Statues commemorating the five coaches who led the Fighting Irish to national championships can be found near Notre Dame Stadium’s entrances. Knute Rockne’s statue is located in the north tunnel; Dan Devine’s is at gate A; Ara Parseghian’s is at gate B; Frank Leahy’s is at gate C; and Lou Holtz’s is at gate D. Those men are revered by long-time admirers who value the program’s legacy.
Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame’s current coach, could join them this month. The Fighting Irish are in the College Football Playoff semifinals, where they will face old rival Penn State on Thursday night in Miami Gardens, Fla. If they win, they’ll face Ohio State or Texas for the CFP championship on January 20 in Atlanta.
Freeman is now in his third season, a critical juncture for a Notre Dame coach. Of the five Fighting Irish coaches with national titles, all but Rockne won their first championship in their third season. Meanwhile, Notre Dame’s fired coaches, Charlie Weis (3-9), Tyrone Willingham (6-5), Bob Davie (5-7), and Gerry Faust (7-5) all had mediocre or worse third seasons.
It’s safe to say Freeman isn’t in that latter category. Nobody is down on Freeman. In fact, it’s the reverse, as supporters have embraced Freeman with the Fighting Irish on a 12-game winning streak and coming off a 23-10 victory against Georgia in the CFP quarterfinals last week. And the administration is on board, as indicated by Freeman’s generous contract renewal last month.
Still, for Freeman to advance in Notre Dame history, he must win a national championship, which has not happened since 1988. Back then, Holtz had resurrected the program after a disappointing five-year tenure under Faust, who was previously a high school coach and never had a college job. Holtz arrived at Notre Dame with 16 years of college head coaching experience, although he was just 4-7 and 6-5 in the previous two seasons at Minnesota.
Notre Dame went 5-6 and 8-4 in Holtz’s first two seasons and entered the 1988 season ranked 13th in the Associated Press poll. The Fighting Irish then overcame No. 9 Michigan, 19-17, in their season opener, thanks to walk-on kicker Reggie Ho’s 26-yard field goal with 1:13 left. In mid-October, Notre Dame met No. 1 Miami in a game known as Catholics vs. Convicts, and it came close again. The Fighting Irish escaped with a 31-30 victory after the Hurricanes missed on a 2-point conversion with 45 seconds remaining.
