Notre Dame should be ashamed of itself.
Three seasons after hiring Tyrone Willingham as head coach of the football program, the powers that be in South Bend, Ind., fired the 28-year coaching veteran Tuesday, one month prior to the Fighting Irish’s scheduled matchup with UCLA in the Insight Bowl.
The move comes after Willingham, the first African-American to be named head coach at Notre Dame in any sport, led the Irish to a 6-5 record this season and a
21-15 overall mark during his three-year tenure. Willingham had two years remaining on his five-year deal, making him the first Notre Dame head coach who wasn’t allowed to fulfill his first contract.
While athletic director Kevin White said the decision to part ways with Willingham was based on a lack of on-field success, the truth is Notre Dame wanted nothing to do with Willingham in the first place.
After Bob Davie was fired as head coach of the Irish at the end of the 2001 season, Notre Dame had a chance to come right out and name Willingham head coach. He was the most qualified candidate for the job. After seven seasons and four bowl appearances as the head coach of Stanford, he had proved himself worthy of leading one of the most storied programs in college football history. As an added bonus, Notre Dame had a chance to knock down racial barriers and hire the first African-American coach in school history.
Instead, Notre Dame approached and hired former Georgia Tech head coach George O’Leary. While the two-time Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year had impressive credentials of his own, Willingham seemed like the better, more sensible hire.
Notre Dame paid for its decision, however, as it forced O’Leary to resign just five days after hiring him when it was found that he lied on his application. He claimed to have earned a master’s degree from New York University and to have lettered three times in football while attending New Hampshire. Neither proved to be true.
Only after this extreme embarrassment did the Irish offer Willingham a contract. While it ended up with the right coach, Notre Dame’s hiring of Willingham was a feeble attempt to save face after lacking the courage to take a chance on hiring its first black head coach.
After accepting the job, Willingham immediately faced expectations that bordered on unrealistic. While Notre Dame has a proud history, it is no longer capable of landing the caliber of athletes needed to compete for a national championship. It plays one of the toughest schedules in the country every season and hasn’t won a bowl game since 1993. Despite this, Willingham was expected to step right in and return the Irish to their glorious past, where they captured more Associated Press national championships (8) than any other school.
With those in charge wanting any reason to get rid of Willingham, the savvy head coach worked his magic during his first season and led the 2002 Irish to a 10-3 record, including a trip to the Gator Bowl.
His next two seasons weren’t as successful, however, as the Irish went 5-7 and 6-5 respectively. Despite featuring a record similar to Davie’s (21-16) after three seasons, Willingham wasn’t allowed to prove himself during the final two years of his contract. If that doesn’t sound like a blatant attempt to dismiss a coach during a time of convenience, I don’t know what does.
Willingham’s firing leaves UCLA’s Karl Dorrell and Mississippi State’s Sylvester Croom as the only two black head coaches in Division I-A football. There is something seriously wrong with that.
While part of me feels bad for Willingham and the way he got hosed, the rest of me rejoices as he is now able to take a job where he is wanted and more likely to succeed.
Notre Dame lost a great head coach Tuesday.
Fortunately, that means Willingham will end up in a better place.

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