Matt Ryan and Tom Brady the nowhere men after defeats to 49ers, Ravens

New England Patriot's QB Tom Brady (Photo:Globe)

End of the line for Tom Brady in Super Bowl appearances?

At one point it appeared likely that the two greatest Irish American quarterbacks of their generation, Matt Ryan of the Falcons and Tom Brady of the Patriots, would meet in Super Bowl 47.

That was when the Falcons had jumped out to a 17 point lead against the 49ers and looked to be cruising.
Meanwhile Brady’s Patriots were favored to defeat the Ravens at home, leaving a mouth watering clash of two great quarterbacks as the story of the Super Bowl.

It was not to be. The 49ers, despite being 1-27 in games where they trailed by 17 points, staged a magnificent comeback, helped, it has to be said, by two huge blunders by Ryan, one an interception, the other when he bobbled a snap and San Francisco got the ball.

Still we thought, Tom Brady will surely do the necessary at home against the Ravens who lacked the kind of explosive offense that usually gets teams to Super Bowls.

Not to be however, as Brady fell asleep in the second half and the Ravens had 21 unanswered points.
The demise of the two quarterbacks raises important questions about their future.

Legend though he is, the chances of Tom Brady making it back to the Super Bowl grow dimmer with each passing year.

He has become one of those quarterbacks who looks good in the regular season but fails to shine in the playoffs.

The same could be said of Ryan, who had a spectacular regular season but made critical mistakes in the play off game today.

At least Ryan has youth on his side and Atlanta will have learned a lot this year.

Brady on the other hand is reaching the point where his skills will inevitably decline. We may have seen the last of Tom Brady ever making it to a Super Bowl.

Ryan has a shot but he needs that clutch Brady ability which the New England quarterback had at his height.
Both men will be watching from home this year -- a huge blow for them.

Truth be told the future looks a lot less bright for them both after yesterday’s results.

Say it ain’t so Brian -- Coach Kelly set for Philadelphia Eagles? -- Met with Eagles brass after Notre Dame championship game

Notre Dame's Brian Kelly is interviewing with the Philly Eagles
(Photo: USA Today)

Say it ain’t so Brian Kelly!

Just days after losing the BSC Championship game to Alabama ESPN reported that Kelly had met with the Philadelphia Eagles about the head coaching job.

You know that “The Scream” painting by Edvard Munch? That’s how we Notre Dame fans feel right now.

After a quarter century in the wilderness it looked like we were on our way back to the big time.

Sure ‘Bama beat us, but 12-0 was nothing to sneeze at and making the national title game was extraordinary.

And now this.

Kelly will do what Kelly has to do, but it surely cannot be about money as Notre Dame would surely match any offer from Philly.

He has never coached a day as a pro and would be taking an enormous gamble.

But we do know that Kelly is a winner and the Eagles desperately need a winner.

We know too the pressure on a Notre Dame coach is like nothing else in football. Lou Holtz gave it up because he was so exhausted.

Read more: Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly attracting interest from pro NFL teams

Kelly after three years might be feeling the same way.

Or he might just be parlaying his position to get a better financial deal.

Whatever it is it is bad news for the Irish.

Recruits in the pipeline will hold off until it is clear what the deal is.

Confidence in the football program will be shaken until Kelly’s future becomes clear.

He’s on a vacation outside the country.

Hey, it is a business first and foremost and Kelly and Notre Dame know that.

But having resurrected the Irish football program, Kelly was on his way to sainthood around South Bend.

Now there may be as many brickbats as bouquets heading his way.

Sad that.

Read more: Notre Dame support is a search for family and common roots for millions

Brian Kelly confident Notre Dame’s Everett Golson can come through in the clutch

Everett Golson

Coach Brian Kelly has no doubt that Everett Golson will rise to the occasion in Miami in he BCS bowl game.

"The kid started three or four games that were on national television and in pretty hostile environments," Kelly said, reports the Times Free Press. "He started at USC, at Oklahoma and at Michigan State, so he's got enough seasoning. I would be very, very surprised if he can't handle the moment."

