God Bless Ara, and condolences to his family and friends.
IMO, Ara was the perfect coach. I was too young when he retired to experience most of his success as an ND fan, first hand. I know he was the perfect combination of an energetic, charismatic leader, motivator, technical genius, and stern leader but with a generous dose of compassion. He was not a heartless drill sergeant. Some coaches have some of those qualities, but few have all of them.
He was one of the most underrated coaches of all-time. For instance, we hear quite a bit about the legacies of greatness of Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler, who were legendary coaches in their own right. But, Ara was better. Bo, in particular, who coached for Ara at Northwestern, would've been the first guy to admit it. Even after coaching with Woody, he said Ara had the greatest offensive mind he ever saw.
As a Detroit-area resident, I was listening to a radio interview a few years back with long-time Detroit News football writer Mike O'Hara. O'Hara had covered both the NFL and college football for some 30 years. The host asked O'Hara who was the greatest coach he ever covered. He hesitated for a moment, and said "Ara Parseghian". His exact words, "Ara Parseghian was the perfect coach".
God Bless you Ara!
IMO, Ara was the perfect coach. I was too young when he retired to experience most of his success as an ND fan, first hand. I know he was the perfect combination of an energetic, charismatic leader, motivator, technical genius, and stern leader but with a generous dose of compassion. He was not a heartless drill sergeant. Some coaches have some of those qualities, but few have all of them.
He was one of the most underrated coaches of all-time. For instance, we hear quite a bit about the legacies of greatness of Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler, who were legendary coaches in their own right. But, Ara was better. Bo, in particular, who coached for Ara at Northwestern, would've been the first guy to admit it. Even after coaching with Woody, he said Ara had the greatest offensive mind he ever saw.
As a Detroit-area resident, I was listening to a radio interview a few years back with long-time Detroit News football writer Mike O'Hara. O'Hara had covered both the NFL and college football for some 30 years. The host asked O'Hara who was the greatest coach he ever covered. He hesitated for a moment, and said "Ara Parseghian". His exact words, "Ara Parseghian was the perfect coach".
God Bless you Ara!
Last edited:
