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The Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, OK)
September 27, 2013 Friday
Ara's era top notch at ND
by Berry Tramel
SOUTH BEND, Ind.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Notre Dame alums Steve Sullivan and Wayne Micek,
class of 1968, walked through the Morris Inn this week and recognized
a familiar face.
Walking with a cane, slightly hunched, his once-coal black hair having
long turned silver, was the hero of these 60somethings who arrived in
South Bend in 1964.
They just had to shake hands with Ara Parseghian.
"He started a tradition that is comparable to Rockne and Leahy and
Holtz," said Micek of Glen Ellyn, Ill. "The spirit he created, just
one hell of a guy."
We sometimes forget Parseghian in the pantheon of great coaches. He
became a major college head coach in 1951, became Notre Dame's coach
in 1964 and won two national championships before stepping away from
the game in 1975 at age 51.
Parseghian played for Paul Brown and Sid Gillman. Coached with Woody
Hayes. Went head-to-head with Bud Wilkinson and Bear Bryant and
Darrell Royal and John McKay.
Parseghian was 4-0 against Oklahoma, which tries to reverse 60 years
of Irish frustration Saturday, when the teams play at Notre Dame
Stadium. Parseghian even beat the Sooners twice when he coached
Northwestern, 1959 and 1960.
And he's with us still. At 90 years old, 39 years after his final
Irish game, Parseghian remains a Notre Dame institution.
* * *
Notre Dame hired Parseghian in 1964. And he heard the same things you
hear today.
The landscape has changed. The Fighting Irish no longer can compete at
the top of college football. Notre Dame no longer has the advantages
it once had but still has the same disadvantages.
Schedule too difficult. Academics too tough. Can't recruit the top
talent. Same old song.
"Every time a coach has been dismissed from here, go back and read the
papers," Parseghian said. "It's exactly the same. Almost word for
word.
"Then somebody comes in, knows what they're doing or experienced ... I
think as long as Brian Kelly stays, their program is going to stay at
a high level."
Knute Rockne and Frank Leahy are dead. Holtz has turned cartoon
character on ESPN. But here's Ara Parseghian, as distinguished as
ever, still living in South Bend. Still holding the candle for Notre
Dame, and he's not even Catholic.
Parseghian's father, an immigrant from Armenia, despised Catholics,
blaming them for the World War I genocide in his native country. But
Parseghian took the job anyway.
"I'm still here," Parseghian said with a shrug. "I used to kid around.
Everybody says, did they try to convert you. I said, I don't think
they wanted me, because they never did try."
South Bend can be tough on coaches. A coach as great as Leahy was
fired. Dan Devine won a national championship but lasted just six
seasons. Rockne coached 13 years before dying in a 1931 plane crash,
but Leahy, Holtz and Parseghian each coached only 11 years. Four OU
coaches have gone longer - Bennie Owen (22), Bud Wilkinson (17), Barry
Switzer (16) and Bob Stoops (15 and counting).
But most Notre Dame coaches move on after the gridiron. To another
job, or another part of the country.
Not Parseghian.
"I had pretty good footings here," Parseghian said. "We had been here
11 years. My kids grew up here. My son and daughter both went to Notre
Dame. My other daughter went to St. Mary's (across the street).
"Then I got involved with an insurance agency, had some of my former
coaches that were with me. We had reasons to stay. It was a good
environment to be in. Just the right-sized town. One of the reasons I
never went into pro football was because I wanted my kids to grow up
around an academic environment. And that's exactly what we did."
* * *
The Bob Stoops Story is the Ara Parseghian Story. Both took over
storied programs that had gone five straight years without a winning
season.
Both won immediately, in part by putting players in the right
position. Stoops moved Frank Romero from defensive line to offensive
line and found an all-Big 12 tackle. J.T. Thatcher was moved from
tailback to free safety and made All-American.
Parseghian in 1964 inherited three massive running backs - Jim
Snowden, Pete Duranko and Paul Costa were called the Elephant
backfield. Parseghian moved them to the line, and all became stars.
Senior John Huarte, who had yet to even letter, was named the starting
quarterback. He won the Heisman Trophy.
Notre Dame won its first nine games before a season-ending loss to Southern Cal.
"It created an electricity that I don't know that this university has
ever seen since then," said Sullivan, the '68 grad from Cordova, Tenn.
After Notre Dame won its opener at Wisconsin, the team returned to
South Bend via bus around midnight in the rain, only to discover Notre
Dame Avenue lined and packed with students.
"That excitement carried on all year," Sullivan said.
And Parseghian's teams never slumped. His worst record was 8-3 in
1972; the Irish were 95-17-4 overall under Parseghian.
"He gave you every opportunity to succeed," said Terry Hanratty,
Parseghian's great quarterback from 1966-68. "We never went into a
game where we were surprised at anything.
"Great communicator. Great in-game coach. If we ever recovered a
fumble or intercepted a pass, better put your secondary on the 10-yard
line, because we were coming at you."