"Once he gets into the flow of the game and you start seeing him smile a little bit, I think everyone who watches him knows that's when he plays his best."

"I think once he knew after the Oklahoma game that he was the guy, the confidence level and the trust builds and builds and builds," Kelly said. "I think that's why I'm confident that the moment won't be too big for him, because he knows that we've got 100 percent confidence and trust in him that he can go in and win us a national championship."

Alabama think they can take away the running game and force Golson to throw.

"We want to take away the run and make them one-dimensional," Crimson Tide safety Robert Lester said. "If we can take away the run and force them to put the ball in the air, it gives us more chances to make plays on the ball and gives more chances for them to make mistakes."

Kelly agreed they will have to throw the football: "We're going to have to throw the football. We're going to have to find some big-chunk plays. He is going to have to be integral in that. He knows that, we know that, and I think Alabama knows that, too."

"This season has been the definition of a growing process," Golson said. "To come in inexperienced and having to go through the trials and that adversity -- at the end of the day, if you're tried like that, that's what makes great players great. You have to be tried."

"I think once he knew after the Oklahoma game that he was the guy, the confidence level and the trust builds and builds and builds," Kelly said. "I think that's why I'm confident that the moment won't be too big for him, because he knows that we've got 100 percent confidence and trust in him that he can go in and win us a national championship."

"I think I'm very confident with myself and my teammates," Golson said. "We've always kind of been the underdogs, but we've worked our way up from the bottom and have shown great resilience."

Notre Dame actually played a tougher schedule than Alabama -- More reason to believe an upset is on the cards in Miami

Contrary to popular belief Notre Dame had a tougher schedule than Alabama which makes them an even better prospect to beat the spread on January 8th in Florida.

And they went unbeaten unlike the Tide who lost to Texas A&M.

In an excellent article in CSN Chicago J.J. Stankevitz notes that the Irish schedule was definitely tougher as they played fewer patsies, only Boston College and Wake Forest ranked 122nd and 117th respectively.(Wow how BC have fallen)

Alabama on the other hand beat up on Western Kentucky (No. 80), Florida Atlantic (No. 131), Western Carolina (No. 199) and  Auburn (No. 83). Alabama played four top-20 opponents in Texas A&M (No. 6, and a loss), Georgia (No. 7), at LSU (No. 11) and Michigan (No. 20).

On the other hand Notre Dame beat No. 8 Stanford, No. 34 BYU, and No. 9 Oklahoma to give them an edge considering Alabama lost to A&M.

Little wonder then that Jeff Sagarin's strength of schedule rankings placed  Notre Dame at No. 31 and Alabama at No. 34.

All of which points to a greater potential of an Irish upset of the Tide when the sides meet in Miami
Now that would be cool!

Rex Ryan must go and take his New York Jets dog and pony show with him

New York Jets' Rex Ryan

The New York Jets need to fire Rex Ryan and soon if they are to have any chance of a successful franchise in the future.

Ryan has created a media circus with his dog and pony show in New York.

The last straw was the abysmal performance of his team losing to Tennessee last night in possibly the worst game of football ever played.

Ryan ruined the Jets from the start this season with his massive ego and media neediness overshadowing everything else about the team.

The Tim Tebow show was great for the peanut gallery but terrible for a team that desperately needed to settle down after last year’s terrible performance.

Ryan shook the confidence that was fragile to begin with of Mark Sanchez and Sanchez has come apart this season.

Against Tennessee he was plain dreadful and his future in the NFL, despite his contract, must be in severe doubt.

Ryan was successful the first two years at the Jets but he has very few new tricks after that and teams soon had his measure.

The Jets need to start over and owner Woody Johnson is a big time loser too. He spent most of this year campaigning for Mitt Romney and that didn’t work out too good either.

The Jets need new blood. It is the same old Jets under Ryan, the same old franchise that never gets it right.

Time for a fresh start.

