Newest Coach Statue: Dan Devine

[GoldenIsThyFame]

Dan Devine to get statue at Notre Dame | Campus Corner

 

[Rocket89]

I think this reverses some bad karma.

Finally.

 

[GreatGolson]

The most underrated coach in ND history, he just happens to be stuck between the legend of Ara and the myth of Holtz

 

[rikkitikki08]

Good choice..and really the only logical one

 

[PLACforever]

:ttiwwop:

 

[Veer option]

Am I the only one when someone mentions Devine, I automatically think of the coach in Rudy?

 

[GO IRISH!!!]

Am I the only one when someone mentions Devine, I automatically think of the coach in Rudy?

I would be willing to bet if the statue was actually done of Chelcie Ross, more people would recognize it than if it is Dan Devine himself.

 

[irishtrinity]

hell ya i'm going to this game, i''ll take pics and post.. i hope they do event around it with coaches/players..

 

[Mr. McGibblets]

He gave one of the top, if not the top, worst sports movie pre-game speech of all time.

.

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[Pops Freshenmeyer]

Am I the only one when someone mentions Devine, I automatically think of the coach in Rudy?

True story: "Rudy" was banned in my household because my mother, who knew him, felt it portrayed Dan Devine in a negative light.

 

[BeauBenken]

True story: "Rudy" was banned in my household because my mother, who knew him, felt it portrayed Dan Devine in a negative light.

That's what Coach Devine has always said. Reportedly, he never liked it because it made him look like the bad guy.

 

[GO IRISH!!!]

I can't watch anything Chelcie Ross is in without thinking - "Up your butt, Jobu!"

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[Veer option]

I can't watch anything Chelcie Ross is in without thinking - "Up your butt, Jobu!"

hahahaha love that line.

 

[Riddickulous]

That's what Coach Devine has always said. Reportedly, he never liked it because it made him look like the bad guy.

In fact, it was Devine's idea that Rudy suit up for the game.

 

[Junkhead]

The George O'Leary statue just HAS to be next.

 

[TDHeysus]

I must admit I dont know much about the Dan Devine era other than (montana, chicken soup, rudy, NC title). Is he getting the statue for the NC title?

My thought of Devine was a coach that wasnt here for too long, won 1 NC, and was the coach when montana was here. Can anyone fill in the details for me?

and with all due respect, if he is getting the statue for the 1 NC, then Kareem's Statue outside of Staples is loooooooooooooooooooooong overdue.

Kareem 6 time World Champ(5 with Lakers), 6 time League MVP, 2 time Finals MVP, 19 time all star, 0 statues.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Fine, I'll say it:

Good thing Weis didn't pan out, or the world's supply of bronze would be reduced by 30% in the production of his statue.

 

[Buster Bluth]

^^hahha

Hopefully we see a Brian Kelly statue in twenty years.

 

[Veer option]

The George O'Leary statue just HAS to be next.

Already made one but Disney got pissed and it was taken down

 

[Riddickulous]

I must admit I dont know much about the Dan Devine era other than (montana, chicken soup, rudy, NC title). Is he getting the statue for the NC title?

My thought of Devine was a coach that wasnt here for too long, won 1 NC, and was the coach when montana was here. Can anyone fill in the details for me?

and with all due respect, if he is getting the statue for the 1 NC, then Kareem's Statue outside of Staples is loooooooooooooooooooooong overdue.

Kareem 6 time World Champ(5 with Lakers), 6 time League MVP, 2 time Finals MVP, 19 time all star, 0 statues.

Devine was a good, not great, coach. His teams always won 8-9 games (when they only played 10-11 in the regular season).

The 1977 title team was absolutely loaded. Joe Montana, Vagas Ferguson, Jerome Heavens, Kris Haines, Ken MacAfee, Dave Huffman, Ernie Hughes, Ross Browner, Willie Fry, Bob Golic, Jim Browner, Joe Restic, Ted Burgmeier, Luther Bradley. A lot of those players (Ferguson, Heavens, MacAfee, Huffman, Ross Browner, Golic, Bradley) are probably Top 2 or 3 at their positions in school history.

Browner and MacAfee were Unanimous All-Americans, Luther Bradley was a Consensus All-American, and Hughes, Golic, Fry, and Burgmeier also earned AA accolades.

