Gerry DiNardo Gerard DiNardo ( born November 10 , 1952 ) is a former American football player and coach . He played college football as a guard for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish where he was selected as an All - American in 1974 . DiNardo served as the head football coach at Vanderbilt University ( 1991 – 1994 ) , Louisiana State University ( 1995 – 1999 ) , and Indiana University ( 2002 – 2004 ) , compiling a career college football record of 59 – 76 – 1 . In 2001 , he was the head coach of the Birmingham Thunderbolts of the XFL . Playing career . DiNardo went to college at the University of Notre Dame , where he played guard from 1972 to 1974 for coach Ara Parseghian . DiNardo was a member of the school ' s 1973 national championship team , and an All - American in 1974 . Incidentally , DiNardo honed his blocking skills against Rudy Ruettiger , a member of the scout team during DiNardo ' s time at Notre Dame . DiNardo ' s older brother , Larry , was also an All - American at Notre Dame from 1968 – 70 . Coaching career . DiNardo began his coaching career at the University of Maine in 1975 . In 1982 , he joined the coaching staff at the University of Colorado under head coach Bill McCartney . DiNardo was the offensive coordinator when Colorado won the national championship in 1990 . The Buffaloes ' offensive line coach from 1982 through 1986 was Les Miles , who became LSU ' s head coach in 2005 and still holds that position . Vanderbilt . In December 1990 , DiNardo took the head coach job at Vanderbilt University , starting in the 1991 season . During 1988 , 1989 , and 1990 , Vanderbilt finished 3 – 8 , 1 – 10 , and 1 – 10 . DiNardo took over and went 5 – 6 , 4 – 7 , 5 – 6 , and 5 – 6 from 1991 to 1994 . DiNardo ' s two biggest wins were when he led the Commodores to victory over # 17 Georgia on October 19 , 1991 and # 25 Ole Miss on September 19 , 1992 . LSU . After 1994 , DiNardo left Vanderbilt and took the head coach position at LSU . He took over a program that had six straight losing seasons and that had not been ranked in the AP Poll since 1989 . DiNardo promised " to bring back the magic " , and for his first three seasons , he had considerable success , including a 1996 victory in the Peach Bowl . As the team ' s fortunes improved , DiNardo brought back the tradition of wearing white jerseys during home games . In his first season at LSU in 1995 , the Tigers opened with a loss at # 3 Texas A & M on September 2 , 1995 . However , during LSU ' s first home game on September 16 , 1995 , DiNardo led LSU to a 12 – 6 upset victory over # 5 Auburn , a game which went down to the last play . Following the victory , LSU spent the next three weeks in the AP Poll before losing to # 3 Florida on October 7 , 1995 . LSU ' s next losses were to unranked Kentucky on October 14 , 1995 and # 16 Alabama on November 4 , 1995 . LSU finished the season by beating # 14 Arkansas on November 18 , 1995 . The Tigers then went to the Independence Bowl , where they beat unranked Michigan State , 45 – 26 , coached by Nick Saban , who replaced DiNardo at LSU in 1999 . In 1996 , LSU began the season with a preseason ranking of # 19 . After LSU defeated # 14 Auburn , the Tigers lost to # 1 Florida , and # 10 Alabama , finishing the regular season at 9 – 2 . LSU went to the Peach Bowl where they beat unranked Clemson , by a score of 10 – 7 . LSU finished the season ranked # 12 . In 1997 , LSU started the season with a preseason ranking of # 10 . After losing to # 12 Auburn , LSU faced off against # 1 Florida at Tiger Stadium . LSU upset the Gators , 28 – 21 , on October 11 , making the cover of " Sports Illustrated " . The next week LSU lost to unranked Ole Miss . LSU ' s only other loss of the season was to unranked Notre Dame on November 15 , which the Tigers avenged by beating the Fighting Irish , 27 – 9 , in a rematch in the Independence Bowl . LSU finished the season ranked # 13 . In 1998 , LSU started the season with a preseason ranking of # 9 . They climbed to # 6 before losing to # 12 Georgia on October 3 . The next week the # 11 - ranked Tigers lost to the # 6 Florida . After the defeat by the Gators , LSU dropped 13 of the next 17 games , including losses to a # 10 Notre Dame and # 13 Arkansas later in the 1998 season . In 1999 LSU lost to # 10 Georgia , # 8 Florida , # 12 Mississippi State , # 25 Ole Miss , and # 12 Alabama . On November 15 , 1999 , two days after the Tigers lost to unranked Houston at home , LSU chancellor Mark Emmert fired DiNardo with one game remaining in the season . DiNardo was given the option to coach the final game of the season against Arkansas , but DiNardo declined . Instead , offensive line coach Hal Hunter was named interim coach , leading LSU to a 35 – 10 victory over the Razorbacks . Nick Saban was named as DiNardo ' s replacement on November 30 . Saban guided the Tigers to a Southeastern Conference title in 2001 . XFL . DiNardo ' s next head coaching job was in the ill - fated XFL in 2001 . He was the coach of the Birmingham Thunderbolts . The league folded after one season . Indiana . After the XFL folded , DiNardo moved on to become head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers in 2002 . He was largely unsuccessful in the Big Ten Conference , never winning more than three games in a season , and was fired after the 2004 season . Post - coaching career . Starting in 2005 , DiNardo worked as a college football analyst for ESPN Radio , ESPNews , and can be heard weekly as part of the College GameDay crew along with Dave Revsine and Todd McShay . DiNardo currently works as a studio analyst for the Big Ten Network and college football expert for WSCR ' s Boers and Bernstein radio show in Chicago . Family . Gerry DiNardo was born in Howard Beach , Queens , New York . He is the youngest son of Pasquale Richard DiNardo and Maria Inez DiNardo , and has three brothers , John , Robert , and Lawrence . He currently lives in Chicago , Illinois with his wife Terri . He has two children , Kate and Michael .