By 1964, of course, Vince Lombardi was no longer interested in applying for the Notre Dame job. By then he was established as Green Bay's most cherished civic monument. By then he had developed two N.F.L. championship teams in 1961 and 1962, and in 1965, 1966 and 1967 his Packers would be the first team to win three consecutive N.F.L. titles, including the first two Super Bowl games.
And yet, suppose Notre Dame had hired Vince Lombardi instead of Terry Brennan in 1954 or later in 1958 , instead of Joe Kuharich? Or in 1956, when Brennan's team went 2-8?
It's reasonable to assume that Vince Lombardi would have had the same impact on Notre Dame history and on its players that he had on N.F.L. history and on his Packer players.
A rough persona, a win at all costs kind of guy was Lombardi - right? Wrong.
What would Vince have been like recruiting and developing Notre Dame players? Surely he was a Pro Coach and would not have achieved the same measure of success in the college game? Wrong again.
His genius was multi faceted and difficult to define in one bucket.
But one of his standout traits - the common DNA he passed along to Mickey Corcoran who passed it to Parcells, who passed it to Belicheck -- was caring for and motivating his charges. Tough love some call it. The push for excellence, the no quit attitude, the taking ownership of blocking assignments, the few spoken words - all made the rare pat on the back mean so much more.
Packer players and Fordham players and St. Cecelia players all speak of what Vince Lombardi meant to them.
''I think of him every day,'' says Herb Adderley, now a Hall of Fame cornerback. ''I love my father, who is also deceased, but I don't think of my father every day.''
''I was so lucky to get with a coach who wasn't worried about winning and losing,'' the halfback Red Mack says. ''I know that's a funny thing to say about Lombardi, but he really wasn't. He was worried about the human aspect. He knew the winning would come from that.''
''Lombardi pushed me and pushed me,'' the tight end Marv Fleming said. ''And then a lot of times he'd put his hands on my shoulder and say, 'Way to go there.' No one else saw him do it, but I saw it, I felt it and I said to myself, 'This man likes me, and it's O.K. for him to push me, it's O.K.' I love it, that memory.''
Jerry Kramer remembered a training camp when Vince Lombardi gave the Packers a 20-question test on N.F.L. rule changes.
''I don't expect you to get all 20 answers right,'' the Packer coach told his players. ''I just took it and I missed two questions myself.''
''Don't worry, Coach,'' the wide receiver Max McGee piped up. ''They'll change those two rules.'' The N.F.L. wasn't about to change those two rules, just as Notre Dame can't change its history.
But if Notre Dame, with what it knows now of Vince Lombardi, could go back to the last days of 1953 and 1958, it would surely pay more attention to those two letters.
I hope you enjoyed reading this. I thought it appropriate to write something during this down time to keep us – the ND posting fraternity – in high spirits and ready for the 2015 season
1954-1958 Terry Brennan 5 32 18 0 .640
1959-1962 Joe Kuharich 4 17 23 0 .425
1963 Hugh Devore 1 2 –7
10 seasons 51 wins 48 losses
For those who would like to verify that Theskibro is not smoking something , here you go:
http://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/01/sports/sports-of-the-times-oombardi-letters.html
This post was edited on 2/20 4:28 AM by theskibro
This post was edited on 2/20 4:31 AM by theskibro
And yet, suppose Notre Dame had hired Vince Lombardi instead of Terry Brennan in 1954 or later in 1958 , instead of Joe Kuharich? Or in 1956, when Brennan's team went 2-8?
It's reasonable to assume that Vince Lombardi would have had the same impact on Notre Dame history and on its players that he had on N.F.L. history and on his Packer players.
A rough persona, a win at all costs kind of guy was Lombardi - right? Wrong.
What would Vince have been like recruiting and developing Notre Dame players? Surely he was a Pro Coach and would not have achieved the same measure of success in the college game? Wrong again.
His genius was multi faceted and difficult to define in one bucket.
But one of his standout traits - the common DNA he passed along to Mickey Corcoran who passed it to Parcells, who passed it to Belicheck -- was caring for and motivating his charges. Tough love some call it. The push for excellence, the no quit attitude, the taking ownership of blocking assignments, the few spoken words - all made the rare pat on the back mean so much more.
Packer players and Fordham players and St. Cecelia players all speak of what Vince Lombardi meant to them.
''I think of him every day,'' says Herb Adderley, now a Hall of Fame cornerback. ''I love my father, who is also deceased, but I don't think of my father every day.''
''I was so lucky to get with a coach who wasn't worried about winning and losing,'' the halfback Red Mack says. ''I know that's a funny thing to say about Lombardi, but he really wasn't. He was worried about the human aspect. He knew the winning would come from that.''
''Lombardi pushed me and pushed me,'' the tight end Marv Fleming said. ''And then a lot of times he'd put his hands on my shoulder and say, 'Way to go there.' No one else saw him do it, but I saw it, I felt it and I said to myself, 'This man likes me, and it's O.K. for him to push me, it's O.K.' I love it, that memory.''
Jerry Kramer remembered a training camp when Vince Lombardi gave the Packers a 20-question test on N.F.L. rule changes.
''I don't expect you to get all 20 answers right,'' the Packer coach told his players. ''I just took it and I missed two questions myself.''
''Don't worry, Coach,'' the wide receiver Max McGee piped up. ''They'll change those two rules.'' The N.F.L. wasn't about to change those two rules, just as Notre Dame can't change its history.
But if Notre Dame, with what it knows now of Vince Lombardi, could go back to the last days of 1953 and 1958, it would surely pay more attention to those two letters.
I hope you enjoyed reading this. I thought it appropriate to write something during this down time to keep us – the ND posting fraternity – in high spirits and ready for the 2015 season
1954-1958 Terry Brennan 5 32 18 0 .640
1959-1962 Joe Kuharich 4 17 23 0 .425
1963 Hugh Devore 1 2 –7
10 seasons 51 wins 48 losses
For those who would like to verify that Theskibro is not smoking something , here you go:
http://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/01/sports/sports-of-the-times-oombardi-letters.html
This post was edited on 2/20 4:28 AM by theskibro
This post was edited on 2/20 4:31 AM by theskibro
