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Gerry DiNardo

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Gerry DiNardo
Biographical details
Born(1952-11-10)November 10, 1952(age 71)
Brooklyn, New York,U.S.
Playing career
1972–1974Notre Dame
Position(s)Guard
Coaching career (HCunless noted)
1975–1976Maine(GA/ADL)
1977–1981Eastern Michigan(DL/OL)
1982Colorado(DL)
1983Colorado(OL)
1984–1990Colorado(OC)
1991–1994Vanderbilt
1995–1999LSU
2001Birmingham Thunderbolts
2002–2004Indiana
Head coaching record
Overall59–76–1 (college)
2–8 (XFL)
Bowls3–0
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
As coach:

As player:

Awards

Gerard Paul DiNardo(born November 10, 1952) is an American former collegefootballplayer and coach. He playedcollege footballas aguardfor theNotre Dame Fighting Irishwhere he was selected as anAll-American in 1974.DiNardo served as the head football coach atVanderbilt University(1991–1994),Louisiana State University(1995–1999), andIndiana University(2002–2004), compiling a career college football record of 59–76–1. In 2001, he was the head coach of theBirmingham Thunderboltsof theXFL.

Playing career

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DiNardo went to college at theUniversity of Notre Dame,where he played guard from 1972 to 1974 for coachAra Parseghian.DiNardo was a member of the school's1973 national championship team,and an All-American in 1974.[1]Incidentally, DiNardo honed his blocking skills againstRudy Ruettiger,a member of the scout team during DiNardo's time at Notre Dame. The football movieRudywas based on Ruettiger's life. DiNardo's older brother,Larry,was also an All-American at Notre Dame, playing from 1968 to 1970.

Coaching career

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DiNardo began his coaching career at theUniversity of Mainein 1975. From 1977 to 1981, he was an assistant atEastern Michigan University.In 1982, he joined the coaching staff at theUniversity of Coloradounder head coachBill McCartney.DiNardo was theoffensive coordinatorwhenColoradowon thenational championshipin 1990.[2]The Buffaloes' offensive line coach from 1982 through 1986 wasLes Miles,who was LSU's head coach from 2005 to 2016.

Vanderbilt

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In December 1990, DiNardo took the head coach job atVanderbilt University,starting in the 1991 season.[2]During 1988, 1989, and 1990, Vanderbilt finished 3–8, 1–10, and 1–10. DiNardo took over and went 5–6, 4–7, 5–6, and 5–6 from 1991 to 1994.[3]DiNardo's two biggest wins were when he led theCommodoresto victory over No. 17Georgiaon October 19, 1991, and No. 25Ole Misson September 19, 1992.

LSU

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On December 12, 1994, DiNardo left Vanderbilt and took the head coach position atLSU.[4]He took over a program that had six straight losing seasons and that had not been ranked in theAP Pollsince 1989.

DiNardo promised "to bring back the magic", and for his first three seasons, he had considerable success, including a victory in the1996 Peach Bowl.[5]As the team's fortunes improved,[6]DiNardo brought back the tradition of wearing white jerseys during home games.[7]

In his first season at LSU in 1995, the Tigers opened with a loss at No. 3Texas A&Mon September 2, 1995. However, during LSU's first home game on September 16, 1995, DiNardo led LSU to a 12–6 upset victory over No. 5Auburn,[8][9]a game which went down to the last play.[10]Following the victory, LSU spent the next three weeks in the AP Poll before losing to No. 3Floridaon October 7, 1995. LSU's next losses were to unrankedKentuckyon October 14, 1995, and No. 16Alabamaon November 4, 1995. LSU finished the season by beating No. 14Arkansason November 18, 1995. The Tigers then went to theIndependence Bowl,where they beat unrankedMichigan State,45–26,[8][9]coached byNick Saban,who would go on to replace DiNardo at LSU in 1999.

In 1996, LSU began the season with a preseason ranking of No. 19. After LSU defeated No. 14 Auburn, the Tigers lost to No. 1Florida,and No. 10Alabama,finishing the regular season at 9–2. LSU went to the Peach Bowl where they beat unrankedClemson,by a score of 10–7. LSU finished the season ranked No. 12.[11]

In 1997, LSU started the season with a preseason ranking of No. 10. After losing to No. 12 Auburn, LSU faced off against No. 1FloridaatTiger Stadium.[8][12]LSU upset the Gators, 28–21, on October 11,[8]making the cover ofSports Illustrated.[13]The next week LSU lost to unranked Ole Miss. LSU's only other loss of the season was to unrankedNotre Dameon November 15, which the Tigers avenged by beating the Fighting Irish, 27–9, in a rematch in theIndependence Bowl.LSU finished the season ranked No. 13.[8][12]

In 1998, LSU started the season with a preseason ranking of No. 9. They climbed to No. 6 before losing to No. 12Georgiaon October 3. The next week the No. 11-ranked Tigers lost to the No. 6Florida.After the defeat by the Gators, LSU dropped 13 of the next 17 games, including losses to a No. 10Notre Dameand No. 13Arkansaslater in the 1998 season.[8][14]In 1999 LSU lost to No. 10Georgia,No. 8Florida,No. 12Mississippi State,No. 25 Ole Miss, and No. 12Alabama.[15]

On November 15, 1999, two days after the Tigers lost to unrankedHoustonat home, LSU chancellorMark Emmertfired DiNardo with one game remaining in the season. DiNardo was given the option to coach the final game of the season against Arkansas, but DiNardo declined.[16]Instead, offensive line coachHal Hunterwas named interim coach, leading LSU to a 35–10 victory over the Razorbacks.

