Notre Dame Football: A History of 3rd-Year Coaches

As we leave National Signing Day in the rearview mirror, the focus of Notre Dame fans will shift towards the 2012 season, the third under head coach Brian Kelly. Kelly will become the 16th Fighting Irish head coach to reach a third season.

Many of his predecessors had great success in their third season—four won national titles. Others were less fortunate. The worst season in Notre Dame football history occurred in a coach's third season.

While historical trends aren't likely to impact how Kelly's third season in South Bend will play out, it does provide a measuring stick for how far the program has come under his watch.

Here's a look at how the 15 previous third-year Notre Dame coaches have fared.

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Frank E. Hering: 1898

Record: 4-2

Bowl: None

Highlight: A 53-0 home victory over Michigan State

Lowlight: A 23-0 loss to Michigan, dropping the Irish to 0-4 all-time against the Wolverines

Jesse Harper: 1915

Record: 7-1

Bowl: None

Highlight: A 7-0 win over Army in West Point

Lowlight: A 20-19 loss at Nebraska, costing the Irish their fourth unbeaten season in five years

Knute Rockne: 1920

Record: 9-0

Bowl: None

Highlight: A 33-7 win at Northwestern in front of a sellout crowd (pictured above). This would be George Gipp's final game, as he would pass away from strep-throat complications less than a month later.

Lowlight: Despite a perfect record for the Irish, California was declared the retroactive national champion by most ranking outlets.

Hunk Anderson: 1933

Record: 3-5-1

Bowl: None

Highlight: A 13-12 upset win over Army in Yankee Stadium in the season finale

Lowlight: An 0-4 midseason stretch in which the Irish did not score a point

Elmer Layden: 1936

Record: 6-2-1

Bowl: None

Highlight: A 26-6 win over No. 1 Northwestern in the home finale in South Bend

Lowlight: A 26-0 loss at Pittsburgh in a showdown of Top 10 teams in front of 66,622 at Pitt Stadium.

Frank Leahy: 1943

Record: 9-1

Bowl: None

Highlight: A 14-13 win against No. 2 Iowa Pre-Flight in the home finale to clinch Leahy's first of five national titles

Lowlight: A last-minute 19-13 loss to Great Lakes in the season finale to spoil a perfect season

Terry Brennan: 1956

Record: 2-8

Bowl: None

Highlight: Paul Hornung winning the program's fifth Heisman Trophy

Lowlight: A 40-0 loss to No. 1 Oklahoma in Notre Dame Stadium

Joe Kuharich: 1961

Record: 5-5

Bowl: None

Highlight: A controversial 17-15 win over Syracuse on a last-second field goal. A roughing-the-kicker penalty gave the Irish a second chance after a missed kick. No rule was in place to address this situation, but the officials awarded Notre Dame the ball and allowed another attempt. A rule was instituted after the season to clarify these situations.

Lowlight: Consecutive home losses to unranked Northwestern and Navy by a total of five points.

Ara Parseghian: 1966

Record: 9-0-1

Bowl: None

Highlight: A 51-0 rout at USC, avenging an upset loss to the Trojans in Notre Dame's last visit to Los Angeles and clinching the program's first national title in over a decade.

Lowlight: A 10-10 tie at No. 2 Michigan State, in which Parseghian was criticized for playing for the tie on the road rather than trying to win it.

Dan Devine: 1977

Record: 11-1

Bowl: Cotton Bowl (defeated Texas, 38-10)

Highlight: Holding Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell to four yards per carry in the Cotton Bowl victory over No. 1 Texas. An Arkansas upset of No. 2 Oklahoma later that night in the Orange Bowl vaulted the Irish to the top spot in the final polls and their 10th national championship.

Lowlight: A 20-13 loss against unranked Ole Miss in Jackson, dropping the 1-1 Irish out of the top 10 in the polls.

Gerry Faust: 1983

Record: 7-5

Bowl: Liberty Bowl (defeated Boston College, 18-17)

Highlight: A 30-6 road win at No. 7 South Carolina in a hostile atmosphere under the lights of Williams-Brice Stadium

Lowlight: Consecutive losses to Penn State and Air Force to end the regular seasons, games in which the Irish led with two minutes remaining.

Lou Holtz: 1988

Record: 12-0

Bowl: Fiesta Bowl (defeated West Virginia, 34-21)

Highlight: Winning the school's most recent national championship over No. 3 West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl. The Irish defeated a No. 1-ranked team (Miami), a No. 2-ranked team (USC) and the third-ranked Moutaineers en route to the national title.

Lowlight: Prior to the game in South Bend against No. 1 Miami, a fight broke out between the two teams in the tunnel of Notre Dame Stadium.

Bob Davie: 1999

Record: 5-7

Bowl: None

Highlight: A 25-24 win over rival USC in South Bend, snapping a three-game losing streak to the Trojans

Lowlight: A 28-23 loss at Purdue in which poor clock management caused time to run out with the Irish inside the Boilermakers' 10-yard line

Tyrone Willingham: 2004

Record: 6-6

Bowl: Insight Bowl (lost to Oregon State 38-21)

Highlight: An upset win over No. 8 Michigan in South Bend, a game in which the Irish rallied from a 9-0 halftime deficit to win, 28-20, behind true freshman running back Darius Walker

Lowlight: A 24-23 home loss to Boston College in which the Eagles converted a long 4th down for the game-winning touchdown with under a minute to play. It was Notre Dame's fourth straight loss to Boston College.

Charlie Weis: 2007

Record: 3-9

Bowl: None

Highlight: Nov. 24 at 7:00 p.m. EST, when the season came to an end after a win at Stanford.

Lowlight: A 46-44 triple-overtime loss to Navy at home, dropping the Irish to 1-8 and snapping a 43-game winning streak over the Midshipmen.