Parseghian had a great saying: "We must find the other team's breaking
point. We do not have a breaking point." It's the inscription on his
statue just outside Notre Dame Stadium.
* * *
But Parseghian did have a breaking point. He stepped down after the
1974 season, worn out.
"I was old as a football coach," Parseghian said. "I became a head
football coach when I was 27 years old at Miami of Ohio. The burdens
of being a head coach are different from being an assistant. If I had
been an assistant coach for awhile, then become a head coach, I
probably would have lasted longer.
"I coached for 25 years. I was here 11 years. You do the head coaching
responsibilities at major universities for 25 years, it's going to
wear and tear on you. Very demanding. It finally catches up with you.
Demands on your time, you're on a treadmill almost. Season to season
going through all that."
Parseghian promised his wife he would sit out a season. So far, he's sat out 39.
Hanratty believes Notre Dame erred, that the university should have
named an interim coach, and Parseghian would have returned, batteries
charged, in 1976.
But Parseghian found other life interests. He was an ABC or CBS
analyst for 14 years.
One of his daughters was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Three of
his grandchildren died from the rare genetic disorder Niemann-Pick
disease, and Parseghian's family founded the Ara Parseghian Medical
Research Foundation in 1994.
On Jan. 1, 1975, Notre Dame beat Alabama 13-11 in the Orange Bowl.
Parseghian's players carried him off the field. He never coached
another game.
"I assured my wife I'd stay out for a year," Parseghian said. "After a
year was over, I had opportunities. But I decided not to. I knew what
it was going to take out of me physically. I wanted to accrue some
longevity in my life. The quickest way to shorten it was to be back on
the hot seat again."
Parseghian was right. He's lived a long life. And still touching
people, with his foundation and with his strolls through the Morris
Inn.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at (405) 760-8080 or at
[email protected] He can be heard Monday through Friday from
4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1.
You can also view his personality page at newsok.com/berrytramel.
ARA PARSEGHIAN
Born: May 21, 1923, Akron, Ohio
High school: Akron South
Alma mater: Miami-Ohio
Coaching jobs: Miami-Ohio assistant (1950), Miami-Ohio head coach
(1951-55), Northwestern head coach (1956-63), Notre Dame head coach
(1964-74).
Record: Miami 39-6-1, Northwestern 36-35-1, Notre Dame 95-17-4,
overall 170-58-6.
Coaching influences: Played for Paul Brown (Naval Station Great Lakes
during World War II and Cleveland Browns of the NFL), played for Sid
Gillman (Miami-Ohio) and coached for Woody Hayes (Miami-Ohio).
September 27, 2013 Friday
Ara's era top notch at ND
by Berry Tramel
SOUTH BEND, Ind.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Notre Dame alums Steve Sullivan and Wayne Micek,
class of 1968, walked through the Morris Inn this week and recognized
a familiar face.
Walking with a cane, slightly hunched, his once-coal black hair having
long turned silver, was the hero of these 60somethings who arrived in
South Bend in 1964.
They just had to shake hands with Ara Parseghian.
"He started a tradition that is comparable to Rockne and Leahy and
Holtz," said Micek of Glen Ellyn, Ill. "The spirit he created, just
one hell of a guy."
We sometimes forget Parseghian in the pantheon of great coaches. He
became a major college head coach in 1951, became Notre Dame's coach
in 1964 and won two national championships before stepping away from
the game in 1975 at age 51.
Parseghian played for Paul Brown and Sid Gillman. Coached with Woody
Hayes. Went head-to-head with Bud Wilkinson and Bear Bryant and
Darrell Royal and John McKay.
Parseghian was 4-0 against Oklahoma, which tries to reverse 60 years
of Irish frustration Saturday, when the teams play at Notre Dame
Stadium. Parseghian even beat the Sooners twice when he coached
Northwestern, 1959 and 1960.
And he's with us still. At 90 years old, 39 years after his final
Irish game, Parseghian remains a Notre Dame institution.
* * *
Notre Dame hired Parseghian in 1964. And he heard the same things you
hear today.
The landscape has changed. The Fighting Irish no longer can compete at
the top of college football. Notre Dame no longer has the advantages
it once had but still has the same disadvantages.
Schedule too difficult. Academics too tough. Can't recruit the top
talent. Same old song.
"Every time a coach has been dismissed from here, go back and read the
papers," Parseghian said. "It's exactly the same. Almost word for
word.
"Then somebody comes in, knows what they're doing or experienced ... I
think as long as Brian Kelly stays, their program is going to stay at
a high level."
Knute Rockne and Frank Leahy are dead. Holtz has turned cartoon
character on ESPN. But here's Ara Parseghian, as distinguished as
ever, still living in South Bend. Still holding the candle for Notre
Dame, and he's not even Catholic.
Parseghian's father, an immigrant from Armenia, despised Catholics,
blaming them for the World War I genocide in his native country. But
Parseghian took the job anyway.
"I'm still here," Parseghian said with a shrug. "I used to kid around.
Everybody says, did they try to convert you. I said, I don't think
they wanted me, because they never did try."
