Notre Dame Football: Ranking the 5 Worst Head Coaches in Program History
Despite Notre Dame's glorified tradition, there have been more than a few bad seasons, especially within the last 15 years.
Selecting the right head coach to lead a program is never an easy thing to do, but the best programs usually get it right.
That has not been the case at Notre Dame in recent memory.
Who might those bad hires be?
Follow along as we count down the five worst head coaches in Notre Dame Football history.
5. Bob Davie
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Bob Davie began his career at Notre Dame as the team's defensive coordinator in 1994 after serving in the same capacity for Texas A&M from 1989-93.
His Aggie defenses always stifled the Irish offense, so the Notre Dame administration decided to bring him in.
Little did the University know that it would be searching for a head coach two years later.
After interviewing many candidates, the administration decided the best option was to promote Davie to head coach despite his lack of head coaching experience.
That proved to be his demise.
In five full seasons, Davie guided the Irish to a mediocre 35-25 record.
He was fired on Dec. 2, 2001, a day after his Notre Dame squad defeated Purdue 24-18.
His .583 winning percentage ties him with Tyrone Willingham for fifth-worst in program history.
4. Tyrone Willingham
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Tyrone Willingham, otherwise known as "RoboCop," was the head coach at Notre Dame from 2002-04.
The Notre Dame administration was impressed with his 1999 Stanford squad which won its first Pac-10 title in 29 years and played in the Rose Bowl.
With Stanford being a similar institution to Notre Dame, Willingham's hire seemed like an outstanding one.
If only that were true.
The 2002 season saw the Irish start 8-0 but were trounced by USC 44-13 in the season finale which knocked the team out of contention for a BCS bowl bid.
The Irish finished the season with a 10-3 record, the first 10-win season by a first-year head coach in program history.
However, Willingham would go on to compile just an 11-12 record in the next two seasons which led to his eventual firing on Nov. 30, 2004.
Willingham's overall record at Notre Dame was 21-15, a .583 winning percentage tying him with Bob Davie for fifth-worst in program history.
3. Charlie Weis
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Charlie Weis was introduced as head football coach on Dec. 12, 2004, after the firing of Tyrone Willingham 12 days prior.
An alum of the University, Weis brought a wealth of NFL experience to South Bend.
His Super Bowl rings would be a crucial part to his recruiting success during his time on the job.
His first two seasons had a lot of promise as each saw the Irish participate in BCS bowl games.
However, things only got worse after that.
The next three seasons resulted in a combined 16-21 record, with the lone bright spot being a 49-21 victory over Hawaii in the 2008 Hawaii Bowl.
Weis was fired on Nov. 30, 2009.
His .565 winning percentage is fifth-worst in program history.
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2. Gerry Faust
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Gerry Faust is the only head coach in program history to have not had any coaching experience on the college or pro level before taking the job.
That may have been his biggest downfall during his time in South Bend.
There were a few high points in his tenure at Notre Dame, though.
The 1982 team defeated number one Pittsburgh and Dan Marino by a score of 31-16.
A year later, his Irish squad defeated Boston College in the 1983 Liberty Bowl.
He compiled a record of 30-26-1 in his five seasons as head coach.
His .535 winning percentage is third-worst in program history.
1. Joe Kuharich
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Joe Kuharich takes the title as the worst head football coach in Notre Dame's long and storied tradition.
Kuharich was head coach from 1959-62.
He is the only coach in program history to have an overall losing record, which was 17-23.
Not much of an argument there.
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