The 1999 season was the last season in which LSU did not participate in a bowl game until 2020. The Tigers recorded 20 consecutive winning seasons since underNick Saban,Les Miles,andEd Orgeronbetween 2000 and 2019, and did not finish with a losing record until 2021.

Saban, then in his fifth season atMichigan State,was named as DiNardo's replacement on November 30. Saban guided the Tigers to a Southeastern Conference title in 2001 and theBCSnational championship in 2003 before leaving LSU for theNational Football League'sMiami Dolphinsin January 2005.

XFL

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DiNardo's next head coaching job was in the ill-fatedXFLin 2001.[17]He was the coach of theBirmingham Thunderbolts,which posted the league's worst record at 2–8. The league folded after one season.

Indiana

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After the XFL folded, DiNardo moved on to become head coach of theIndiana Hoosiersin 2002. He was largely unsuccessful in theBig Ten Conference,never winning more than three games in a season, and was fired after the 2004 season.[18]

Post-coaching career

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Starting in 2005, DiNardo worked as acollege footballanalyst forESPNand could be heard weekly as part ofCollege GameDay.He currently works as a studio analyst for theBig Ten Networkand college football expert forWSCR'sBoers and Bernsteinradio show in Chicago.

DiNardo also owned DeAngelo's Italian Restaurant inBloomington, Indiana.

Family

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DiNardo was born inHoward Beach, Queens.He is the youngest son of Pasquale Richard DiNardo and Maria Inez DiNardo and has three brothers, John, Robert, and Lawrence. He currently lives inChicago, Illinoiswith his wife, Terri. He has two children, Kate and Michael.

Head coaching record

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College

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Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs Coaches# AP°
Vanderbilt Commodores(Southeastern Conference)(1991–1994)
1991 Vanderbilt 5–6 3–4 T–6th
1992 Vanderbilt 4–7 2–6 T–5th(Eastern)
1993 Vanderbilt 5–6 2–6 T–5th(Eastern)
1994 Vanderbilt 5–6 2–6 5th(Eastern)
Vanderbilt: 19–25 9–22
LSU Tigers(Southeastern Conference)(1995–1999)
1995 LSU 7–4–1 4–3–1 4th(Western) WIndependence 25
1996 LSU 10–2 6–2 T–1st(Western) WPeach 13 12
1997 LSU 9–3 6–2 T–1st(Western) WIndependence 13 13
1998 LSU 4–7 2–6 5th(Western)
1999 LSU 2–8[n 1] 0–7[n 1] (Western)[n 1]
LSU: 32–24–1 18–20–1
Indiana Hoosiers(Big Ten Conference)(2002–2004)
2002 Indiana 3–9 1–7 T–10th
2003 Indiana 2–10 1–7 T–9th
2004 Indiana 3–8 1–7 T–10th
Indiana: 8–27 3–21
Total: 59–76–1
National championshipConference titleConference division title or championship game berth

XFL

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Team Year Regular season Postseason
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
BIR 2001 2 8 0 .200 4th in Eastern Division did not qualify
Total 2 8 0 .200 0 0 .000

Notes

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  1. ^abcDiNardo was fired after the first ten games of the 1999 season.Hal Hunterserved as interim head coach for the final game of the season. LSU finished the year with an overall record of 3–8 and a mark of 1–7 in conference play, placing last out of six teams in the Western Division of theSoutheastern Conference(SEC).

References

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  1. ^"72 Gerry DiNardo".University of Notre Dame.RetrievedAugust 13,2010.
  2. ^abLatt, Skip (December 3, 1990)."Vandy goes to Colorado for coach".Kentucky New Era.Associated Press.RetrievedAugust 13,2010.
  3. ^ESPN College Football Encyclopedia.New York City: ESPN Books. 2005. p. 953.ISBN1-4013-3703-1.
  4. ^"Sports People: College Football; DiNardo Moves From Vanderbilt to L.S.U."The New York Times.Associated Press. December 12, 1994.RetrievedAugust 13,2010.
  5. ^Chet Hilburn,The Mystique of Tiger Stadium: 25 Greatest Games: The Ascension of LSU Football(Bloomington, Indiana:WestBow Press, 2012), p. 81
  6. ^Layden, Tim (August 31, 1998)."10 Lsu".Sports Illustrated.Archived fromthe originalon November 2, 2012.RetrievedAugust 13,2010.
  7. ^"Tigers to wear white in BCS Title Game".Scout.com. December 18, 2007.RetrievedAugust 13,2010.
  8. ^abcdefESPN College Football Encyclopedia,p. 425.
  9. ^abESPN College Football Encyclopedia,pp. 1392–93.
  10. ^"College Football – LSU's Defense Hangs On to Nix No. 5 Auburn – SEC: End zone interception by Twillie on last play of game provides the upset at Baton Rouge".Los Angeles Times.Associated Press. September 17, 1995.RetrievedAugust 13,2010.
  11. ^ESPN College Football Encyclopedia,pp. 1396–97.
  12. ^abESPN College Football Encyclopedia,pp. 1400–01.
  13. ^"Kevin Faulk".Sports Illustrated.October 20, 1997. Archived fromthe originalon September 10, 2009.RetrievedAugust 13,2010.
  14. ^ESPN College Football Encyclopedia,pp. 1404–05.
  15. ^ESPN College Football Encyclopedia,pp. 1408–09.
  16. ^"DiNardo gets sent packing".Gadsden Times.Associated Press. November 16, 1999.RetrievedAugust 13,2010– via Google News.
  17. ^2001 Birmingham Thunderbolts Media Guide.XFL.
  18. ^Brown, C. L. (December 1, 2004)."Indiana gives DiNardo the pink slip".USA Today.The Louisville Courier Journal.RetrievedAugust 13,2010.
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