Former Notre Dame coach Gerry Faust dies at 89, family releases statement
On Monday, the Notre Dame football program lost its former coach, Gerry Faust, who died at 89. Before joining Notre Dame, Faust coached the Archbishop Moeller High School for nearly two decades (1962–80). He played as a quarterback for Dayton Flyers' football program from 1955-57.
The Ohio native's family released a statement on the death of Faust:
“It is with tremendous sorrow that we announce the passing of Gerry Faust. (He was a) loving husband, father, grandfather and coach who dedicated his life to his family, his faith and the teams and players he coached.”
On the family front, Faust and his wife, Marlene Agruso, whom he married on April 4, 1964, are parents to three children and have six grandchildren.
During Gerry Faust's 18-year tenure at Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, he led the school to four High School Football National Championships and had an impressive 178–23–2 record.
However, Faust couldn't replicate that success with Notre Dame, recording two losing seasons (5-6 in 1981 and 1985). Moreover, the team only played two bowl games, a win in the 1983 Liberty Bowl and a loss in the 1984 Aloha Bowl. With a dwindling stay with Notre Dame, he announced that 1985 would be his last year as coach of Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame's last Heisman winner shares tribute to Gerry Faust
Tim Brown won the Heisman Trophy while playing for Notre Dame in 1987. This was also the program's last Heisman winner as the barren run continues. More importantly, if it were not for Gerry Faust, Brown might not have played for Notre Dame at all.
After hearing the news of Faust's death, Brown took to Twitter to share his tribute for his former coach.
"As I get older, I know these things are going to happen, but it doesn't make it any easier. Today, we lost the man that had the nerve to offer a kid a scholarship who was on a team that won 4 games in 3 years in high school. When no one else saw anything in me, he offered me a Scholarship. Gerry Faust! RIP coach! And l THANKS!!," he wrote on X.
After leaving Notre Dame, Gerry Faust joined the University of Akron and coached there from 1986 to 1994. He led the small budget program to mediocre 43–53–3.