Gerry Faust passes at 89

PeoplesChicken

PeoplesChicken

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A lot of people probably do not even know who Gerry Faust is. For over 20 years he was arguable the most successful HS football coach in America. He took an upstart Catholic school using borrowed equipment and turned Cincinnati Moeller into a national powerhouse. His dream was always to play at Notre Dame. He was offered a partial scholarship from them as a QB but turned it down because of the financial hardship the remaining tuition would have on his family. He opted instead to play at Dayton where he had a nice but unspectacular career. His dream shifted to one day coaching at Notre Dame which led him to write a heartfelt letter to ND President Ed Joyce. Former Bengals owner Paul Brown wrote a letter of endorsement leading to Faust replacing Dan Devine. His time at ND was much like his playing career, unspectacular. He resigned from ND opening the door for Lou Holtz.

After ND, Faust became the head coach at the University of Akron, which is where I got to know him as a player. His tenure at Akron was again nothing spectacular but his enthusiasm for football and people was impressive. On multiple occasions I witnessed him give money out of his own pocket for medical bills, housing and just helping people in need. What was even more impressive was some of these people were not even associated with the football team. He was passionate and his enthusiasm was contagious. He used that enthusiasm to create a second career as a fundraiser for the university. RIP Coach.
 
You played for the zips?????
 
ralphiewvu said:
You played for the zips?????
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I don't know if "played" is appropriate but I was on the team
 
Truth be told while I had heard of Jerry Faust I wasn’t very familiar. (He was coach of ND before I was born) But I remember the U 30 for 30 and seeing that scene with him and ND getting ass blasted by JJ and Miami. I looked him up and was amazed he jumped from being a HS coach to ND coach just like that. Thats crazy but he seemed like a good guy. RIP Coach Faust
 
ralphiewvu said:
Truth be told while I had heard of Jerry Faust but wasn’t very familiar. (He was coach of ND before I was born) But I remember the U 30 for 30 and seeing that scene with him and ND getting ass blasted by JJ and Miami. I looked him up and was amazed he jumped from being a HS coach to ND coach just like that. Thats crazy but he seemed like a good guy. RIP Coach Faust
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Yea, that game was kind of the last straw. ND got embarrassed. But in today's game there is no way a HS coach goes straight to the HC of a power 5 program.
 
ralphiewvu said:
You played D1 ball, that’s impressive as hell man. Be proud.
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Thanks buddy! I am, but also realize that Akron was a unique situation at the time and I probably wouldn't have had those opportunities at another school. If I may, my favorite story is the Akron coaches never saw me play football in person it was always on film. An assistant did come to a basketball game that I wasn't aware of until later. They told my HS coach that they weren't sure where they would put me but they would find someplace.
 
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Pretty crazy him and John Robinson passed on the same day. Appreciate the story @PeoplesChicken . Just being an ND fan I knew of him, and his struggles on the field, but always read how nice of a guy he was. Making him easy to root for. It is a shame he wasn't more successful at ND.

RIP.
 
PeoplesChicken said:
Thanks buddy! I am, but also realize that Akron was a unique situation at the time and I probably wouldn't have had those opportunities at another school. If I may, my favorite story is the Akron coaches never saw me play football in person it was always on film. An assistant did come to a basketball game that I wasn't aware of until later. They told my HS coach that they weren't sure where they would put me but they would find someplace.
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Dude that’s awesome.
 
Best known for the “Oust Faust” campaign at Notre Dame.
 
Didn't Notre Dame wear more of a shade of royal blue jersey instead of navy blue at some point during Faust's tenure?
 
PeoplesChicken said:
A lot of people probably do not even know who Gerry Faust is. For over 20 years he was arguable the most successful HS football coach in America. He took an upstart Catholic school using borrowed equipment and turned Cincinnati Moeller into a national powerhouse. His dream was always to play at Notre Dame. He was offered a partial scholarship from them as a QB but turned it down because of the financial hardship the remaining tuition would have on his family. He opted instead to play at Dayton where he had a nice but unspectacular career. His dream shifted to one day coaching at Notre Dame which led him to write a heartfelt letter to ND President Ed Joyce. Former Bengals owner Paul Brown wrote a letter of endorsement leading to Faust replacing Dan Devine. His time at ND was much like his playing career, unspectacular. He resigned from ND opening the door for Lou Holtz.

After ND, Faust became the head coach at the University of Akron, which is where I got to know him as a player. His tenure at Akron was again nothing spectacular but his enthusiasm for football and people was impressive. On multiple occasions I witnessed him give money out of his own pocket for medical bills, housing and just helping people in need. What was even more impressive was some of these people were not even associated with the football team. He was passionate and his enthusiasm was contagious. He used that enthusiasm to create a second career as a fundraiser for the university. RIP Coach.
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While he represented a low point in ND football history, he was well regarded as a good man and while the more recent failures have been reviled, he was well liked. When he was already done at ND and Miami decided to pour it on in 1985, Digger Phelps got revenge for Faust in the next years basketball game by running up the score on purpose.
 
ralphiewvu said:
Truth be told while I had heard of Jerry Faust I wasn’t very familiar. (He was coach of ND before I was born) But I remember the U 30 for 30 and seeing that scene with him and ND getting ass blasted by JJ and Miami. I looked him up and was amazed he jumped from being a HS coach to ND coach just like that. Thats crazy but he seemed like a good guy. RIP Coach Faust
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Whippersnapper
 
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