 

[ACamp1900]

In fact, it was Devine's idea that Rudy suit up for the game.

Wasn't in fact just senior day???


Anyway, I am all for this... every other title winner has one... Devine deserves one too... Green J's and a National Title???.... what else is needed??

 

[BGIF]

I must admit I dont know much about the Dan Devine era other than (montana, chicken soup, rudy, NC title). Is he getting the statue for the NC title?

My thought of Devine was a coach that wasnt here for too long, won 1 NC, and was the coach when montana was here. Can anyone fill in the details for me?

...

I wrote this for you right after your post but had trouble posting it. Kept getting an Internal Error message screen. Then my wife highjacked me for an in-law function. Didn't get back until now.

Dan Devine was actually the coach ND wanted in 1964 but had to settle for some guy named Parshegian. Devine was from the Midwest. He became HC at ASU in in '55 right after ASU got smacked down by the NCAA for paying players. He was there 3 years with one undefeated season only losing 3 games.He has the highest Winning Percentage of any ASU FB coach. {ASU wasn't in the PAC 10 then.)

He moved up to Mizzou after Frank Broyles jumped to Arkansas. Devine was at MU for a dozen years with one undefeated season and one or 2 Big 8 Championships. Je has the second most wins in their history and the highest Winning Percentage for any coach there longer than 2 years.

Moved on to Green Bay as HC and GM in the early 70's.

Finally to ND in '75. Solid coach, great recruiter. He ranks just .001 percentage points behind Holtz for best ND Winning Percentage. Won the NC in '77. Didn't have Ara's charisma or the public intensity of Ara or Leahy. Low keyed individual that didn't seem to care much for smoozing with the alumni. He was not a hit on the rubber chicken circuit. He was a coach not a dinner speaker. Unlike Parshegian and Holtz he was a wasn't a personality.

He was criticized by fans for noting playing (starting) Montana more. Most of you know Montana more for his NFL days than his ND days. Joe had a reputation for not being the best practice person. That doesn't sit well with a lot of coaches so he frequently ended up on Devine's bench rather than the field. Joe has some glorious 4th quarter comebacks in quite a few games. Sometimes it was in relief of an ineffective starter, sometimes after Joe had played 3 lackluster quarters. Fans remember Joe hitting 7 or 8 clutch passes in late 4th quarter drives. Then forget that with those strings of completions he only completed 52% of his passes. HOT or COLD. Joe threw more career INTS than TDs which is why he wasn't selected as a college All-American. Seven of his teammates on the '77 team made AA teams. Browner and MacAfee made everybody's First Team AA. ND legends such as Montana, Browner, MacAfee, Bradley, Golic, Crable, Huffman, Hughes, Ferguson and Harry O played for Devine.

 

[BGIF]

Part II (kept getting an Internal Error Message)

Part II (kept getting an Internal Error Message)

He resigned from ND in 1980. He is the only one of the ND NC coaches not to have an undefeated season. He was 3-1 in bowl games beating PSU, #1 Texas, and Houston in the Chicken Soup Game while losing to Herschel Walker's Bulldawgs as UGA won the 1980 NC.

Aside from the alumni smoozing and Montana issues, Devine was remembered for his record against Souther Cal. Of his 16 ND losses 5 were to the Trojans. Devine was only 1-5 against USC. It was the other time of USC dominance when ND only won 4 times in 17 years. Ara lost more times to USC (3-6-2) but fans forgot that.

Devine led two programs to undefeated seasons but not ND. Some fans never forgave him for that either.

Glad to see him get his statue. Wish he were alive to see it.

 

[Irish4Life09]

He resigned from ND in 1980. He is the only one of the ND NC coaches not to have an undefeated season. He was 3-1 in bowl games beating PSU, #1 Texas, and Houston in the Chicken Soup Game while losing to Herschel Walker's Bulldawgs as UGA won the 1980 NC.

Aside from the alumni smoozing and Montana issues, Devine was remembered for his record against Souther Cal. Of his 16 ND losses 5 were to the Trojans. Devine was only 1-5 against USC. It was the other time of USC dominance when ND only won 4 times in 17 years. Ara lost more times to USC (3-6-2) but fans forgot that.

