I was a student at ND when Ara retired. His decision caught everyone by surprise, but one of my roommates was a manager for the football team and said Ara was just completely burned out by the job.
What I remember most about Leahy, aside from the unbelievable record he compiled as head coach of ND--six undefeated seasons, four Nattys, an unbeaten string of 39 games, and four Heisman Trophy winners--was that he always referred to his players as the "lads." Kind of endearing. Rockne, Leahy, Ara and Holtz are my personal Mount Rushmore of ND football coaches. Maybe there will be room up there someday for Marcus Freeman. That would be my hope.