Devine Sculpture Completes Circle of
Notre Dame Championship Coaches
With Friday’s unveiling and blessing of the Dan Devine sculpture outside Notre Dame Stadium, the “circle of coaches” who have won national championships with the Irish has been completed.
Starting with Saturday’s victory over Air Force, ND fans enter the Stadium at one of five gates named for the championships coaches – Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian, Devine and Lou Holtz – passing the sculpture of each as they go in.
All the sculptures are the work of Notre Dame grad Jerry McKenna, who also created the Moose Krause Bench east of the stadium and the Four Horsemen sculpture which sits inside the Gugliemini Athletics Complex. McKenna’s work appears at halls of fame, campuses, churches and military installations worldwide.
“I enjoyed working with the University and the Devine Family on this sculpture,” said McKenna, whose studio is in Boerne, Texas. “We collaborated on the portrait to come up with an expression that reflects his joy in leading the Irish to a National Championship.
“This recognition was overdue. From all that I have read and heard from former assistants and players, Coach Devine truly loved Notre Dame,” McKenna said.
“With the completion of this sculpture five gates now have a bronze tribute to our national championship coaches – Rockne, Leahy, Parseghian, Devine and Holtz. I hope there’s another in my lifetime.”
Friday’s unveiling ceremony was attended by more than 50 members of the Devine family, as well as several of the coach’s Notre Dame players. At ND, Devine coached such stars as quarterback Joe Montana, tight end Ken MacAfee, tailback Vagas Ferguson, defensive lineman Ross Browner and Steve Niehaus, linebacker Bob Golic and cornerback Luther Bradley, among many others.
Devine coached the Irish for six seasons (1975-80) and compiled an overall record of 53-16-1, for a .764 winning percentage. He guided the Irish to a 10-1 record in 1977, winning the national championship with a stunning 38-10 thrashing of then No. 1 Texas in the Cotton Bowl.
The next season, the Irish returned to the Cotton Bowl and recorded one of the greatest comebacks in college football history, defeating Houston 35-34 with no time remaining in the midst of a Dallas ice storm.
Devine, who coached at Arizona State and Missouri before a tenure with the Green Bay Packers, finished with a career college coaching mark of 173-57-9. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1985, and died in 2002 at age 77.
| Sept. 3 | S. FLORIDA | L, 20-23 |
| Sept. 10 | @Michigan | L, 31-35 |
| Sept. 17 | MICH. ST. | W, 31-13 |
| Sept. 24 | @Pittsburgh | W, 15-12 |
| Oct. 1 | @Purdue | W, 38-10 |
| Oct. 8 | AIR FORCE | W, 59-33 |
| Oct. 15 | -- | -- |
| Oct. 22 | USC | L, 17-31 |
| Oct. 29 | NAVY | W, 56-14 |
| Nov. 5 | @Wake Forest | W, 24-17 |
| Nov. 12 | Maryland (FedEx) | W, 45-21 |
| Nov. 19 | BOSTON C. | W, 16-14 |
| Nov. 26 | @Stanford | L, 14-28 |
| Dec. 29 | Florida St. (Champs Sports Bowl) | L, 14-18 |
(All times Eastern)
| Sept. 4 | Purdue | W, 23-12 |
| Sept. 11 | Michigan | L, 24-28 |
| Sept. 18 | @MSU | L, 31-34 |
| Sept. 25 | Stanford | L, 14-37 |
| Oct. 2 | @BC | W, 31-13 |
| Oct. 9 | Pittsburgh | W, 23-17 |
| Oct. 16 | W.Mich. | W, 44-20 |
| Oct. 23 | Navy (M'lands) |
L, 17-35 |
| Oct. 30 | Tulsa | L, 27-28 |
| Nov. 13 | Utah | W, 28-3 |
| Nov. 20 | Army (NYC) | W, 27-3 |
| Nov. 27 | at USC | W, 20-16 |
| Dec. 31 | Miami (Sun Bowl) | W, 33-17 |