South Bend can be tough on coaches. A coach as great as Leahy was
fired. Dan Devine won a national championship but lasted just six
seasons. Rockne coached 13 years before dying in a 1931 plane crash,
but Leahy, Holtz and Parseghian each coached only 11 years. Four OU
coaches have gone longer - Bennie Owen (22), Bud Wilkinson (17), Barry
Switzer (16) and Bob Stoops (15 and counting).
But most Notre Dame coaches move on after the gridiron. To another
job, or another part of the country.
Not Parseghian.
"I had pretty good footings here," Parseghian said. "We had been here
11 years. My kids grew up here. My son and daughter both went to Notre
Dame. My other daughter went to St. Mary's (across the street).
"Then I got involved with an insurance agency, had some of my former
coaches that were with me. We had reasons to stay. It was a good
environment to be in. Just the right-sized town. One of the reasons I
never went into pro football was because I wanted my kids to grow up
around an academic environment. And that's exactly what we did."
* * *
The Bob Stoops Story is the Ara Parseghian Story. Both took over
storied programs that had gone five straight years without a winning
season.
Both won immediately, in part by putting players in the right
position. Stoops moved Frank Romero from defensive line to offensive
line and found an all-Big 12 tackle. J.T. Thatcher was moved from
tailback to free safety and made All-American.
Parseghian in 1964 inherited three massive running backs - Jim
Snowden, Pete Duranko and Paul Costa were called the Elephant
backfield. Parseghian moved them to the line, and all became stars.
Senior John Huarte, who had yet to even letter, was named the starting
quarterback. He won the Heisman Trophy.
Notre Dame won its first nine games before a season-ending loss to Southern Cal.
"It created an electricity that I don't know that this university has
ever seen since then," said Sullivan, the '68 grad from Cordova, Tenn.
After Notre Dame won its opener at Wisconsin, the team returned to
South Bend via bus around midnight in the rain, only to discover Notre
Dame Avenue lined and packed with students.
"That excitement carried on all year," Sullivan said.
And Parseghian's teams never slumped. His worst record was 8-3 in
1972; the Irish were 95-17-4 overall under Parseghian.
"He gave you every opportunity to succeed," said Terry Hanratty,
Parseghian's great quarterback from 1966-68. "We never went into a
game where we were surprised at anything.
"Great communicator. Great in-game coach. If we ever recovered a
fumble or intercepted a pass, better put your secondary on the 10-yard
line, because we were coming at you."
Parseghian had a great saying: "We must find the other team's breaking
point. We do not have a breaking point." It's the inscription on his
statue just outside Notre Dame Stadium.
* * *
But Parseghian did have a breaking point. He stepped down after the
1974 season, worn out.
"I was old as a football coach," Parseghian said. "I became a head
football coach when I was 27 years old at Miami of Ohio. The burdens
of being a head coach are different from being an assistant. If I had
been an assistant coach for awhile, then become a head coach, I
probably would have lasted longer.
"I coached for 25 years. I was here 11 years. You do the head coaching
responsibilities at major universities for 25 years, it's going to
wear and tear on you. Very demanding. It finally catches up with you.
Demands on your time, you're on a treadmill almost. Season to season
going through all that."
Parseghian promised his wife he would sit out a season. So far, he's sat out 39.
Hanratty believes Notre Dame erred, that the university should have
named an interim coach, and Parseghian would have returned, batteries
charged, in 1976.
But Parseghian found other life interests. He was an ABC or CBS
analyst for 14 years.
One of his daughters was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Three of
his grandchildren died from the rare genetic disorder Niemann-Pick
disease, and Parseghian's family founded the Ara Parseghian Medical
Research Foundation in 1994.
On Jan. 1, 1975, Notre Dame beat Alabama 13-11 in the Orange Bowl.
Parseghian's players carried him off the field. He never coached
another game.
"I assured my wife I'd stay out for a year," Parseghian said. "After a
year was over, I had opportunities. But I decided not to. I knew what
it was going to take out of me physically. I wanted to accrue some
longevity in my life. The quickest way to shorten it was to be back on
the hot seat again."
Parseghian was right. He's lived a long life. And still touching
people, with his foundation and with his strolls through the Morris
Inn.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at (405) 760-8080 or at
[email protected] He can be heard Monday through Friday from
4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1.
You can also view his personality page at newsok.com/berrytramel.
ARA PARSEGHIAN
Born: May 21, 1923, Akron, Ohio
High school: Akron South
Alma mater: Miami-Ohio
Coaching jobs: Miami-Ohio assistant (1950), Miami-Ohio head coach
(1951-55), Northwestern head coach (1956-63), Notre Dame head coach
(1964-74).
Record: Miami 39-6-1, Northwestern 36-35-1, Notre Dame 95-17-4,
overall 170-58-6.
Coaching influences: Played for Paul Brown (Naval Station Great Lakes
during World War II and Cleveland Browns of the NFL), played for Sid
Gillman (Miami-Ohio) and coached for Woody Hayes (Miami-Ohio).