Nov. 12—Dayton native Gerry Faust, who rose to fame as a football coach who made the leap from Moeller High School to Notre Dame in 1980, died on Monday at 89.
“It is with tremendous sorrow that we announce the passing of Gerry Faust, loving husband, father, grandfather and coach who dedicated his life to his family, his faith and the teams and players he coached,” his family announced in a statement released on social media.
“Throughout an extraordinary life driven by unwavering and deep devotion to his Catholic faith, he was a beloved mentor to countless young men both on and off the playing field. His work ethic, optimism, leadership and humility were legendary.
“He leaves behind a legacy of perseverance, compassion, and inspiration, reminding us all of the extraordinary impact one life can have.”
Former Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis paid tribute to Faust on X (Twitter).
“One of the finest men I’ve ever met,” Weis wrote. “Ball of energy! Always positive! Always supportive! I hope the Notre Dame Family prays for Gerry and his family. He is on the Express Train to heaven. God Bless!”
The Moeller football program also remembered Faust.
“Coach Faust laid the foundations of our program through the inspirations of the Marianist tradition,” the program’s official account on X posted. “We will carry on your legacy, Coach Faust. Rest in peace.”
Faust was born in Dayton in 1935. He graduated in 1953 from Chaminade High School. He played football his his dad Gerard “Fuzzy” Faust, who was himself a legendary coach with a record of 132-50-10 at Chaminade in 21 seasons (1933-52 and 1956).
After high school, Gerry enrolled at Ohio University but transferred to the University of Dayton after one semester in Athens. He graduated from UD in 1958.
“All my high school and grade school experience was here in the city,” Faust told the Dayton Daily News in 2015. “I went to Lady of Mercy, which doesn’t exist anymore as far as a school and Chaminade where my dad was the coach and then the University of Dayton. I wouldn’t trade those years for anything in the world.”
Faust played quarterback at Dayton, where one of his teammates was Jim Spoerl, who would later coach at Carroll High School.
“Jim was the quarterback ahead of me and Butch Zimmerman,” Faust said. “He did a great job. I stayed with the team in preseason for practices, but once school started, my dad and mom moved to Oakwood and I lived about six blocks from the university. So I gave up the room and board and told them to give it to some other kid because I lived close and I could just stay at home.”
Faust was an assistant coach at Chaminade until being hired in 1960 to be the first coach at Moeller, which opened that year. He coached the program until 1980, finishing with a record of 178-23-2. He won five state championships in a six-year span (1975, 1976, 1977, 1979 and 1980). His teams were 70-1 in his last six seasons.
“We had great parents and great kids and we had a great school and a great coaching staff,” he said. “We averaged 20-21 kids a year to get college football scholarships. We were a district school in those days. You had 12 parishes to draw from in Cincinnati and you couldn’t live outside those parish boundaries.”
Notre Dame hired Faust, then 45, in November 1980. Dan Devine, the coach for the previous six seasons, had announced before the 1980 season he would not return the next season.
“We feel quite strongly that Gerry Faust is the perfect individual to carry on the great tradition associated with athletics at the University of Notre Dame,” said Rev. Edmond Joyce, executive vice-president of Notre Dame and the chairman of the athletic board. “I don’t know of anyone acquainted with Gerry who doesn’t have the greatest respect and admiration for him and his accomplishments.”
Notre Dame finished 5-6 in Faust’s first season. It was the first losing season for the program since 1963.
Faust’s next four teams finished 6-4, 7-5, 7-5 and 5-6. He was 30-26-1 in five seasons, losing his final three games in 1985. Faust resigned with one game remaining in the 1985 season.
“It’s best for me to resign now and give the university an opportunity to get another coach before recruiting starts next week,” Faust said.
Faust told Si Burick, of the Dayton Daily News, he knew Notre Dame planned to make a decision about his future after the final game of the season against Miami. He thought about resigning after the second-to-last game against LSU.
“I told myself it wouldn’t be fair to quit just then,” Faust told Burick. “It would be best for the kids, best for me, best for everybody concerned, if I’d think it through a little longer. The kids played so hard Saturday. Losing (10-7) on a late touchdown was a tough blow.”
Burick asked Faust if he had any excuses for the disappointing five seasons.
“Not really,” Faust said. “We play a tough schedule. Like this year, three teams in the top five. I’m not complaining. I knew what the situation was when I came here. We and Duke are the only schools in the country that don’t permit redshirting. Our academic standards are higher than most.”
Notre Dame did not take long to find Faust’s replacement. Faust resigned on a Tuesday. Notre Dame hired Lou Holtz, who had coached Minnesota to back-to-back 11-win seasons, a day later.
Faust stayed on the job to coach the final game. Notre Dame lost 58-7 at No. 4 Miami.
Faust then coached eight seasons at Akron, where he was 36-49-3 from 1987-94. He had two winning seasons. He was fired after a 1-10 season.
“I’ve been at the top, the very top, and I’ve also been fired,” Faust told the Dayton Daily News in 1998. “God knows how to humble you. If you’re doing the best you can, that’s all anyone can ask of you, and that’s all God can ask of you.”
Faust remained a fan of all the programs he coached. In 2015, he said, “I’ll go to four or five Moeller games this season,” he said. “I’ll go to four-five Akron games and I’ll go to four-five Notre Dame games. … I watch NFL football because it’s football, but my favorite is high school and college.
“I have four favorite cities: Dayton, Cincinnati, South Bend and Akron. I’ve had a great life.”
