Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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teams coach George Stewart was moved to outside linebacker, which he had never coached. Voila! Despite the shake-up, the Irish won the national title. On the other hand, Ty- rone Willingham's refusal to shake up his staff too much after a 5-7 finish in his second season eventu- ally cost him his job in his third. Charlie Weis ousted coach to have the assis- tant title was line coach Howard "Cap" Edwards in 1913 under first-year boss Jesse Harper. Edwards coached only one year — thus, 1914 Notre Dame graduate/ wide receiver Knute Rockne was named "first assistant" by Harper from 1914-17. There is no record of a "second assis- tant" after him. veteran defensive co- ordinator Rick Minter after two seasons and a 19-6 run in 2005-06 with a much less seasoned figure in Corwin Brown … but the defense never did get it right during his five-year tenure, even af- ter renowned linebackers coach/coordinator Jon Tenuta came aboard in 2008. If all goes right for Kelly in the next several years, he will lose more assistants for the right reasons. The head coach is the SUCCESSION PLAN Knute Rockne is one of four Notre Dame assistant coaches who were pro- moted to the Irish head coach position. The Rock did well for himself, but he didn't have to chase ghosts as did the others: • Hunk Anderson one season as the 1953 freshman coach, was the hand-picked successor by school president Rev. The- odore Hesburgh, C.S.C., for Frank Leahy, who had six unbeaten campaigns in his 11 years. Brennan finished in centerpiece of a pro- gram's excellence and continuity in winning, but here's a short history on assistant coaches at Notre Dame: THE ORIGINAL The first Notre Dame (1931-33) — Named "se- nior coach" after Rockne's tragic death on March 31, 1931, he and "junior coach" Jack Chevigny weren't on the same page during their one season together in 1931, and An- derson was fired after a 3-5-1 finish in 1933. He faced a virtually impos- sible task as Rockne's suc- cessor amid tragic circum- stances. • Terry Brennan (1954- 58) — Speaking of the impossible … the 26-year- old Brennan, after just 2001) — Similar to Bren- nan, he had to replace a Hall of Fame coach (Lou Holtz) who was at the Notre Dame helm for 11 years. Like Brennan, he lasted five years (35-25 overall, and 19-18 in his last 37 games). Also like Brennan, he seemed to be out of coaching forever until accepting the New Mexico job last Novem- ber. PINCH HITTING SUCCESS Ed "Moose" Krause the top 10 three times in five years, but in his final three seasons the Irish were 15-15. • Bob Davie (1997- was and still is known as "Mr. Notre Dame" for a reason. He played under Knute Rockne, was an as- sistant for Frank Leahy (1942-43 and 1946-47), also coached basketball from 1946-51, and was the school's athletics director from 1948-80. Not only was he on campus during national