Bad news. . . . I think he could have built it to what Notre Dame fans expect. The pressure got to him?
Rome is throwing U-Dub out there as a possibility. With Gilbertson out and the program struggling, Willingham would be a good fit with the Huskies. The timing (the day after Stanford fired Buddy Teevens) has me thinking he may be on his way back to The Farm. He was really building on something at Stanford, and watched it all collapse after he left. Stanford would be willing to pay up, too...worth it to beat Cal again.
Rome is also speculating that Urban Meyers from Utah could be the next ND coach. Why wasn't Willingham successful at ND? Is it because of ND's academic standards or did his system not work with the players ND was getting?
Mike and the Mad Dog on WFAN are on this too. Not sure of their source, since I caught it halfway, but they are saying Urban Meyer (Utah) to Notre Dame, and maybe Willingham to Stanford. From Notre Dame athletics official site: (http://und.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/113004aaa.html) "The University of Notre Dame announced today that Tyrone Willingham will not be retained as its head football coach. Willingham finished 21-15 overall in his three seasons (2002-04) as Irish head coach. "
And Ty never beat Boston College. Even if they wore those Mexican green jerseys that one year. Good-bye Coach Willingham, you've done soooo much for BC. We will sorely miss you. And somewhere in lower Manhattan, an ND alum is giving praise to the High Heavens for this decision..
Supposedly Meyer has a clause in his contract with Utah that if the ND job came open, he would be able to go after it.
Damn! We might actually have to compete with Notre Dame for recruits again, after pawning off second tier Ohio players on them during Ty and Davie's reign. Come on Irish, bring Bob Davie back! Please?
As a Notre Dame fan...I don't like the firing too much. I'm not sold on athletic departments thinking that you can just fire coaches until you find one that works. Ask Alabama, Nebraska, Florida, Washington, BYU, and Colorado how easy it is to plug in a coach and keep it up. On the other hand sometimes you do get "lucky" and find the right coach after going through a few like USC, Oklahoma, Iowa, and LSU or even lucky you didn't fire the one you had (Auburn). There are even times when you hardly miss a beat like Miami and Ohio State and maybe Michigan to a lesser extent. Let me just throw in I think Penn State is doomed no matter when JoPa steps down. All that being said, if ND can get the Urban Legend I'm totally behind it
Dear Willingham, Thank you for opening up a job for Urban Meyer outside of the Mountain West. Signed, Every BYU fan
This season, the primary problem was that the secondary sucked. Out of the five losses, one was to BYU in the season opener and the other four we got lit up by the opposing quarterback and receivers.
Some random thoughts that I've also posted elsewhere: * This feels like a panic move to me, where somebody at the top (or possibly more than one somebody) has someone in mind and is afraid that if they had given Ty one more year, that candidate would no longer be available (i.e., Urban Meyer). On the other hand... * I've seen a rumor that Ty was given an edict to let one or more of his assistants go and he refused. Personally, I would have been in favor of dumping the offensive coordinator based on a number of problems in offensive play-calling this season, not least the use of two trick plays in the USC game. I'm not as certain about the defensive coordinator... there's only so much you can do if your corners can't cover decent receivers against an accurate passer. Then again, look at the miracles Belichick is working with the Patriots right now... * Notre Dame's problems this season come down to three things: the secondary, the secondary, and the secondary. (OK, I'd be willing to add that the offensive play-calling has been suspect at times, and the DL has been quiet aside from Tuck.) On the one hand, there were a lot of seniors in the unit, so there will be a chance to rebuild it next year. Plus, the juniors and seniors are Bob Davie players and we may be able to let Ty off the hook for them. But what does it say about the guys behind them that they got toasted black and still kept getting starts?
Some random thoughts, some of which I've also posted elsewhere: * This feels like a panic move to me, where somebody at the top (or possibly more than one somebody) has someone in mind and is afraid that if they had given Ty one more year, that candidate would no longer be available (i.e., Urban Meyer). On the other hand... * I've seen a rumor that Ty was given an edict to let one or more of his assistants go and he refused. Personally, I would have been in favor of dumping the offensive coordinator based on a number of problems in offensive play-calling this season, not least the use of two trick plays in the USC game. I'm not as certain about the defensive coordinator... there's only so much you can do if your corners can't cover decent receivers against an accurate passer. Then again, look at the miracles Belichick is working with the Patriots right now... * Notre Dame's problems this season come down to three things: the secondary, the secondary, and the secondary. (OK, I'd be willing to add that the offensive play-calling has been suspect at times, and the DL has been quiet aside from Tuck.) On the one hand, there were a lot of seniors in the unit, so there will be a chance to rebuild it next year. Plus, the juniors and seniors are Bob Davie players and we may be able to let Ty off the hook for them. But what does it say about the guys behind them that they got toasted black and still kept getting starts?