Devine led two programs to undefeated seasons but not ND. Some fans never forgave him for that either.

Glad to see him get his statue. Wish he were alive to see it.

I've always been told about an incident w/ Devine's secretary and Joe Montana,and that it eventually lead to Devine leaving. Any truth to that? I've only heard it from people who like to razz me on being an ND fan...

 

[BGIF]

I've always been told about an incident w/ Devine's secretary and Joe Montana,and that it eventually lead to Devine leaving. Any truth to that? I've only heard it from people who like to razz me on being an ND fan...

Never heard of it. A situation like that could have gotten a player in the coach's doghouse but at ND would more likely have ended up in Res Life action. OMM or dshan's might have some insight.

Part of the reason Devive had so much talent on the '77 team was actually Res Life. Browner, Fry, and about 4 other players got to take a year "off" from school in '74. Think "train" here and not the choo choo type.

Montana did miss the '76 season with a separated shoulder in but that was two years after the Browner and friends incidence. Plus Joe was in school that entire year, winning the Bookstore BB Championship in the Spring. Your razzers might be confusing Browner's misadventure with Joe's injury.

 

[Old Man Mike]

I don't have much to add to BGIFs usual solid retelling of history. Devine's era was WAY past my time. These are the things that i remember:

A). He followed Ara and wasn't a "public" sort of person. He therefore seemed a bit "distant" to the fans, who therefore couldn't become affectionate towards him. We all know Ara and Lou with affection not because they won football games, but because they were, in their different ways, likable media personalities on top of that.

B). Notre Dame nation were a bunch of spoiled brats [we have never fully lost this characteristic, but recent times have been, in that one way, helpfully humbling]. The shallow fans were demanding NC challenges every year---no excuses. After the furor of his initial hiring [they weren't sure that this "Missouri guy" was right for Notre Dame], his first two years shut most people up. The 1979 season was, however, H*ll-on-wheels. We finished 7-4, losing to Purdue early [a MUCH bigger deal then than now] and USC in the middle [always hated]. Still, things might have been tolerable, but late in the season we lost, in a shellacking, to a mediocre Tennessee team, and then closer to a mediocre Clemson team. Howling Boo-birds.

C). I believe that this season was the fire-starter for the "Joe Montana" problem. Because of Joe's somewhat regular heroics, a large number of fans couldn't tolerate Devine putting him regularly on the bench. This had nothing to do with rumors of off-the-field troubles [I've never heard of some of that and consider it BS], but something most don't know, or if they were watching back then, didn't focus upon: Montana really stunk up the field a lot. He used to drive me so crazy in those days that I'd pray that Coach would start somebody else and bring Montana off the bench. Old Joe really seemed to shine THAT way, but who-the-heck-knows what his problems were when he started.

D). Coach Devine was, off the field, a "quiet gentleman" [Father Joyce's words] and a family man. My belief is that when he produced another strong season in 1980, he had proved what he felt he had to as far as his ND coaching abilities were concerned, said: I don't need this grief anymore, and retired to non-coaching positions at two locations where the people loved him [first Arizona State and then Missouri].

That's my take "from a distance". Maybe dshans knows better. OMM

p.s. He deserves the statue---we're Notre Dame; Coach Devine gave us a lot and wasn't well enough appreciated.

 

[Jashobeam]

Dan Devine "will join Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy, Ara Parshegian and Lou Holtz"

That's an impressive list of coaches that no other school can match.

 

[dshans]

... Maybe dshans knows better. OMM

I wish I could be of some help. Ara was still coaching when I graduated. I'm sure that I've told the story of my shuffling up to him the morning after his final game (a GLORIOUS Orange Bowl victory over 'Bama) and, in a severe hangover haze, shaking his hand and muttering "Good game, Coach."

The Devine years were a bit of a blur for me. I didn't have a TV and more often than not was at work on a Saturday afternoon. I recall being nonplussed – Parseghian was a hard act to follow. My reaction was based more on his low-key public persona than his abilities as a coach.

Bronze the man. He deserves it.

 

[TDHeysus]

thanks for the info everyone, it is appreciated. The Devine era was about 7-8 years before me catching ND-Fever; I think that, combined with him not being a 'public personality' is why much of Dan Devine, and that era was unknown to me.