Assistant coaching

Leahy went to Georgetown University as line coach in 1931 and Michigan State the following year to take a similar position. Leahy took over as line coach at Fordham University in 1933 and stayed until 1938 under Jim Crowley, coaching the famed Seven Blocks of Granite from 1935 to 1937 when the Rams lost only two games in three seasons. The undersized right guard on the 1935 and 1936 teams was future coaching legend Vince Lombardi.

Boston College

In 1939, Leahy went to Boston College as head coach, guiding the Eagles to a 20–2 record including an undefeated 1940 season capped off with a win in the 1941 Sugar Bowl. At Boston College, he tried relentlessly to recruit future beat author Jack Kerouac.^[1]

Although he had recently signed a contract renewal at Boston College, Leahy accepted the head coaching position at his alma mater Notre Dame. He tried without success to get out of his BC contract. He pleaded with the school's vice president. When that did not work, he went to the mayor of Boston and the governor of Massachusetts. Then, at a press conference, he told 50 reporters what the South Bend Tribune called "the biggest lie of his life". Leahy stated: "Gentlemen I've called you all here today to inform you that I recently received my release from my coaching contract. With the release went the good wishes and benediction of Boston College." Leahy stepped away, and the buzzing group of reporters battled for phone lines. A phone call came in for Leahy, and he took it. The vice president of Boston College was on the line. "Coach Leahy," he barked. "You may go wherever you want, and whenever you want. Good-bye."

Notre Dame

Gate at Notre Dame Stadium named for Leahy

Leahy’s tenure as head coach at his alma mater began the next season. His impact was felt right away as the Irish posted an 8–0–1 mark in 1941. The following season, he caused an uproar when he abandoned Rockne's box formation and installed the T. After a 7–2–2 season in 1942, Leahy led Notre Dame to a national championship in 1943 despite losing the season finale against Great Lakes Navy by a score of 19–14. He entered the Navy in 1944 and was discharged as a lieutenant. He returned to Notre Dame for the 1946 season in which Notre Dame shared the national championship after playing rival Earl Blaik's Army team to a scoreless tie at Yankee Stadium in New York. National championships followed in 1947 and 1949, with only a 14–14 tie against USC in the season finale marring a perfect season in 1948 and another possible national title. It was regarded by many as the most successful run in Notre Dame history and Leahy appeared to be well on his way of meeting his goal of ten consecutive seasons without a loss. Then with most of the wartime talent gone from the scene, the Irish fell to 4–4–1 in 1950. Scholarships had been reduced from 33 to 18 per year in 1948 when other teams, tired of getting beaten year in and year out, began dropping Notre Dame from their schedules. Consequently the talent level had dropped off drastically. Leahy is one of only two coaches in college football history to have won multiple national championships at the same school during two different tenures, joining Tennessee's Robert Neyland.

Scholarships were increased afterwards, and the situation improved. Aided by freshman eligibility brought on by the Korean War, Notre Dame finished 7–2–1 in 1951 and 1952 while the 1953 squad, Leahy's last, posted a 9–0–1 docket. A controversial 14–14 tie against Iowa denied the Irish another consensus national championship, although ten other selectors chose the Irish for the title. However, Notre Dame does not recognize this national championship. The controversy over the tie with Iowa stemmed from the fact that both of Notre Dame's touchdowns, one late in the first half and the other late in the game, came after a player had faked an injury. In both instances, Notre Dame had used up their allotment of time outs, and under normal circumstances, time would have expired in each half before they could run another play. Faking an injury was a widely used ploy in football as a means of buying time, but in most cases there was no impact on the outcome of a game. In Notre Dame's case, the Irish used this ruse not once but twice in the same game, and both times they managed to score touchdowns. A new rule was implemented the following year forbidding players from faking injuries, and many saw this as punishment directed at Notre Dame, who were branded as the "Fainting Irish."^[2]

There was some concern about Leahy's health when he collapsed from a pancreatic attack in the locker room during halftime of the 1953 Georgia Tech game. A priest allegedly gave Leahy the last rites of the Catholic Church when it was feared he was dying. Leahy resigned on January 31, 1954 with two years remaining on his contract. Supposedly he had been ordered to give up coaching by his doctors for the sake of his health, but he later revealed that he left because he felt he was no longer wanted. Leahy was succeeded by Terry Brennan, ushering in a downward slide for Notre Dame's football fortunes for the next decade.

While at Notre Dame, Leahy had six undefeated seasons, four national championship teams, and an unbeaten string of 39 games (37–0–2) in the late 1940s. He also coached four Heisman Trophy winners—Angelo Bertelli (1943), Johnny Lujack (1947), Leon Hart (1949) and Johnny Lattner (1953)—and recruited a fifth, 1956 winner, Paul Hornung. His overall record at Notre Dame was 87–11–9. Like his former coach Rockne, Leahy believed that games were won in practice, and he had the reputation of being a relentless taskmaster. It is said that Leahy's teams never had a practice without hitting and that his quarterbacks would catch snaps every practice until their hands bled. His teams were always well conditioned and Leahy was merciless when it came to the toughness of his players. In addition to his practices, Leahy coached a tough-nosed style of football during the games. Leahy's teams rarely kicked field goals when they were on the goal line because "Notre Dame didn't kick field goals, Notre Dame was too tough to kick field goals." This philosophy backfired against Army in 1946, when the Irish drove all the way to the Cadets' 4-yard line and turned the ball over on downs. A field goal would have won the game. Leahy always referred to his players as his "lads."

In 1949, he wrote a book on the T-formation, Notre Dame Football: The "T" Formation.