My father covered Notre Dame football and basketball for Knight Ridder in the mid-1980s.
He told me that after Faust's first year in South Bend, the administration brought in Ara Parseghian to give him a daylong "come to Jesus" (sorry) lesson on how to prioritize his daily activities and focus on what was most important. He also told Gerry that he had several very talented players in the wrong skill positions.
During the first 2 hours of the meeting, Gerry got up and left the room no fewer than 10 times to speak with anyone who passed his office. He retained zero of what Ara shared with him during this brief period.
Ara cut the session short by several hours and told the AD that Faust was hopeless due to his total inability to focus. As it turned out, he was right.
Later, during his tenure in Akron, Gerry was a regular patron at Eddie Niam's Fighting Irish Parkette, a hole-in-the-wall restaurant owned by Ara's childhood friend. Anyone who accompanied Gerry for lunch soon learned to go ahead and order their food rather than wait for him to sit down. He habitually spent 20 minutes or more gladhanding before taking his seat.
Last Edited: 11/13/2024 10:46:01 AM by SBH