Former Notre Dame head coach, Ara Parseghian passed away today at the age of 94. Aside from winning two natty's at Notre Dame, Parseghian was a disciple of two Ohio State coaches, Paul Brown and Woody Hayes...

A native of Akron, Ohio, Parseghian was heavily influenced by Paul Brown, Sid Gillman and Woody Hayes, three of the game's greatest coaches. During his stint in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he was a fullback on the 1944 Great Lakes Naval Training Center team coached by Brown. After the war, he was Gillman's halfback for two years at Miami (Ohio) while also lettering in baseball and basketball. He then rejoined Brown with the Cleveland Browns, playing two seasons (1948-49) before his professional football career was cut short by a hip injury. He returned to his alma mater in 1950, serving as the freshman-team coach for Hayes.

A year later, at age 27, Parseghian was named Miami's head coach after Hayes departed for Ohio State. Parseghian posted a 39-6-1 record during five seasons at Miami. In 1956 he was charged with breathing life into a moribund Northwestern program that had fielded an 0-8-1 team the year before he arrived. As he would do at Notre Dame later, Parseghian worked wonders with the Wildcats. His 1962 team was ranked No. 1 in the nation for two weeks. In eight seasons at Northwestern, he went 36-35-1, including a 4-0 mark against Notre Dame, catching his future employer's attention.

Before Parseghian arrived in 1964, Notre Dame struggled through five consecutive seasons without a winning record. The 1963 team won just two games.

Over the decade that followed, the "Era of Ara" would secure a privileged place in the storied history of Notre Dame football. Parseghian led the Irish to national championships in 1966 and 1973, joining Frank Leahy (four) and Knute Rockne (three) as the only coaches in school history to win multiple titles.

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/20225019/notre-dame-coach-ara-parseghian-dies-94