Obviously the big news in Irish nation over the past 24 hours has been the firing of Ty Willingham. It did come as a surprise to me, as I figured that wins over Michigan and Tennessee as well as a bowl game appearance would secure a fourth year. Of course, getting smoked by USC for a third straight year and blowing games against BYU, Boston College and Pitt kind of balanced things out on the other end. But we do need to discuss whether this was the right move or not.
It’s good to remember a few things beforehand. Willingham wasn’t the first choice for the job. He was interviewed at the same time as O’Leary but was passed over for the job initially so it’s clear that the powers that be were not fully behind him from the start. Also, I remember walking around the stadium before the Michigan game and hearing a lot of people talk about wanting to get rid of him so the sentiment was there before the season even truly got started.
His record is fair, especially compared to that of Davie and Faust. Two bowl games in three years and some high profile wins. His recruiting classes have not ranked high, which is a big concern. The offense hasn’t grown accustomed to the west coast offense but that was expected. You were still dealing with an option quarterback for the first year and a half and an 18 year old for the next year and a half. When it clicked, it was effective. Defense was strong up front, weak in the secondary. In my mind, the team’s success came down to special teams and defense. When there were turnovers and big special teams plays they did well, if not it was going to be a long day.
All that said, it certainly doesn’t sound like enough evidence to can a coach after three years. I expected a fourth. So why the change?
I think it really comes down to money. If I remember correctly, ND has to make a BCS bowl every few years in order to stay independent. If they don’t, they should just join the Big 10, get the guaranteed conference bowl money, and save a ton of money on travel for non-revenue sports. With Ty, the powers that be don’t see that BCS bowl game in the near future. But if Urban Meyer can get Utah into a BCS bowl, maybe he could do the same for ND. It’s a calculated risk, but they are apparently prepared to take it. There is still the question of the extremely difficult schedule and the fact that I still believe that they should try to find a way to join the Big Ten while keeping the NBC contract but that is a story for another day.
Because there is one thing that really bugs me about all of this. They said in the press conference that Ty did an outstanding job from Sunday to Friday. Meaning that graduation rates are high and there are no concerns about the program. And that has him let go in less time than Faust. That bothers me. If ND wants to pride itself on being what college athletics is supposed to be about they can’t dump a coach in three seasons just because he wasn’t able to produce a national champion with players he didn’t recruit. Especially one who upholds everything else the university stands for. This move does make ND look like Florida, dumping a coach because of high expectations. That’s modern athletics for you and maybe we need to admit that that is the world that we are living in. It just means that we need to account for the fact that even the best programs have had to make sacrifices to their ideals.
(No matter what, it’s still better than the situation with Illini football)
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