Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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62 PRESEASON 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI N ow entering his 10th year as Notre Dame's director of ath- letics, Jack Swarbrick has come full circle. In July 2008, when Swarbrick was hired, the Fighting Irish football team was coming off the most defeats ever (3-9) in a season — one year after fin- ishing 10-3 — and questions about fourth-year head coach Charlie Weis' job status were prevalent. They are equally so in 2017 after the mind-numbing 4-8 finish last year — likewise, one year after fashioning a 10-3 ledger — in Brian Kelly's seventh season. In between, college football con- ference alignments have had seismic shifts, resulting in the long-awaited College Football Playoff with the Irish playing for the national title in 2012. The collegiate athletics arms race in facilities and sports science has esca- lated dramatically, and Notre Dame has managed to stay a football inde- pendent, albeit as a partial member of the ACC. Now that the enormous Campus Crossroads Project at Notre Dame Stadium is about to be dedicated, Swarbrick did not hesitate a millisec- ond when asked what the most impor- tant item on his "to do" list is. "Winning football games," he re- plied. "That's the top, and I feel good about all we've done for that." The peripherals have included en- hancing aspects of Notre Dame Sta- dium, including the new video board. "I was very surprised when I got here that we had trained our ushers to tell people to sit down when they stood up and cheered," Swarbrick mused. "There were a lot of things that were the antithesis of creating a vibrant en- vironment. "I came in this pretty early on saying I've got to make the stadium a priority and figure out how to change the envi- ronment and atmosphere." Ultimately, nothing serves as a better elixir than championship contention like in his days as a Notre Dame stu- dent from 1972-76, when the Fighting Irish captured the 1973 national title. While the Irish were going through their free-fall last year, Swarbrick told ESPN.com in October that Kelly still would be the head coach who would lead Notre Dame out of the tunnel in 2017, when asked about his status. Had Swarbrick refrained from com- ment, he would have been castigated for leaving his coach as a lame duck. Yet when athletic directors do give the dreaded vote of confidence publicly, it is often perceived negatively for the said coach. "You don't make that statement — at least I don't — without asking myself, 'If we don't win another game this year, am I prepared to say this?'" Swarbrick said. "That's how much confidence I had in him. I was really disappointed in the reaction to it. "When I give an honest, direct an- swer, people respond with, 'It's the kiss of death. He's not telling the truth.' It's part of the business, but it makes me less receptive to the question because they don't believe me when I respond. "I felt strongly about it. I know the re- lationship between Brian and the team, his history and skill … and I knew what our problems were. We had very similar views, and we've spent the last eight months addressing them." BGI: There is popular opinion that you forced Brian Kelly's hand, and that's the only reason changes were made on the staff. Are those percep- tions accurate? JS: "No … now, 4-8 makes it easier to have the discussion and talk about things. But Brian came into it insisting that every element of the program be examined. I won't go into the details of our conversation, but it began with that premise. I felt that way, but Brian was the first to say it — and that's what you want. The Fighting Irish have won 62.1 percent (72-44) of their football games since Swarbrick took over, but the director of athletics is confident that the necessary pieces are in place to help provide more victo- ries going forward. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND BEYOND THE CROSSROADS Director of athletics Jack Swarbrick's priority centers on winning football games