BOB AND WEAVE AS USUAL, DAVIE DEALING WITH CRITICS IN SOUTH BEND.Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer Say this much about Notre Dame Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam] is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame football coach Bob Davie People named Bob Davie include:
Davie has survived a stormy five-year reign in South Bend South Bend, city (1990 pop. 105,511), seat of St. Joseph co., N Ind., on the great south bend of the St. Joseph River, in a farming and mint-growing region; inc. as a city 1865. by consistently squirming his way out of trouble. Just when it looks as though he's one punch away from crashing head-first into the canvas, he somehow finds the will to prevail. Last season is a perfect example. The year started with Davie defending himself after the Irish finished 5-7 in 1999. There was talk Davie was on his way out, that his time with the Irish was being measured in days, not years. But when Notre Dame rallied to finish the regular season with a 9-2 record and a berth in the Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Tostitos tortilla chips (a Frito-Lay product), is a United States college football game played annually since 1971. Originally, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil Stadium where it remained until 2006. - not to mention the $10 million payoff that came with it - Davie was rewarded with a fat, five-year contract. For a moment it looked like Davie was out of danger. But then Oregon State thoroughly embarrassed the Irish 41-9 in the Fiesta Bowl, and Notre Dame started this season with losses to Nebraska, Michigan State and Texas A&M. Just like that, Davie was back in the middle of the ring slugging it out again. There was a report in a South Bend newspaper citing sources within the Notre Dame athletic department that a decision to fire Davie at the end of the season already had been made. Davie laughed the report off - literally - but all athletic director Athletic director (commonly, "athletics director") is a position at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, which oversees the work of the coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic Kevin White Kevin White may refer to:
It wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement. ``All we're trying to do as a football program is get better game to game,'' White said. ``At the end of the football season, as with all our seasons and programs, we will sit down and evaluate where we are. It would be inappropriate to do that now.'' Soon after, a list of potential successors began circulating, the most attractive name belonging to current Oakland Raiders This article is about an American football team. For other uses, see Raider. The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in the city of Oakland, California. coach Jon Gruden Jon Gruden (born August 17, 1963 in Sandusky, Ohio) is the current head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL. Prior to taking over as coach of Tampa Bay, he was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders for 4 years. , a former prep player at South Bend Clay High and the son of former Notre Dame assistant Jim Gruden. The younger Gruden admits Notre Dame is his ``dream job,'' and that he gets chills when he sees the Fighting Irish on television. Notre Dame fans were drooling drooling the discharge of saliva from the mouth. A normal feature in some breeds of dogs such as St. Bernard, Newfoundland and English bulldog, presumably because of their loose, pendulous lips. over the possibility of the charismatic Gruden taking over. The heat on Davie subsided a bit after the Irish beat Pitt and West Virginia West Virginia, E central state of the United States. It is bordered by Pennsylvania and Maryland (N), Virginia (E and S), and Kentucky and, across the Ohio R., Ohio (W). Facts and Figures Area, 24,181 sq mi (62,629 sq km). Pop. to improve to 2-3, but he is clearly on shaky ground as he prepares Notre Dame for a visit from USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. on Saturday. Having been in this predicament before, Davie is well prepared. ``I don't pay a damn bit of attention to what people on the outside say, because I understand that none of them know,'' Davie said. ``I've got a tremendous amount of confidence in my ability.'' If it's worth anything, the Irish come into Saturday's game with momentum on their side. Sophomore quarterback Carlyle Holiday, who took the job from sophomore Matt LoVecchio after the Michigan State loss, has added a dynamic athletic element to the Notre Dame offense and now is firmly entrenched en·trench also in·trench v. en·trenched, en·trench·ing, en·trench·es v.tr. 1. To provide with a trench, especially for the purpose of fortifying or defending. 2. as the starter. After struggling in his first start against Texas A&M, Holiday has sewn together two consecutive strong performances, including a brilliant effort against West Virginia last Saturday when he ran for a team-high 130 yards on 19 carries and impressed Davie with his clutch passing in third-down situations. In all, the Irish rolled up 345 yards rushing. ``He's got a chance to be a great one,'' Davie said. Whether Davie is around to see Holiday blossom remains to be seen, of course, and Holiday has enough to worry about as the quarterback at Notre Dame without getting caught up in his coach's problems. But he understands his success and Davie's fate are intertwined, which is why the victories over Pitt and West Virginia were so crucial. They've provided Holiday a surge of confidence and bought Davie a little time to get things straightened out. Holiday senses better days ahead for everyone. ``I think it's starting to come around. I still have a lot to improve on, but for the most (part), it has gotten better over the last couple weeks.'' Holiday said. ``The team is starting to develop, starting to get there. It's a better feeling than the start of the season.'' For Davie's sake, Holiday better hope the good feelings last. Not that Davie doesn't know the drill by now. ``If you win, it will take care of itself,'' Davie said. ``If you don't win, it will take on a life of its own Memory Burn A Life Of Its Own was released by Noise Kontrol in 2002. Memory Burn is made up of several high profile musicians who came together to create this special work. .'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Bob Davie reversed his fortunes last season after coaching Notre Dame to a Fiesta Bowl berth, but now he's on the hot seat again after a poor start. Ted S. Warren/Associated Press |
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