Read more Irish sports stories here

Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly polishes Notre Dame helmets -- Lost bet over USC game and forced to clean helmets of Irish players

Sports Illustrated top columnist Rick Reilly patching up Notre Dame helmets

Legendary Sports Illustrated top columnist Rick Reilly was forced to admit he has been wrong about Notre Dame football all year-- and he has the polished helmets to prove it.

Reilly told his twitter feed that he would polish every helmet at Notre Dame if they defeated USC in their final game.

They did; 22-13.

So last week Reilly was forced to fly to South Bend and polish, or rather patch as it is these days, every helmet in the place.

Before the season started Reilly had said Notre Dame had no chance of competing.

Reilly admitted that the USC prediction was not the only reason he had to eat humble pie.

“It was a column I'd written just before the season insisting Notre Dame's reputation far outkicked its performance ("it hasn't been a factor in almost 20 years,") and how Notre Dame gets far more hype and perks than it deserves ("Somebody needs to stick a pin in the still-inflated Golden Dome") and how Notre Dame should save itself the weekly NBC embarrassment ("Do the right thing and don't renew").

Oops.

They wound up 12-0, No. 1 in the nation, and will now play Alabama in the BCS title game Jan. 7 in Miami.”

When he got to Notre Dame’s equipment room a bunch of players were waiting, chanting "EXTRA SHINY!"

For the next three hours Reilly patched the helmets carefully.

“Turns out they don't polish the helmets at Notre Dame anymore. They patch them. They switched last October to a new kind of textured graphic helmet that's so shiny they look like miniature Golden Domes.
When they get a gouge in them, you don't paint them, you apply a sticky gold bandage over it, the way you would on the skinned knee of a Trump,” he wrote.

He said in the end it was a honor. “This team will never be forgotten at Notre Dame, and saying that at a school with 11 national championships is a mouthful. Imagine: They went from unranked to No. 1 and finished up beating USC, a team that went from No. 1 to unranked.”

Wonder what he will have to do when they beat Alabama?

Johnny Football got the Heisman and Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o got the shaft -- How on earth did Heisman voters pick Manziel over Notre Dame legend?

Johnny Manziel

So Johnny Football got the Heisman and Manti Te’o got the shaft.

That is the upshot of the most tarnished Heisman Trophy award in some time.

We have a kid arrested for a fight bordering on a racial incident against a kid who reflects the best values that America holds dear.

We had a kid who had a brilliant but possible flash in the pan season against a kid who has exemplified for years what it means to be a great college football player and human being.

We have a kid with a flashy nickname, Johnny Football, against a kid who just put his head down and worked hard and proved an inspiration after losing two of the people closest to him.

We had a kid who led a team of no hopers to a national championship battle against a kid who had one big victory over Alabama all season.

So here is why Johnny Manziel won the Heisman, his highlight reel looked better and he had a cute nickname.

Memo to voters ---highlight reels always look better when you are a quarterback as against a linebacker. And cute nicknames only go so far.

Unfortunately, in the flash and glitter and twitter world we live in a solid performance, inspiration and teamwork counts for little when you can watch a guy with a cute nickname avoid the sack against  big ‘ol ‘Bama.

Coach Kelly of Notre Dame is right, the Heisman is a joke after picking Manziel as against Te’o.

What will be fascinating to watch is how this plays out over time. Te’o will be a first round pick and a linebacker legend.

Manziel will leave for the pros next year and what then? I predict a Matt Leinart-tye stellar career once they figure out how to contain him ...

So let’s hear it for those Heisman voters.

Stupid is as stupid does and they just showed what dumb jock strap sniffers they really are.

Greg McElroy may save Jets Rex Ryan's job after dumping Sanchez

Greg McElroy

 Jets coach Rex Ryan finally used some brain cells and pulled his franchise quarterback Mark Sanchez who had begun to resemble Bozo the clown.

It sometimes feels like Ryan has shed brain cells as well as pounds this season given his knuckleheaded devotion to Sanchez who is quite simply out of his league.

Ryan finally figured his future was zero with the Jets with a zero at quarterback and he called on McElroy the former Alabama starter.

