Syracuse, led by Heisman winner Ernie Davie and tight end standout John Mackey. Eventual Fallout: After year four in 1962 resulted in a 5-5 mark, Kuharich suddenly stepped down from his post in March 1963 to join the NFL. That forced Notre Dame to promote Hugh Devore to interim coach before hiring Northwestern's Ara Parseghian in De- cember 1963. GERRY FAUST (5-6 IN 1981) Why A Losing Season Was A Sur- prise: In the 18 previous seasons, Notre Dame was 148-33-5 (.809 winning per- centage) with three national titles and several other near misses, and never lost more than four games in a season. Notre Dame entered the 1981 season ranked No. 3 in the preseason and el- evated to No. 1 after a season-opening 27-9 win versus LSU. Faust's debut campaign cast imme- diate doubt about whether he could succeed at the collegiate level. The Year-After Rebound: Faust opened his next season with upsets of Big Ten champ Michigan, Miami (which would win the national title a year later) and No. 1 Pitt (led by QB Dan Marino) to move to No. 9 with a 6-1-1 record. It would be the only season in five under Faust the Irish would lose less than five games. Eventual Fallout: Despite a pre- season No. 1 ranking by Sporting News The Pattern Notre Dame head coaches generally rebound well the season after a losing year, but don't overcome it Joe Kuharich's 2-8 season in 1960 eventually led to him leaving for the NFL after the 1962 campaign, opening the door for Notre Dame to hire Northwestern's Ara Parseghian (left) in December 1963. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS