Brian Polian is not the first head coach or even the second in Nevada Wolf Pack history to list Notre Dame on his resume.
A pair of former Wolf Pack coaches -- Buck Shaw and Joe Sheeketski -- also came to Nevada with a Fighting Irish pedigree.
Shaw played at Notre Dame from 1919-21 under legendary coach Knute Rockne. He came to Nevada in 1925 as head coach at the age of just 26 years old. Shaw's Wolf Pack teams went just 10-20-3 from 1925-28 and were just a combined 7-8-1 in the Far Western Conference.
Shaw's first Pack team was 4-3-1 in 1925 and fell to 4-4 in 1926, 2-6-1 in 1927 and 0-7-1 in 1928.
Shaw, though, went on to achieve great things as a coach after he left the Pack. He was 47-10-4 as Santa Clara's head coach from 1936-42, was hired as the first head coach in San Francisco 49ers history as well as the first head coach at the Air Force Academy. His 1960 Philadelphia Eagles team won the NFL championship over Vince Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers.
Sheeketski played for just one season under Rockne at Notre Dame in 1930 as Rockne was killed after the season in a plane crash. Sheeketski played halfback for the Irish from 1930-32.
He came to Nevada in 1947 at the age of 39 and lasted four seasons as head coach. His Pack teams went 9-2 in both 1947 and 1948 but fell to5-5 in 1949 and 1-9 in 1950. The Wolf Pack did not field a team in 1951 because of financial problems.
Sheeketski's Pack teams of 1947 and 1948, led by quarterback Stan Heath, went to a pair of bowl games and set the school record for victories in a season. Those teams also featured Wolf Pack Hall of Famers Tommy Kalmanir, Dick Trachok, Scott Beasley and Ken Sinofsky.
The 38-year-old Polian coached at Notre Dame from 2005-09. Polian coached special teams, defensive backs and linebackers in his five seasons at Notre Dame.
