Dec. 20, 1996
Davie Hires Coordinators
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - New Irish football coach Bob Davie wasted little time putting his staff together, hiring Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Mattison to the same position at Notre Dame and then adding Jim Colletto, Purdue's head coach the last six years, as offensive coordinator.
Mattison joined the Michigan staff in 1992 as the defensive line coach and continued to have those duties during his tenure as coordinator. In addition to his coordinator's responsibilities at Notre Dame, he will coach the Irish inside linebackers, as Davie has the last three years.
He was one of five finalists for the initial Broyles Award, which recognizes the top assistant coach in college football.
Michigan's scoring defense in '96 ranked eighth nationally (15.2 points per game) and the Wolverines also ranked among the top teams in the nation in rushing defense (108.5 yards per game for 17th), pass efficiency defense (20th) and total defense (18th at 300.9). A year ago in '95, Michigan ranked 11th in total defense (286.3) and third in rushing defense (90.1).
He started his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant in Illinois in 1976 under Bob Blackman. He also served as an assistant at Cornell (defensive line in 1977 under Blackman), Northwestern (defensive line in 1978-80 under Rick Venturi), Western Michigan (defensive coordinator and linebackers in 1981-86 under Jack Harbaugh), Navy (defensive line in 1987-88 under Elliott Uzelac) and with Davie at Texas A&M (1989-91 under R.C. Slocum).
Mattison coached the Aggie defensive line during Davie's first three years as defensive coordinator at Texas A&M. He and Davie combined in '91 to work with the country's top-rated defensive unit (222.4 yards per game) as the Aggies won the Southwest Conference title and led the league in all four defensive categories. In '90, Texas A&M stood 19th in total defense and the Aggies were 13th in '89.
He has coached teams that have advanced to bowl games in each of the last seven years -- including appearances in the Hancock, Holiday and Cotton during his tenure at Texas A&M, followed by consecutive appearances in the Rose, Hall of Fame, Holiday and Alamo Bowls at Michigan.
Mattison began his coaching career as head coach at Riverdale (Wis.) High School from 1971-73 and had the top-rated team in Wisconsin at Logan High School in LaCrosse, Wis., from 1974-75.
Born Gregory Richard Mattison on Nov. 15, 1949, Mattison earned his undergraduate degree from Wisconsin-LaCrosse in 1971 and earned a master's degree from Illinois in '76.
Mattison competed in football and wrestling at Wisconsin-LaCrosse and was team captain in both sports as a junior and a senior. He was a wrestling All-American and was named the offensive MVP on the football team as a senior. In 1989, he was inducted into the Wisconsin-LaCrosse Hall of Fame. A native of Madison, Wis., Mattison graduated from Madison East High School in 1967.
Colletto brings 11 overall seasons of head coaching experience with him, thanks to five previous years as head coach at Cal State Fullerton from 1975-79 -- and 31 overall seasons of collegiate coaching
Colletto's 1996 Purdue team averaged 222.5 passing yards per game, a figure that at Notre Dame would rank as the second-highest mark in Irish history. His '95 Purdue team finished first in the Big Ten in rushing offense (233.4 yards per game) and was eighth in the nation. The 1994 Boilers were second in the Big Ten in scoring offense (22nd in the nation) and third in the league (12th in the NCAA) in rushing offense. Purdue scored 336 points (30.5 per game) in '94 to become the school's highest-scoring team since 1969.
Purdue in '94 finished 4-5-2 against what the NCAA rated the 12th-toughest schedule in the country, making Colletto one of 10 semifinalists for the Football News national coach of the year honor. His Boilers faced the most difficult schedule in the country in '93 and the eighth-toughest in '95.
Among individual standouts he coached at Purdue were fullback Mike Alstott (3,635 career rushing yards), running back Corey Rogers (2,410 career yards) and quarterback Eric Hunter (5,598 career passing yards).
He had two coaching stints at Purdue, also serving as offensive coordinator at the school from 1982 to '84. Purdue averaged more than 2,800 yards through the air and more 1,600 on the ground during his time as offensive coordinator. In '84, Purdue finished in a tie for second place in the Big Ten and played in the Peach Bowl. Purdue defeated Notre Dame, Ohio State and Michigan that season and was ranked seventh in the nation in passing offense and 19th in total offense.
Before becoming Purdue's head coach, Colletto was the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at Ohio State from 1988-90, where he also worked with the offensive tackles and tight ends. Ohio State had an overall record of 19-13-2 while Colletto was at the school. The Buckeyes led the Big Ten in total offense, scoring and rushing in 1989 as the team advanced to the Hall of Fame Bowl. In 1990, the Buckeyes ranked in the top five in the Big Ten in total offense, scoring, rushing and passing and played in the Liberty Bowl, although Colletto did not coach in the game because he had accepted the Purdue job.
Prior to his tenure at Ohio State, Colletto was offensive coordinator at Arizona State from 1985 to 1987. The Sun Devils posted a three-year record of 25-9-2 and participated in three bowl games, including the 1987 Rose Bowl in which they defeated Michigan. Colletto accompanied head coach John Cooper to Ohio State in the winter of '88.
Colletto made his head coaching debut at Cal State Fullerton and helped the school make the transition from Division II to I-A. The Titans ranked fourth in the nation in rushing offense and seven in total offense in '78.
Colletto joined the coaching ranks at his alma mater, UCLA, where he was a graduate assistant in 1966 and coached the offensive line for the next two seasons (1967-68). He also has coached at Brown (1969), Xavier of Ohio (1970-71) and Pacific (1972-74).
Colletto is a 1967 graduate of UCLA, where he played both football and baseball. He led the team in rushing as a sophomore fullback in 1963 and was captain of the 1965 team that defeated Michigan State in the Rose Bowl. He was also a two-time all-league pick in baseball.
