Dan Devine
Dan Devine (December 22, 1924 - May 9, 2002) was a football coach who served as head coach at three colleges and also served for four years as head coach of the Green Bay Packers from 1971 to 1974. During his final coaching stint, he led the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to the 1977 national championship.
Born in Augusta, Wisconsin, Devine and his eight siblings went to live with an aunt and uncle in Proctor, Minnesota. As a high school star at Proctor High School, Devine started at quarterback as a freshman and later became known as, "The Proctor Flash." He also competed in three other sports during his four years at the school.
Devine graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 1948 with a bachelor's degree in history, serving as team captain of both the baseball and football squads and playing as a 170-pound quarterback in the latter sport. His time at the school had begun in 1942, but was interrupted after his enlistment in the Army Air Corps during World War II. During this time, he became a flight officer working on B-29 planes.
Devine earned his first coaching job as head coach at East Jordan High School in Michigan, reaching his interview by a combination of bus travel and hitch-hiking. Following two undefeated seasons at the school, he accepted an assistant position at Michigan State in 1950 under legendary coach Clarence "Biggie" Munn. For the next five seasons, he helped the Spartans achive success, including winning a national championship in 1952.
On February 5, 1955, he accepted the head coaching position at Arizona State University, and joining him soon after was fellow Spartan assistant Frank Kush, who would have even greater success at the school after Devine's departure. During his three years with the Sun Devils, Devine compiled a record of 27-3-1, including a spotless 10-0 mark during his final campaign. In that last season, Devine's team led the nation in total offense and scoring, averaging just under 40 points per game in the latter category.
The end result was his hiring as head coach at the University of Missouri on December 18, 1957. At first, Devine was reluctant to accept the position, having traveled to Missouri in a plane that developed engine trouble. In addition, Devine had hot chocolate spilled on him by a stewardess during the flight, which arrived six hours late.
However, over the next 13 years, Devine would turn the once-dormant program into a consistently competitive school that finished with a Top 20 ranking nine times. His record of 92-38-7 during this span included four bowl game victories, with his winning percentage passing that of Don Faurot, the legendary coach who had preceded him.
After finishing 5-4-1 in his first year, Devine (with two years left on his contract) gained even more job security when a Missouri alumni group funded a $150,000 life insurance policy that covered him as long as he remained as head coach of the Tigers. The investment paid off as Missouri never lost more than three games over the next decade.
In 1960, the Tigers began the year unranked, but after shutting out Southern Methodist University, 20-0, in the season opener, moved up to 16th and continued to head upward in the weekly rankings. Following that win with eight straight victories, Missouri became the top-ranked team in the country following a 41-19 victory over the University of Oklahoma.
Needing only a victory over Kansas University to clinch a national championship, the Tigers (favored by a touchdown) instead were stunned in a 23-7 upset loss. After an Orange Bowl victory over Navy on January 1, 1961, Missouri finished the year ranked fifth. The team earned a small consolation when they were awarded the win against Kansas after the Jayhawks were penalized for using an ineligible player.
While never again reaching that level, Missouri maintained its strength throughout the 1960s, with Devine taking on the added duties of athletic director in 1967. During his three years in the latter role, he made a key hiring when he selected Norm Stewart to head the fortunes of the school's men's basketball squad.
After finishing 9-1 in 1969, Missouri faced Penn State University in the 1970 Orange Bowl. The Nittany Lions entered the game with a 28-game winning streak, and extended the string by intercepting seven Tiger passes in a 10-3 defensive battle.
After suffering his first losing season the following year, Devine departed on January 14, 1971 to accept the Packers' head coaching position. Devine, while acknowledging the pressure of the position, had the benefit of not following Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, unlike his predecessor, Phil Bengston, who had endured three years of lofty expectations.
Devine's four-year tenure in Green Bay got off to a painful start when he suffered a broken leg following a sideline collision in the season-opening 42-40 defeat to the New York Giants. After finishing 4-8-2 that season, Devine headed a brief resurgence that "The Pack is Back" by dethroning the four-time division champion Minnesota Vikings to reach the NFL playoffs for the first time in five years.
However, the next two consecutive losing seasons were marked by constant abuse from Packer fans, which included the killing of the family's dog. To make matters worse, Devine's wife developed multiple sclerosis. All these factors resulted in Devine leaving the Packers on December 16, 1974 to become the head coach at the University of Notre Dame.
Over the next six years, despite facing much of the same pressure he had endured in Green Bay, Devine compiled a 53-16-1 mark. His most lasting achievement came midway through this run, when the Fighting Irish won the 1977 national championship, a squad led by future Hall of Famer Joe Montana. Prior to that season's annual game against the University of Southern California on October 22, Devine changed the team's uniforms to bright green and gold, a status that would remain for the rest of his time at the school.
Following the 1980 season, he retired from coaching, moved back to Arizona, and became a fundraiser for Arizona State's Sun Devil Foundation. In 1985, he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, and then returned to his old school at Missouri seven years later to help navigate the school through financial troubles.
In 2000, Devine suffered a deep personal blow when his wife of 54 years passed away. His own health began to deteriorate in February 2002, when after undergoing heart surgery, he suffered a ruptured aorta. Three months later, he died at home.