In 1958, Lombardi applied to Notre Dame again. Then in 1959 he joined the Green Bay Packers getting that head coach position he always wanted.
As coach of the Packers, Lombardi converted Notre Dame quarterback and single wing concept.
During the reign of the Green Bay Packers, Vince Lombardi was approached by Willie Davis who asked Lombardi about loyalty and wanting something and being rejected. Davis resented and did not understand why as an all-Pro defensive end he had been traded by he Cleveland Browns several years earlier.
''Willie,'' the Packers' coach said in the privacy of his office, ''do you know that I applied for the coaching job at Notre Dame twice and never got as much as an acknowledgement to my letter?''
Quietly and quickly, this scene is also described by Jerry Kramer in ''Distant Replay,'' a football book of the year that the former Packers' guard wrote with Dick Schaap - a sequel to their ''Instant Replay'' best-seller that recorded the 1967 season.
''Tears,'' wrote Jerry Kramer of that moment in the coach's office, ''came to Lombardi's eyes.''
In retrospect, Notre Dame must have wept too. Although no date is mentioned as to when Vince Lombardi applied for the job as head coach there, the years 1953 and 1958 coincide with changes both at Notre Dame and in his career.
Following the 1953 season, Terry Brennan was hired by Notre Dame to succeed the legendary Frank Leahy; Vince Lombardi was an assistant coach at Army but he soon joined the New York Giants' staff under Jim Lee Howell.
Following the 1958 season, Joe Kuharich was hired by Notre Dame to succeed Terry Brennan; Vince Lombardi was still on the Giants' staff but early in 1959 he would go to Green Bay as general manager and coach.
''Vince never mentioned to me that he had applied for the Notre Dame job, but he was a very restless guy in those years,'' says Wellington Mara, the Giants' co-owner, who first knew him when they were Fordham students. ''Vince was so motivated to be a head coach, I'm sure he applied for several jobs when they opened up. And those two years when Notre Dame changed coaches certainly fit with what Vince was doing at the time.''
Vince Lombardi deserved answers to his two letters. Some say there were three letters. Some say he applied in 1954, 1956 and 1958. But each letter was probably one of dozens, if not hundreds, that Notre Dame received. Maybe his letters got lost in the shuffle. Or maybe they got ignored because Notre Dame was still intent on maintaining its tradition of hiring a former Notre Dame player as its head coach. Terry Brennan and Joe Kuharich each fit that requirement - as Knute Rockne had, as Frank Leahy had.
This post was edited on 2/20 4:23 AM by theskibro
As coach of the Packers, Lombardi converted Notre Dame quarterback and single wing concept.
During the reign of the Green Bay Packers, Vince Lombardi was approached by Willie Davis who asked Lombardi about loyalty and wanting something and being rejected. Davis resented and did not understand why as an all-Pro defensive end he had been traded by he Cleveland Browns several years earlier.
''Willie,'' the Packers' coach said in the privacy of his office, ''do you know that I applied for the coaching job at Notre Dame twice and never got as much as an acknowledgement to my letter?''
Quietly and quickly, this scene is also described by Jerry Kramer in ''Distant Replay,'' a football book of the year that the former Packers' guard wrote with Dick Schaap - a sequel to their ''Instant Replay'' best-seller that recorded the 1967 season.
''Tears,'' wrote Jerry Kramer of that moment in the coach's office, ''came to Lombardi's eyes.''
In retrospect, Notre Dame must have wept too. Although no date is mentioned as to when Vince Lombardi applied for the job as head coach there, the years 1953 and 1958 coincide with changes both at Notre Dame and in his career.
Following the 1953 season, Terry Brennan was hired by Notre Dame to succeed the legendary Frank Leahy; Vince Lombardi was an assistant coach at Army but he soon joined the New York Giants' staff under Jim Lee Howell.
Following the 1958 season, Joe Kuharich was hired by Notre Dame to succeed Terry Brennan; Vince Lombardi was still on the Giants' staff but early in 1959 he would go to Green Bay as general manager and coach.
''Vince never mentioned to me that he had applied for the Notre Dame job, but he was a very restless guy in those years,'' says Wellington Mara, the Giants' co-owner, who first knew him when they were Fordham students. ''Vince was so motivated to be a head coach, I'm sure he applied for several jobs when they opened up. And those two years when Notre Dame changed coaches certainly fit with what Vince was doing at the time.''
Vince Lombardi deserved answers to his two letters. Some say there were three letters. Some say he applied in 1954, 1956 and 1958. But each letter was probably one of dozens, if not hundreds, that Notre Dame received. Maybe his letters got lost in the shuffle. Or maybe they got ignored because Notre Dame was still intent on maintaining its tradition of hiring a former Notre Dame player as its head coach. Terry Brennan and Joe Kuharich each fit that requirement - as Knute Rockne had, as Frank Leahy had.
This post was edited on 2/20 4:23 AM by theskibro
