College Football’s 10 greatest back-to-back coaching duos

Notre Dame football has had some legendary coaches over their time. Knute Rockne first established the Fighting Irish as a football powerhouse between 1918 and 1930, winning three national championships in 13 seasons before his tragic death in a plane crash. During and after World War II, Frank Leahy took up the torch and carried Notre Dame to four national championships in 11 seasons at the helm.

In total, five different head coaches have taken Notre Dame to the pinnacle of the college football world. Only once, though, has a coach managed to successfully succeed a title-winning coach by going on to win his own crown.

Ara Parseghian arrived in South Bend in 1964 after starting his coaching career at his alma mater, Miami of Ohio, and spending eight seasons at Northwestern. Once he took over the Fighting Irish, Parseghian won a national title by his third season and claimed another in 1973. By 1974, though, Parseghian stepped down to go into football broadcasting, leaving Notre Dame in a bind.

In his place stepped Dan Devine, coming off four largely forgettable seasons coaching the Green Bay Packers. Devine won a national championship in his third season on the job, mirroring Parseghian’s trajectory. Between them, Parsegian and Devine won 148 games and three national championships over the course of 17 seasons in South Bend. The pair averaged 8.7 wins per season over this span, with a combined .811 winning percentage and a national title claim every 5.7 seasons.