Notre Dame head coach Gerry Faust, who coached the Fighting Irish from 1981-1985, has passed away at 89 years old on Monday.
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As the son of a successful high school coach, Faust always had a dream of playing for Notre Dame. That is to say, a one-time standout senior quarterback at Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School, he nearly got his chance.
"I was about eighth in line," Faust said regarding his recruitment workout at Notre Dame. "After I saw the first seven throw the football, I knew I couldn't play football at Notre Dame. They were too good. My next dream was to be the coach at Notre Dame."
Ultimately, Faust had to settle for playing quarterback at Dayton (1955-1957), near where he grew up. And his dream of being coach at Notre Dame would come after a legendary run as a high school coach.
Soon after graduating, he followed in his dad's footsteps and went on to start up one of the all-time best high school football programs from scratch at Archbishop Moeller.
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Notably, from 1962-1980, Faust led the school to nine state championship titles and four national titles. To emphasize the success he achieved, Moeller accumulated seven undefeated seasons and had a 174-17-2 record.
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To note, in 1977, Faust wrote a letter to Notre Dame's executive vice president, Edmund P. Joyce, asking to consider him if a head coaching position ever opened up in the future.
And with a recommendation letter from Cleveland Browns co-founder Paul Brown, in 1980 Joyce called Faust and let him know that the head coach at the time, Dan Devine, was thinking about stepping down because of his wife's health.
And sure enough, the day after winning a state championship game, Faust got the opportunity he always dreamed of. Despite no previous recruiting experience, the Ohio native replaced Devine, and coached five seasons in South Bend (1981-1985), a time period that was deemed the "Bold Experiment."
However, things didn't go all too smoothly, as Faust accumulated just a 30-26-1 record while coaching at Notre Dame. During his time as head coach, the Fighting Irish won just one bowl game (1983 Liberty Bowl vs. Boston College).
In what was viewed as a humiliating finish to the 1985 season, in his last game as Notre Dame's head coach, the team lost 58-7 to Miami.
That is, after ending the season with a 5-5 record, Faust stepped down as head coach and Lou Holtz then took over the head coaching job for the Fighting Irish.
"If you're ever going to put the blame somewhere, put it on the coach," Faust said at the news conference announcing his resignation on November 26, 1985. "That's where it ought to be. We got started on the wrong foot five years ago and never did bail out of the thing."
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All in all, Faust's head coaching career carried on as he coached at the University of Akron for nine seasons (1986-1994) and had a record of 43-53-3 during his tenure.
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Former players for Faust have paid tribute to a man that was revered for his character and faith, which transcends having success on the gridiron.
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Faust once said, "I only had 26 miserable days at Notre Dame, and that's when we lost. Other than that, I was the happiest guy in the world. If I had the opportunity to do it again and knew the results would be the same, I'd do it again in a minute."
Holtz, who won a national championship in 1988, often shared about Faust, "No one loved Notre Dame more."
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Related: Legendary USC And LA Rams Head Coach John Robinson Passes Away At 89 Years Old
