Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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we've finally gotten that." Kelly recognized that he probably wouldn't win any popularity con- tests his first season or two. "The first couple years a day-to-day basis," he said. "Sometimes that means that you've got to be hard on some guys. "This third year was I had to set a bar and a standard and an op- eration of the way we wanted things done on a year where you knew our guys knew exactly what was expected, and it allowed me to spend more time with my play- ers and build those rela- tionships that are so im- The Rules and national champs in 1966), Dan Devine (11-1 and national champs in 1977) and Lou Holtz (12-0 and national champs in 1988) all thrived in year three. Seven other Fighting Irish head coaches lost at least five games in year three and lasted only three to With every coach at Notre Dame, we refer to how significant the third season is. Knute Rockne (9-0 in 1920), Frank Leahy (9-1 and national champs in 1943), Ara Parseghian (9-0-1 five seasons. Year three for Brian Kelly wasn't about needing to contend for a national title. Rather it was about lined seven rules for judging a coach — and the first three were specifically about the importance of the third year: 1. A football squad over a reasonable length of time, usually three years, invariably reflects the person- ality of its head coach. 2. A new coach should not be judged severely on the results of his first season, be it good or bad. He is working with a squad that has been coached by his predecessor and it may still reflect the predecessor's personality and coaching ability. 3. Usually a coach will begin to forecast the future in his second year. He can safely be judged by the results of his third year. 4. A great coach can win with ordinary assistants, but the more ordinary the coach, the higher quality assistants he will need. A great coach backed up by superior, seasoned assistants spells consistent success. 5. The success of a head coach is directly related to the current state of his physical, mental and emo- tional vitality. 6. There are born leaders and born followers. Born leaders become head coaches; a follower can have an impressive record as an assistant but fail as a head man. 7. It is natural and usually constructive for a young coach to imitate the philosophy, techniques, even personal mannerisms of a master coach who has been his teacher. But it can be destructive if he tries too hard to assume the essential personality of his teacher. — Lou Somogyi showing tangible signs of progress. In his 1966 book Notre Dame: From Rockne to Parseghian, Notre Dame historian Francis Wallace out- portant to having great morale." Senior linebacker and captain Manti Te'o, the face of the program dur- ing its current renais- sance, said a two-way trust finally developed. "He doesn't have to test us anymore," Te'o said of Kelly. "He knows what we can do,