November 24, 1996
Davie Named Head Coach At Notre Dame
NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- Bob Davie, Notre Dame's defensive
coordinator the last three years and a veteran of 20 seasons as a
collegiate assistant coach, has been named the 26th head football coach at
the University of Notre Dame.
"We feel very fortunate to have had a candidate of the
caliber of Bob Davie already on our staff," said Rev. E. William Beauchamp,
C.S.C., Notre Dame's executive vice president.
"Bob's personal and professional strengths, his knowledge
of the University and the program, and his appreciation of all that it
means to be the head football coach at Notre Dame made him the clear-cut
choice to succeed Lou Holtz.
"We look forward with great anticipation to the Bob Davie
era at Notre Dame."
Said Irish athletic director Mike Wadsworth, "Bob Davie
emerged as the unanimous choice of our selection committee because of his
intense interest in the position and his conviction about the standards and
values of Notre Dame and its football program.
"Each of our candidates was impressive and each is an
outstanding coach in his own right. Bob Davie stood apart because we
concluded that he was the most qualified to deliver us the results we seek
from our football program."
Davie in 1996 is finishing his third year as the defensive
coordinator and inside linebacker coach on Holtz's staff after serving in
the same position with Texas A&M's highly-regarded defensive units the
previous five years. In addition to bringing 10 years of experience as a
defensive coordinator (he also held that position at Tulane in 1983-84) to
the Irish head coaching job, he also has served three years as an assistant
head coach (1993 at Texas A&M and 1983-84 at Tulane).
Davie's 1996 defensive unit last week ranked 12th
nationally in pass efficiency defense, 17th in total defense and 18th in
scoring defense -- with the Irish currently permitting 271.6 total yards,
127.0 rushing yards and 15.4 points per game. Notre Dame's '96 defense
already has produced 39 sacks, an all-time Notre Dame single-season record.
If that 271.6 total yardage figure holds up through the end of the '96
campaign, it will mark the best overall defensive record by a Notre Dame
team since the 1980 team ranked fourth nationally by allowing only 213.4
yards per game.
Last season, Davie took over responsibility for the Irish
team after Holtz underwent major neck surgery at the Meyo Clinic in
Rochester, Minn., on Sept. 12, 1995. Davie directed the team in Holtz's
absence as the Irish defeated Vanderbilt 41-0 and took on a number of
additional duties during Holtz's recovery.
Davie's defense caught fire late in the '95 season,
permitting only 12.7 points per game during the final four regular-season
games. The Irish finished 16th nationally in pass defense in '95 (171.5
yards per game), while forcing 30 turnovers, the most for the Irish since
1989. That helped Notre Dame rank 13th nationally in turnover margin in
'95, while facing six of the top 14 teams in the final NCAA rushing
statistics.
