Brady Quinn Calls for Greater Player Accountability in Notre Dame Football

The former star Fighting Irish signal caller has seen a recurring theme in recent Notre Dame losses

Dec 3, 2022; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; FOX Sports analyst Brady Quinn before the Big Ten Championship between the Michigan Wolverines and the Purdue Boilermakers at Lucas Oil Stadium. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Notre Dame’s 16-14 loss against Northern Illinois last Saturday was among the most embarrassing defeats of the Fighting Irish in the long history of the historic football program.

The fifth-ranked Irish fell to 18th in the AP Poll this week which could certainly be argued is still overly generous.

A week after putting up one of Notre Dame’s biggest road wins of the millennium, how does such a loss happen?

Former Notre Dame quarterback and two-time Heisman Trophy finalist Brady Quinn sees it falling on the players.

“I’ve always been a guy who puts more accountability on the players because you’re all the ones that are out there expected to execute,” said Quinn, “You’re always the ones that are out there that are expected to make a fix if something goes wrong.”

Quinn sat down with Notre Dame on Sports Illustrated this week as among his many current jobs, he’s also helping pitch Teeling Whiskey’s special Notre Dame Small Batch Whiskey. 

Brady Quinn golfing with a Teeling Whiskey / Teeling Whiskey

Quinn sees a bit of a trend with Notre Dame players at times not being ready for the big moment, and doesn’t have to go back to the Marshall or Stanford debacles in 2022 to find examples of it.

“I kind of go back to the Ohio State game last year, and by the way, all these kids are really smart, are able to go in those classes at Notre Dame and listen and learn and be a part of the brightest minds of our country and you’re telling me if you’re a linebacker you don’t just run up into the offensive line and take a penalty and say we need someone else here!”

Sep 23, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes running back Chip Trayanum (19) scores the game winning rushing touchdown against Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the fourth quarter of their game at Notre Dame Stadium. / Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

The ten-men on the field debacle to end the Ohio State game won't quickly be erased from memory. Quinn does however see the upcoming Purdue game as a chance to serve as a wake-up call of sorts for the Notre Dame football team.

“It bothered me last year seeing that so looking at it this year there needs to be more accountability amongst the guys on this football team to make their agreement and pact themselves that they’re not going to let that happen again. So that’s what I’m going to be most focused to see this season versus Purdue because another game as a double-digit favorite against a Purdue team off a bye.  They (Notre Dame) should win this game and win this game handedly but need to fix some of those things.”

You can see the full interview with Quinn and Notre Dame on Sports Illustrated below.

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