Irish American McElroy got the nod after Tim Tebow failed to suit up because of a rib injury. It was Tebow’s bad karma to be injured when his opportunity struck and McElroy’s good luck

McElroy finally gave the excitement-starved Jets fan something to cheer for when he led a scoring drive half the length of the field.

When McElroy trotted on the field it was the end of the Sanchez era bar the shouting, the hopes of the Franchise ending in typical Jets style with another failure.

Not since Joe Namath have the Jets had a great quarterback, hell they have hardly had a decent quarterback since.

We had the Tim Tebow dog and pony show this year just to distract the Jets further.

But now comes McElroy and indeed the victory for the Jets makes him the automatic starter unless Ryan really wants to commit professional suicide.

The Jets have finally lost the albatross called Sanchez. Maybe now they can fly with McElroy.

Notre Dame football naysayers looking very foolish now -- Brian Kelly proves academic excellence and football can mix

Brian Kelly

All those naysayers who thought Notre Dame would never compete for a national championship again can sit down now.

A win over USC puts Notre Dame in the national championship game, likely against Alabama, an unheard of possibility at the start of the year.

The AP and BCS rankings this week make sweet reading for the Fighting Irish boosters who never gave up.
Yes, there have been the wilderness years with the likes of Bob Davie and Tyrone Willingham.

But to counter that there has always been the amazing tradition and echoes just waiting to be re-awakened.
And now they have.

Most detractors insisted that the academic standards at Notre Dame had ensured that top players would always skip the South Bend campus trip.

Yes, Notre Dame graduates an incredible 96 per cent of their football students, the top rank in college football.

Alabama, by contrast, graduates just 75 per cent.

But Coach Brian Kelly was undaunted by the challenge that drafting intelligent footballers represented in the eyes of many.

“I have not seen anything here in my time that will not allow us to continue to have the highest graduation rate and compete for a national championship, and I’ve been doing it 22 years. So I think I know what it looks like if you couldn’t do it,” he said.
Amen to that.

Notre Dame still need to beat USC for a BCS title shot - BCS heaven awaits if they can win in Los Angeles!

Notre Dame in BCS heaven? who would have thought it at the start of this season. For the first time since the Lou Holtz era in 1993 Notre Dame are Number 1.

But wait! there is one game to go and its against the dreaded USC so let us not count any chickens here.

Maybe it was the Sports Illustrated cover jinx but Kansas State played like they were snakebitten against Baylor.

And Stanford handed Oregon a dramatic defeat meaning that Alabama are the most likely rivals for Notre Dame for the BCS game.

Notre Dame has a clear shot at the BCS title game if the Irish can defeat USC next week.

That is a big if, especially in Los Angeles against a team that will be fired up like never before to deny the Fighting Irish.

Chip Kelly against Brian Kelly, the two New England Irishmen facing off against each other would have been a sportswriter’s dream --- green and gold against the green and gold.

A season that started with success in Dublin has ended in glory for the Irish.

Oregon lost against Stanford and Notre Dame’s luckiest escape this season
was against Stanford.

The Irish need not fear anyone the Irish defense is the best in football.

But first there is USC!

Notre Dame chances of national championship game soar - Alabama defeat leaves Irish in the argument for BSC game

Notre Dame

The chances of The Fighting Irish playing for a national championship have improved dramatically after Alabama went down to Texas A&M at home.

The Alabama shocker means that the Irish may play for the national championship for the first time since the Lou Holtz era in 1988.

Coupled with Notre Dame’s facile victory over Boston College the Irish are now definitely at Number 3 at least and possibly in the top two.

It is an extraordinary outcome for a team that was given little chance of cracking the Top 10 before the season started.

But there are still two obstacles to overcome. Wake Forest at home should be a relatively easy victory but USC in the Los Angeles Coliseum will be a real test.

The Irish/USC rivalry is among the most famous in college football and nothing would suit the Trojans more than to upend Notre Dame’s perfect season.

If the Irish manage to overcome that however, they will be in the final shakeup for a national title game—something absolutely no one predicted at the beginning of the season.

