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Notre Dame football: Who is the greatest coach in program history?

By Daniel Morrison

SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 18: A Notre Dame Fighting Irish flag is seen before the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Notre Dame Stadium on September 18, 2021 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 18: A Notre Dame Fighting Irish flag is seen before the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Notre Dame Stadium on September 18, 2021 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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Dec 29, 2018; Arlington, TX, United States; A view of a Notre Dame Fighting Irish helmet before the 2018 Cotton Bowl college football playoff semifinal game between the Fighting Irish and the Tigers at AT&T Stadium Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 29, 2018; Arlington, TX, United States; A view of a Notre Dame Fighting Irish helmet before the 2018 Cotton Bowl college football playoff semifinal game between the Fighting Irish and the Tigers at AT&T Stadium Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

Notre Dame football: Who is the greatest coach in program history?

Dan Devine

  • 1975-1980 (6 seasons), 53-16-1, 1 National Championship

Dan Devine was actually nearly hired instead of Ara Parseghian. However, when that didn’t happen, Devine stayed at Missouri. He was there until the 1970 season, when he tried his hand at coaching in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers.

Things weren’t working out there, though, and when Parseghian stepped away from Notre Dame following the 1974 season, Devine was more than happy to start over back in college.

However, Devine would never achieve the same level of sustained success that Parseghian did while he was in South Bend. Still, he deserves to be on the list of great coaches in Notre Dame history. That’s largely because of Notre Dame’s 1977 season, when the Irish went 11-1 and won the National Championship.

It was his third season there, and it came after a couple of three loss seasons. Still, expectations were high entering the 1977 season, with a monstrous defense to boast about. On offense, the Irish were led by Joe Montana, who may not have been a legend yet, but he was decidedly on his way.

In Week 2 of the 1977 season, the Irish were caught by surprise and ended up losing a game they shouldn’t have to Ole Miss. At that point, it looked like it might be a disappointing season. Notre Dame had fallen outside of the top-ten and they played a string of close games.

That’s when Notre Dame was set to host number five USC. There was a chance that the Trojans could make a push for the National Championship themselves. But, Notre Dame chose to use this game to break out their green jerseys from storage. Notre Dame took over from that point in the season and became a force.

They ran the table, but were still stuck at fifth in the rankings, when they met top ranked Texas in the Cotton Bowl. It was a blowout win for the Irish, meaning they were voted National Champions following the game.

Dan Devine struggled during his time at Notre Dame to be well liked. This happens all the time to the coach who follows THE coach. Watch, whoever is next at Alabama is going to be miserable, no matter how good they do, it’s never good enough. Because of this, Devine often found his head on the chopping block. It also helped push him out early, as dealing with the stress was too much to handle.

Still, in his short time at Notre Dame, Devine was there for numerous iconic moments, like the Green Jersey Game, the Chicken Soup Game, and Rudy.

Speaking of Rudy, that movie depicted Devine pretty unfairly. The movie turned him into the villain who had no interest in playing Rudy, when this really wasn’t the case. Still, that’s the depiction that has stuck in popular culture today. It goes hand in hand with the problems he had regarding his popularity while at Notre Dame.

Dan Devine was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1985 for his time as a coach. During his time as a head coach, he won the Border Conference, the Big Eight (twice), and a National Championship. In six seasons at Notre Dame, Devine went 53-16-1. His overall record in college was 172-57-9.

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