I recall that famous quote by Whitey Herzog that, in many instances, “the team gets rid of the player, when the manager (or head coach) is the problem all along.” We’re always told how important a head coach can be to the development and performance of his or her athletes, and there’s no better example than Tim Brown, former Notre Dame player and 1987 Heisman Trophy winner, who is being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame today. According to Tom Coyne’s Associated Press article, “Tim Brown never considered himself a standout collegiate football player until Lou Holtz convinced him of it. When Holtz took over the Notre Dame reins after the 1985 season, during the second day of spring practice following Brown’s sophomore season, Holtz called him over and asked why he hadn’t been on the field more for the Fighting Irish during his first two seasons. Brown told him it was a decision by the previous coaching staff. Holtz didn’t believe him. ‘He yelled at me, “Son, there’s no way a coach could be so dumb as to not play you.” Brown recalled him saying.’ Holtz told Brown the only way he wasn’t’ going to get the ball during the upcoming season was if the defense intercepted the snap from center. Holtz played Brown often and according to Brown, ‘The more I succeeded the more he kept putting me in that position and the more confidence I got.’”