I've been a ND fan since birth, my dad is an alum, I had no choice. I hate this move. There are a million reasons why I hate it, and the problems at ND are so, so much bigger than Willingham. At this point, I hope they don't get Meyer. Not at the expense of the team, I hope whoever the next coach is gets them a National Championship and soon. I'm sick of watching the team lose games they think they should win. But should Meyer turn down the job it would be a wake up call to the school, to alumni, and to fans that ND isn't as important as it once was. And it really isn't. It sucks, but thats the way it is.
My wife and her whole family are ND grads (she's the only one to get out of South Bend) When I was there earlier this season, they were already calling for Ty's head. I got shot down when I said that maybe ND have their expectations too high. College Football has changed a lot the last 10 years (Utah in a BCS game???!!) Meyer would be a great replacement for Ty. But Ty did a great job at Stanford before he headed to South Bend so just cuz ND get Meyer, doesn't mean things will get better. Read a rumor this morning that the ND players are having a meeting today and it sounds like they may refuse to play their Bowl game if Ty is leaving. This could be interesting.
Something to read for you Domers... Per Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe: http://www.boston.com/sports/articles/2004/12/01/irish_in_reality_show_not_the_old_movies/ Lots of quotable stuff in the article. Enjoy, beeyitches!!!
Re: Something to read for you Domers... I didn't really see his point. We know that football at Notre Dame is football. . . . it's not mass dictated by the Pope. I agree, Willingham needed more time, but We want to win. What the hell is wrong with that?
No. What I think he's trying to put forth in the article for alums and bandwagoners is this: It is unrealistic to keep BELIEVING that ND is a 10 win school every year with the schedule they have. No longer is it the powerhouse of the years gone by. I was dumbstruck by the school, the campus, the whole thing when I went for the BC-ND game. I can understand why it was a Catholic football magnate/magnet for so many years, but those days are gone...and they are gone for a myriad of reasons, unrealistic scheduling being one of them. I'm sure there are more, but remember, I could care less.
The Scheduling is indeed ridiculous. I understand that. What I'm upset about is that the University is in a Catch 22. Why should we put up with (potentially. . . . AGAIN. . I wanted Willingham to coach at least one more year) potentially another Gerry Faust? Now. . . . our new "annointed ones", sports beat writers are having a field day. They are the new righteous ones. Willingham could have at least had one more year. . . . but there is no excuse to get consistently lambasted by USC. . . or win a big game (Michigan, Florida State, Tennessee) then the very following week lose to someone we shouldn't have.
ND does not get the recruits they did under Holtz. Did Holtz use Prop 48 players? Davie? Willingham? I think ND has realistic academic requirements, hell BC and some other schools have similar ones. Difference is, the tradition of those other schools, mine included, are less-recognized. Scheduling is another thing. Location is another (South Bend, blech), and most of the fan base are out of touch. The fan base can't wish for a Top 3 recruiting class, a Top5 ranking, a BCS bowl, EVERY YEAR, with the academic restraints. Just because 30 different managing partners at NYC law firms and brokerage houses sned $1 million checks to the University doesn't mean that what they vie for materializes. That is completely UNREALISTIC, unless you go the way of some schools and get the best player, regardless of character or grades. If that happens, when you schedule Miami or FSU again, you guys can make the T-Shirts "Misdemeanors v. Felonies" instead of "Catholic v Convicts." ND fans (alums too, not just the bandwagoners, ) have yet to grasp that. PS-Maybe you should schedule Holy Cross, you'd have a better chance against those Catholics...
Funny you should reference the "Catholics vs Convicts" and "Catholics vs Creminoles" because the truth was, Holtz was recruiting the same guys Miami and FSU were, but fans and boosters looked the other way because the they were winning on the field. These days, you simply can't have high academic standards and a winning program, especially with talent spread out more than ever. It's one or the other - you gotta sell a little soul if you wanna win. Willingham did well enough at Stanford with student-athletes, but they were never good enough to win even the Pac 10. I do think ND should have joined a conference along with the other big indies (Penn State, FSU, the entire Big East and C-USA) in the early 90s. Sure, they would have lost the NBC deal and would have to share bowl revenue, but the product on the field would have benefitted.