Ara Parseghian held a principled vision of equal opportunity in college athletics, and he had it tested well before he arrived at Notre Dame.  When he was head coach at Miami (OH) in 1955, his team rejected an invitation to the Tangerine Bowl in Florida, where integrated teams were not welcomed.

Parseghian recruited many of the initial wave of Black standouts at Notre Dame, including two freshmen on the 1973 team that would rank among the greatest Irish defenders ever – defensive lineman Ross Browner and safety Luther Bradley.

He recruited Greg Blache to join the Irish in 1968 out of New Orleans, but injuries ended Greg’s playing career. Parseghian saw a keen football intellect and gave Blache encouragement and mentoring to become a coach, first as a graduate assistant, then as ND’s first Black full-time assistant.

Being part of Notre Dame never left Coach Blache.  He was quoted as saying:

“Any football team can be beat. Every so often even a Notre Dame team can be beaten, but you can never beat Notre Dame. Because Notre Dame is a way of life.”

Blache followed his initial stint at Notre Dame with a 5-year stay at Tulane, coaching the offensive line, linebackers and secondary. In 1981, he returned to Notre Dame as running backs coach, then made a career-defining shift to defense, guiding the Irish defensive line in 1982-83.  He made his first foray into pro ball with the Jacksonville Bulls of the USFL in 1984-85, followed by college stops at Southern U. and Kansas.

In 1988, Blache began a six-year run as defensive line coach of the Green Bay Packers. In his time in Green Bay, the Packers improved from a 4-12 season to a playoff appearance in 1993. He followed that with stints coaching for the Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins, ascending to defensive coordinator with Chicago and Washington.

During his tenure with the Bears, Blache’s defenses forced 138 turnovers, including 37 in 2001, the most by a Bears defense since 1990, and accounted for 13 touchdowns. He coached and mentored Brian Urlacher, who became a close friend for life. His 2001 Bears defense led the league in fewest points allowed, and in 2005 Washington was in the top 5.

In 2003, Blache was a finalist for the San Francisco 49ers head coaching position, which went to Dennis Erickson, who went on to post a 9-23 record.

Blache was known for guiding hard-nosed defenses with an old-school toughness. Yet he always had a healthy perspective on the game and was known for his colorful quotes on the action.

“I owe a lot to Coach Parseghian,” said Blache. “He showed me, and everyone, what it meant to truly connect with the players you’re coaching. That when everyone follows the plan and works together, good things happen.”

Since retiring from coaching, Blache and his wife have lived on a lake in northern Wisconsin, enjoying outdoor activities. A far cry from the frenzied world of coaching football. And a healthy reward for an outstanding career.