Against Boston College, Notre Dame appeared to play on automatic in the second half after a 21-3 half time lead. This team is plainly able to lift their game sufficiently depending on their rival. The BC game in previous years has often been a heartbreaker for the Irish but like everything hers this year they have learnt to do enough for victory.

Manti T’eo‘s interception will have done him no harm in the Heisman chase and he is surely moving up in the ranking.

A week of living dangerously for Notre Dame ends in Pitt win - Miracles are truly happening at the Golden Dome in 2012

Notre Dame v Pitt

Notre Dame's victory over Pitt was the stuff of miracles and Touchdown Jesus must have been working overtime to bring about the most unlikely comeback.

This 2012 team truly has the karma.

They won the game in triple overtime but only after Pitt had missed a chip shot to win the game in double overtime.

A team of destiny? Much as I hate that title I found myself thinking it as the chip shot went wide and Notre Dame lived to fight again.

On the 3rd OT Everett Golson was soon buzzing like that busy bee he is on his best moments probing, flitting, looking, running for first downs.

It was fitting that he sneaked in from the one yard line for the winning score and that Coach Kelly gave him the game ball-- he deserve both.

Pitt will wonder how they lost this game entering the final quarter with a 20-6 lead and outplaying the Irish.

But this year miracles are happening at the Golden Dome and the Pitt win might be the biggest one of all this year.

Clearly the Irish were flat off the massive Sooners victory last week and yet somehow as they have all season they found a way to survive,

They say the mark of great team is its ability to play badly and still win-see Alabama against LSU last night.

The Irish did that against Pitt and should make short work of B.C and Wake Forest before the titanic clash with USC.

It is a prospect to look forward to.

Notre Dame victory over Oklahoma the biggest win ever for Coach Brian Kelly

Notre Dame wins victory against Oklahoma

Notre Dame’s extraordinary 30-20 victory over Oklahoma gives them a real shot at a national title game. This wasn’t just a win - it was a rout against the No. 8 team in the country who were one of the favorites going into the seasons to make the national championship game.

“Folks, let me say it loud and clear Notre Dame is relevant again” said Brent Musberger on ABC and ESPN.

Are they ever! The victory against Oklahoma was a landmark wins, the greatest under Brian Kelly. All the great Notre Dame coaches have taken at least three seasons to settle in. Kelly is proving in his third year that he is the real deal.

Even Notre Dame fanatics were fearful of the Sooners game given the fact that they are usually such a powerful force at home. Incredible now to think that until this year there were some who wanted Kelly replaced because the team had not broken out the past two seasons.

Coming in the 7-0 record was being criticized as achieved against an easy schedule. Michigan. Michigan State and Stanford easy? Hardly. But the Sooners game was really the acid test, playing in hostile territory against one of the great teams in college football.

Manti T’eo must surely have increased his chances of the Heisman Trophy given that once again he made the pivotal play of the game, intercepting a Landry Jones pass. That interception left the Irish two scores ahead with under 3 minutes to play. A famous night, a famous victory and Brian Kelly can say he has answered his critics and joined the legends. .

Romney and Paul Ryan split on Fighting Irish football game -- BYU and Notre Dame families backed different sides on Saturday

Mitt Romney and Paul split on BYU v Nortre Dame game

Finally, a wedge issue that caused a split on the Republican ticket on Saturday.

Paul Ryan’s family and Mitt Romney’s family attended the Notre Dame BYU game and cheered for different teams.

“This is probably maybe the only wedge issue between the Romneys and Ryans,” Tobin Ryan told ABC News in a phone interview.

Two of Mitt Romney’s sons, Craig and Tagg, are BYU fans and Tobin Ryan, Paul’s older brother, is a Notre Dame alum and big fan. Tobin’s older brother, Stan, also attended Notre Dame and graduated in 1984.

Tobin Ryan, who graduated from Notre Dame in 1987, gave the Romneys a tour of Notre Dame stopping at the grotto and the Basilica.

They then both attended a fundraiser for Romney/Ryan in downtown South Bend and the families sat together at the game.

