Oct. 22, 1999

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Most coaches agree that in order to break into the world of coaching, a person must first gain experience. The easiest way to do so is through obtaining a coveted position as a graduate assistant. Today, the Insider highlights the responsibilities of Notre Dame’s two graduate assistants in the final installment of this two-part series.

In order to succeed in the world of college football, preparation is the key to success. The graduate assistants are responsible for preparing Notre Dame for all of the upcoming opponents. The two prepare video breakdown, newspaper clips and the scout teams for all the practices. Dan Mullen runs the defensive scout team against Notre Dame’s offense in practice while Taver Johnson runs the offensive scout team against the Irish defense.

“When you coach, you can always better yourself,” Mullen said. “There are always so many things that you can do. You can work 24 hours a day, seven day a week and there is still more things you can do. I consider myself lucky to work the hours that I work because I don’t really notice. I wake up and do football all day long everyday and that is my job. I know people that when they come home they are happy that they aren’t at work. Honestly, I look forward to working. On my days off, I can’t wait to get back to work.”

“They do so many things,” head coach Bob Davie said. “Those guys are in charge of the whole computer program of breaking down game tapes, getting tendencies, getting statistics, from that end of that it is huge what they do.”

Also the two first-year assistants prepare the clips and bulletin boards on the other teams in order to not miss a single aspect of the opponent’s games. They also work a week in advance so while the Irish are currently preparing for the Midshipmen, Mullen and Johnson are working on the Volunteers. The two admit that there is always plenty to do and it is that way the entire week.

“To us, it isn’t really working,” Johnson said. “We are so lucky. We wake up and it is football all day. It is not really work to us. It is something that we enjoy. We are lucky. To love your job is one of the best things in the world.” Davie and his staff rely heavily on the two assistants. Even in the offseason the two still have numerous tasks while the rest of the coaches are out recruiting. NCAA rules sanction how much the assistants can help in recruiting so the two are depended upon for various other tasks.

“We utilize those guys during the off season just as much,” Davie said. “There are NCAA rules on what they can and can not do on recruiting. We use them to the fullest extent in terms of contact with our players when the rest of the coaches are recruiting. Their hourly workload is unbelievable it really is. The coaches don’t go home very often but when they do, those guys are still here.”

Despite the lack of a title and their relative youth, both just 27 years old, Mullen and Johnson command as much respect on the field as the rest of the coaches. Both agree that the players respect them so much because they realize the hours the two dedicate to their jobs.

“I don’t think that we have to work harder for the players to respect us,” Johnson said. “Here, we have great guys in terms of attitude and things like that. If there is one group of people that know how hard we work it is the players. They know all the film that they watch and all the scouting information is provided through us. I think they respect us because we are a coach, period. They also respect us because we are doing everything that we can possibly can to get our players and our team the best that we can to win.”

The two agree that they have learned a lot this season especially after the 1-3 start. Mullen explained that you have to learn and take notice of the decisions, which have turned around this team. It is a valuable learning experience on how to coach when a program can turn around its season.

Davie hopes that Mullen and Johnson will be around for another season to experience the highs and lows. Although, he and his staff want nothing more than to place Mullen and Johnson in full-time coaching positions.

“You want to help graduate assistants as much as you can to help them receive a full-time job,” Davie said. “We have been pretty successful with our graduate assistants getting full-time jobs. By the same token, it is really hard to train a graduate assistant so hopefully these guys will be around for the full two years.”

Both Mullen and Johnson can petition for a third year if their graduate studies dictate another year.