Notre Dame fires Davie after 5-6 year

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- When Bob Davie was hired by Notre Dame in 1996, he got some advice from former Irish coach Ara Parseghian.

"He said, 'There's a lot of things to worry about. Worry about one thing -- and that's winning,"' Davie said.

He didn't win often enough and Notre Dame fired him Sunday, a day after the storied football program completed its second losing season in three years.

The Irish lost six or more games three times under Davie, whose 35-25 record gives him the third-worst winning percentage in Irish history at .583.

"I'm the first one to stand up here and say that we may not have won as many games as what would be expected," Davie said.

During his tenure, the Irish were placed on NCAA probation for the first time. They also produced no first-team All-Americans and only one first-round draft pick, Luke Petitgout.

Athletic director Kevin White said that while Davie's teams have done well academically, "We also expect and intend to excel on the field, and there, unfortunately, our results and progress have been disappointing."

The search for a new coach will begin immediately, White said, adding that he had a "short list" of candidates, none of whom he has contacted.

Big 2000 season

The Irish went 9-2 during the regular season last year, and Davie was rewarded with a five-year contract before an embarrassing loss to Oregon State in the Fiesta Bowl. The Irish started this season 0-3 for the first time in school history and finished 5-6.

"A year ago at this time, I believed that we had turned the corner under Bob, and that we were prepared to reclaim our traditional standing among the nation's elite college football programs," White said. "Today, I can no longer say that."

Davie said that after Notre Dame's Sept. 29 loss to Texas A&M, White threatened to fire him during the Nov. 10 bye week if things had not turned around. But Davie said White decided the next day to give him the rest of season to redeem himself.

"If Notre Dame thinks they can hire someone who can come in here and do a better job of winning games than I can, that's certainly their prerogative," Davie said.

Among those mentioned as potential successors to Davie have been three NFL coaches -- Oakland's Jon Gruden, San Francisco's Steve Mariucci and Jacksonville's Tom Coughlin. Oklahoma's Bob Stoops and Oregon's Mike Belotti have been among the college coaches mentioned.

Notre Dame's assistant coaches were told Sunday morning that the new coach would select his own staff, but that they would continue as university employees at least until a new coach is named.

Will honor contract

Notre Dame will honor the remainder of Davie's contract, White said, but declined to elaborate.

Davie leaves without leading the Irish to a top-10 finish in his five seasons. The Irish were ranked at the end of the season only twice under Davie -- No. 15 last season and No. 22 in 1998.

Davie was never fully embraced by the Notre Dame community after getting off to a tumultuous start.

The most devastating blow to Notre Dame's image came two years ago, when the university was placed on probation for the first time. It was the result of a relationship between Irish players and a former booster who embezzled more than $1.2 million from her employer and lavished the players with gifts, trips and money.