Notre Dame national championship a real possibility

Notre Dame

Forget Catholics versus convicts.

Notre Dame's blowout against Miami was more Godzilla versus Mickey Mouse as the Irish steamrolled to a very impressive victory.

Suddenly the sky is the limit for this Irish team and the pre season jitters about a very tough schedule are suddenly fading away. Stanford? Not the powerhouse we feared. Oklahoma? ditto? USC ditto.

The prospect of competing for a national championship, especially if Stanford are defeated next week is truly amazing.

Pre-season we would have settled for  decent bowl game-- 8-4 maybe.

But with Golson blooming last night, Manti majestic as always and a running game that Woody Hayes would have been proud of as it crashed and battered a dreadful Miami defense, this Notre Dame team is for real.
Kelly has them playing out of their skins but Bob  Diaco has produced a defense that is truly fearsome out of thin air

Remember the fears about the secondary?

Well three minutes into last night's game that seemed a real possibility as Miami seemed ready to shred that defense.

Only dropped passes prevented an early Miami lead.

But Diaco and his merry men adjusted and held the potent offense to a mere field goal. It was no contest after that.

Notre Dame is for real and, incredibly,  a national championship is a real possibility.

Irish coach Brian Kelly needs to replace starting quarterback Golson - Tommy Rees a far better choice despite Kelly’s desire to stick with Golson

Everett Golson

It is hard to believe that Brian Kelly still seems determined to start Everett Golson at quarterback and leave Tommy Rees on the bench after the Michigan victory.

Kelly told NBC right after the 14 to 7 victory that Golson was his starter despite now having pulled him twice in four games because he was ineffective.

In comparison Rees has done nothing wrong whatsoever, setting up the winning field goal against Purdue and reviving a moribund Irish offense, which had looked out of synch with Golson running it.

Golson has yet to show that explosive Denard Robinson running ability we were told he had. He has yet to show he can master a spread offense, and he has yet to show that he can be calm and cool under pressure.

Kelly has ended up in a strange place. He is considered an offensive genius yet it is his defense, which is winning games while his offense sputters.

Holding Michigan to just six points, winning six turnovers and preventing Denard Robinson from running amok were all stellar achievements.

Manti T’eo has played himself into Heisman consideration in my opinion with his performance yet again. If there is a better linebacker in college football, or all round athlete I have yet to see him.

Kelly needs to move to Rees and give him back the job. He deserves it pure and simple and the team obviously responds to him.

Golson just does not seem to have it at present and may never have. Kelly is risking a great season by keeping him under center.

Michigan State victory by Fighting Irish marks the dawn of a new era -- A new Notre Dame team that has eliminated mental mistakes, turnovers

Everett Golson of Notre Dame runs from Michigan State's Marcus Rush

There is something different about Notre Dame this year.

It is not just the 3-0 start, the first time in a decade, or the pep in the step in this young team that almost no one gave a chance to against Michigan State, who they defeated 20-3.

No, it is not the fire in their eyes, the determination in their hearts or the will to win that is so extraordinary. Lots of teams have that.

It is that they play the game differently.

It is the absence of mistakes; those heart breaking, mind-crushing errors that bedeviled this team the past two years.

Remember the turnover fiascos? Remember the quarterback interceptions; remember the wrong decisions when the game was on the line?

The last minute losses were especially troubling, especially the one at Michigan State two years ago with the fake field goal and then the last second loss to Michigan last year that no one could believe.

Those mental mistakes and lapses in concentration are now gone.
And you can see this Irish team getting even better game-by-game.

Young Golson has a rifle arm and an unpredictable quality that makes him a hugely exciting prospect.

The young receiver corps have stepped up and won the big possessions when it counts.

Cierre Wood came through in the clutch yesterday in brilliant fashion.
And don’t even mention the defense and Manti Te’o. We are watching a legend grow before our eyes.

Brian Kelly has transformed a team of bumblers into a team of rare promise.
And the best is yet to come.

Bring on the Wolverines!

