Oct. 20, 2006

By Craig Chval

When Tim Grunhard retired after 11 seasons as a Pro Bowl center with the Kansas City Chiefs, he thought his life would get easier.

Sure, Grunhard still had his daily radio show in his adopted hometown of Kansas City, and he is very involved in raising four young children – C.J. (9), twins Cailey and Colin (8) and Cassie (6) – with his wife, Sarah. Even Grunhard’s commitment to civic activity on top of everything else would leave time for more leisurely pursuits.

Little did Grunhard realize that somewhere along the line, he caught the coaching bug. After a stint as a high school assistant, Grunhard was the offensive line coach with the Cologne Centurions in NFL Europe for one season. He loved the experience professionally, and the entire family enjoyed the time abroad – but Grunhard also realized that the time demands were just too great, given the ages of his children.

But when Bishop Miege High School in suburban Kansas City needed a new head football coach following the 2005 season, Grunhard couldn’t resist. And although he parlayed hard work into success on football’s biggest stages, Grunhard’s primary objective is producing solid young men – not necessarily professional football players.

“I have played for some great coaches over the years,” Grunhard notes, “and it’s always been a passion of mine to share the experiences and the fundamentals that helped me.

“I know that most of these players aren’t going to go on to play at Notre Dame or in the NFL,” he says. “But our goal is to put them out into the community as better people.”

The Bishop Miege football program has struggled in recent years, a situation that’s hardly unfamiliar to Grunhard.

He was a member of Lou Holtz’s first Notre Dame recruiting class, arriving in the immediate aftermath of Gerry Faust’s final 5-6 season. By the time he was a junior, Grunhard was a starting guard on Notre Dame’s 1988 national championship team. Over his last two seasons, the Irish were 23-1.

“It’s a mindset, a confidence, a belief,” explains Grunhard about rebuilding a program. “You have to walk onto the field expecting to win.”

Listening to Grunhard, Holtz’s influence is impossible to miss, especially when he speaks of his emphasis on “love, trust and commitment,” staples of the hall-of-fame coach’s philosophy.

While Grunhard names playing for Holtz, winning a national championship and earning his as life-changing experiences while at Notre Dame, even those take a back seat on his list.

“The best thing that ever happened to me was finding my wife there,” he says.