Gerry DiNardo

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Gerry DiNardo (born November 10, 1952) is a former All-American guard at the University of Notre Dame, and also a former college football and XFL head coach.

Contents 1 Playing Career 2 Coaching Career 2.1 Vanderbilt 2.2 LSU 2.3 XFL 2.4 Indiana 3 Post-coaching career

[edit] Playing Career

DiNardo went to college at the University of Notre Dame, where he played guard from 1972 to 1974 for coach Ara Parseghian. DiNardo was a member of the school's 1973 national championship team, and an all-American in 1974. DiNardo's older brother, Larry, was also an all-American at Notre Dame from 1968-70.

[edit] Coaching Career

In 1982, DiNardo joined the coaching staff at the University of Colorado under head coach Bill McCartney. DiNardo was the offensive coordinator when Colorado won the national championship in 1990.

[edit] Vanderbilt

In 1991, DiNardo took the head coach job at Vanderbilt University. During 1988, 1989, and 1990, Vanderbilt finished 3-8, 1-10, and 1-10. Then DiNardo took over and went 5-6, 4-7, 4-7, and 5-6. DiNardo's two biggest wins were when he led the Commodores to victory over #17 Georgia (10/19/91) and #25 Ole Miss (9/19/92).

[edit] LSU

After 1994 DiNardo left Vanderbilt and took the head coach position at LSU. He took over a program that had six straight losing seasons and that hadn't been ranked in the AP Top 25 since 1989. DiNardo revived LSU football; bringing back the tradition of wearing white jerseys during home games and restoring LSU's reputation as an SEC powerhouse.

In his first season at LSU in 1995 the Tigers opened with a loss at #3 Texas A&M (9/2/95). However, during LSU's first home game (9/16/95) DiNardo led LSU to a 12-6 upset victory over #6 Auburn, a game which went down to the last play. As a result of the victory, LSU spent the next 3 weeks in the AP Top 25 before losing to #3 Florida (10/7/95). LSU's next losses were to unranked Kentucky (10/14/95) and #16 Alabama (11/4/95). LSU finished the season by beating #14 Arkansas (11/18/95). The Tigers then went to the Independence Bowl, where they beat unranked Michigan State 45-26.

In 1996, LSU began the season with a preseason ranking of #19. After LSU defeated #13 Auburn (9/21/96), the Tigers lost to #1 Florida (10/12/96) and #10 Alabama (11/9/96), finishing the regular season at 9-2. LSU went to the Peach Bowl where they beat unranked Clemson. LSU finished the season ranked #12.

In 1997, LSU started the season with a preseason ranking of #10. After losing to #12 Auburn (9/20/97) LSU faced off against #1 Florida in Tiger Stadium. LSU upset the Gators 28-21 (10/11/97), making the cover of Sports Illustrated in the process. The next week LSU lost to unranked Ole Miss (10/18/97). LSU's only other loss of the season was to unranked Notre Dame (11/15/97), which the Tigers avenged by beating Notre Dame 27-9 in a rematch in the 1997 Independence Bowl. LSU finished the season ranked #13.

In 1998, LSU started the season with a preseason ranking of #9. They climbed to #6 before losing to #12 Georgia (10/3/98). The next week the #11-ranked Tigers lost to the #6 Florida (10/10/98). After the the Gator loss LSU went into a tail-spin, losing 13 of the next 17 games, including losses to a #10 Notre Dame (11/21/98), #13 Arkansas (11/27/98), #10 Georgia (10/2/99), #8 Florida (10/9/99), #12 Mississippi State (10/23/99), #25 Ole Miss (10/31/99), and #12 Alabama (11/6/99).

On November 15, 1999, two days after the Tigers lost to unranked Houston in Tiger Stadium, LSU chancellor Mark Emmert fired DiNardo with one game remaining in the season. DiNardo was given the option to coach the game against Arkansas (the Battle for the Golden Boot), but DiNardo declined. Instead, offensive line coach Hal Hunter was named interim coach, leading LSU to a 35-10 victory over the Razorbacks.

Ironically, DiNardo's firing came five years to the day after the termination of his predecessor at LSU, Curley Hallman. Nick Saban was named as DiNardo's replacement on November 30, 1999, and guided the Tigers to the 2001 SEC championship with many of DiNardo's recruits in the starting lineup.

[edit] XFL

DiNardo's next head coaching job was in the ill-fated XFL in 2001. He was the coach of the Birmingham Thunderbolts. The league folded after one season.

[edit] Indiana

After the XFL folded, DiNardo moved on to become head coach at Indiana University in 2002. He was largely unsuccessful in the Big Ten Conference, never winning more than 3 games in a season and was fired after the 2004 season.

[edit] Post-coaching career

Since 2005, DiNardo has worked as a college football analyst for ESPN Radio, ESPN News, and can be heard weekly as part of the College GameDay crew along with Dave Revsine and Todd McShay. Also, DiNardo owns an franchised restaurant in Bloomington, Indiana named DeAngelo's. The restaurant is known for their calzones and pizzas as well their pasta dishes. DiNardo previously owned and operated an Italian restaurant in Baton Rouge.

Preceded by Watson Brown	Vanderbilt University Head Football Coach 1991-1994	Succeeded by Rod Dowhower
Preceded by Curley Hallman	Louisiana State University Head Football Coach 1995-1999 (first 10 games)	Succeeded by Hal Hunter (interim)/Nick Saban
Preceded by Cam Cameron	Indiana University Head Football Coach 2002-2004	Succeeded by Terry Hoeppner