Tommy Rees may well be Fighting Irish starting quarterback in September

Tommy Rees 

Don’t be surprised if its Tommy Rees lines up as quarterback in Dublin on September 1st when Notre Dame begins their new season.

Sure, Rees is projected as low as number three on some lists behind Everett Golson and Andrew Hendrix but as game time approaches, Brian Kelly may decide to go with the devil he knows.

Rees gets a bum rap for his poor junior season when so much went wrong for the team in general.

He had an outstanding freshman year and surely deserves the opportunity to prove himself once again.
Rees certainly has a lot to prove.

His off-season antics were no more than a young man’s folly however, and trying to punish him for those makes no sense whatsoever.

Everett Golson is very much the home crowd Messiah at this point but he is largely unproven.

Sure, he fits into Kelly’s type of spread offense but he has yet to play a real game under pressure.

Rees has certainly done that, including leading Notre Dame to a bowl victory two seasons ago.

That’s is why despite all the bad mouthing, Rees may well be the safe pair of hands to line up behind center when the teams kick off in Dublin on Labor Day weekend.

Brian Kelly has a reputation as a gambler but he knows this season and his future will depend on his signal caller.

All the more reason why Rees would be the safest choice. If he can limit the interceptions he can go on to be the comeback kid.

The Irish secret to Tom Coughlin's Super Bowl success -- Mike McCarthy, Sean Payton also have the magic formula

Is there something about the Irish and coaching Super Bowl champions?

Three of the best four coaches in the NFL, Tom Coughlin, Sean Payton, Mike McCarthy have Irish backgrounds. Hall of Famer Bill Parcells, real name Bill O'Shea (His father,born Charles O'Shea, was adopted) is another.

In Britain it is well known that Scottish managers such as Alex Ferguson, Matt Busby, Bill Shankly are the best soccer managers that were ever produced.

There is something in the Scottish gene that makes them great managers of men.

It was Shankly, the Liverpool supremo who made the classic quote about the level of commitment great managers have.

"Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that."
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Could the same level of success be true of Irish and NFL coaches?

Yes is the answer. Tom Coughlin is back in his second Super Bowl. Mike McCarthy won it last year with Green Bay and had a terrific team this year again.

Down in New Orleans, Sean Payton led them to the promised land in 2009 and also had a helluva team this year.

All are good Irish Catholic boys who seem to get the mix of discipline and encouragement right.

Then there's Rex Ryan of course, another Irish guy who has yet to get to the big show but came close two years in a row.

Coughlin, Payton, McCarthy look and act like altar boys, clean living guys who inspire their teams with an army type discipline, teaching fundamentals and reexamining every facet every new season.

They don't like showboats, don't need the ego gratification themselves and always stress the team.

Kinda like Catholic school don't you think?

Patrick Sean Peyton, the New Orleans coach, a Chicago area native, is named after the Irish Catholic priest, Fr. Patrick Peyton, known as the famous "rosary priest."

Tom Coughlin once studied for the priesthood, while Mike McCarthy is the son of a fireman who was also a bar owner -- you don't get more Irish than that.

You gotta believe that Irish Catholic upbringing with its emphasis on discipline, teamwork and selflessness has something to do with it-- as well as the ability to communicate, never in doubt when it comes to the Irish.

There is a lot of God and Country type sentiment in there-- and clearly it works...

New York Jets coach Rex Ryan says he cried because he's Irish and emotional

Rex Ryan

Rex Ryan broke down when addressing his New York Jets players after their disappointing season but placed the blame for his blubber on his Irish heritage

“I’m Irish. So what do you want?. “It’s hurtful. I’m extremely prideful. I want to be the best. I want to win. Sometimes it comes out like that.”

Ryan has lots to cry about. After leading his team to two successive conference finals the Jets bombed this year, riven by personal feuds and non performing stars
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Read More:
Rex Ryan is big, fat and out of control-- New York Giants' Brandon Jacobs is right

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Rees cannot be Notre Dame quarterback, Hendrix, even Golson worth a shot
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Many on his team still love him.

“He was crying because he loves us so much,” right guard Matt Slauson said.

Read the full story in the Daily News.