Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com PRESEASON 2017 19 Mass at Notre Dame's Sacred Heart Church. "He continued to demonstrate that leadership by raising millions of re- search dollars seeking a cure for the terrible disease that took the lives of three of his grandchildren. "Whenever we asked for Ara's help at Notre Dame, he was there." CRADLE OF COACHES Parseghian's father, Michael, im- migrated to the United States from Turkey in 1915 while escaping the Ar- menian Genocide during World War I, and married a French immigrant, Amelia Bonneau. Ara Parseghian enrolled at the Uni- versity of Akron in 1942, but shortly thereafter joined the United States Navy for World War II service. After the war, he enrolled at Mi- ami (Ohio) and earned Little All- America honors as a 1947 halfback under Sid Gillman, who along with NFL legend Paul Brown, was one of his two greatest coaching influ- ences. Parseghian played for Brown's Cleveland Browns in 1948-49 before a severe injury ended his playing days. He was hired by his alma mater Miami (Ohio) — known as the Cradle of Coaches — as its freshman coach under varsity boss Woody Hayes. When Hayes took the Ohio State job the next season, Parseghian was pro- moted to his position and led Miami to a 39-6-1 record from 1951-55, win- ning the Mid-American Conference title his last two seasons and finishing No. 15 his final year with a 9-0 ledger. THE NORTHWESTERN YEARS In 1956, he was hired by North- western, which had not won a game the year prior, averaged 7.3 points per contest and was the doormat of the Big Ten. After his own 0-9 season in 1957 in year two, Parseghian orches- trated a remarkable turnaround in the ensuing years that included defeating Hayes' vaunted Ohio State machine three times over four seasons, a 4-0 sweep of Notre Dame from 1959-62 and crushing Bud Wilkinson's Okla- homa teams in consecutive years. The 0-9 campaign brought out the best in Parseghian in that it made him more meticulous and detail-oriented than ever. From it came a lifelong re- minder he often repeated: "Adversity has the effect of eliciting talent that under prosperous conditions would have remained dormant." The Wildcats climbed to No. 2 na- tionally during the middle of the 1959 season and reached No. 1 with a 6-0 start in 1962 before finishing 7-2. A falling out with Northwestern athletics director Stu Holcomb led Parseghian to call Notre Dame execu- tive vice president Rev. Ned Joyce, C.S.C., shortly after the 1963 season to inquire whether the head coach- ing job was still open because of the interim status of Hugh Devore. Upon further reflection in later years, Joyce would refer to that call from Parseghian as "bread from heaven." When the confident Parseghian opted for a three-year contract that paid more money rather than a five- year deal for less, he outlined his rea- soning: "If I can't get the job done in three years, it's not going to get done in five." THE 'MESSIAH COACH' The 40-year-old Parseghian arrived Ara Parseghian By The Numbers .8362 Winning percentage posted at Notre Dame with his 95-17-4 record. Since his debut season in 1964, the only major college football coaches who won at a better percentage with at least 10 years at the same school are Alabama's Nick Saban at .8571 from 2007-16 and Oklahoma's Barry Switzer at .8368 from 1973-88. Close behind Parseghian are Nebraska's Tom Osborne (.8355 from 1973-97) and Alabama's Bear Bryant (.8240 from 1958-82). 4-0 Record at Northwestern (1956-63) against Notre Dame, with the victories occurring from 1959-62. It is tied for the best winning percentage of any coach who has faced the Irish at least four times since the 20th century. Nick Saban was 3-0 versus Notre Dame from 1997-99 at Michigan State, and made it 4-0 with his victory at Alabama in the BCS National Cham- pionship Game on Jan. 7, 2013. 37.6 Points per game averaged by Parseghian's 1968 unit — a school record since the Jesse Harper era commenced in 1913. The next closest is 37.2 by Lou Holtz's 1992 team that finished 10-1-1. 50-2-1 Record of the five bowl opponents Parseghian played once Notre Dame re- scinded its non-bowl policy in 1969. Both Texas teams he faced in the 1970 and 1971 Cotton Bowls were 10-0, and both Alabama outfits in the 1973 Sugar Bowl and 1975 Orange Bowl were 11-0. Nebraska in the 1973 Orange Bowl was 8-2-1. Parseghian posted a 3-2 mark against that quintet and was 3-1 against the four unbeatens. 213.6 Yards yielded per season by the Notre Dame defense under Parseghian. The Irish never finished lower than 15th in the nation in total defense during his 11 seasons, and the worst total was the 258.3 yards allowed per game in 1972. Since 1981, the best figure at Notre Dame was 270.0 in 1996. 350.2 Rushing yards per game averaged by the 1973 national champs. That qualifies as one of the unbreakable marks in Notre Dame football history. The closest any Irish team has come since then is 287.7 by Lou Holtz's 12-1 outfit in 1989. 510.5 Yards of total offense per game averaged by the 1970 team — a record that still stands. Notre Dame averaged 257.8 on the ground and 252.2 through the air, and is the lone Irish team ever to average at least 250 yards rushing and passing in the same season. That team also averaged 92.4 plays per game — still a single-season NCAA record. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS