Friday, December 03, 2004
ND SHOOTS SELF IN FOOT (again)
In college athletics, as in life, timing is everything. And once again, Notre Dame's is awful! By suddenly departing from their long standing practice of allowing coaches to work until their contract expires, they have left themselves wide open to charges of racism. and while the alumni may be happy with Tyrone Willingham's dismissal, the student body is not. Coach Willingham was widely admired on campus, both for the way he carried himself, and for the discipline he returned to the football program. He was generous with his time in helping out local charities, and generally was an asset both to the university, and the community at large.
People here have quickly forgotten that a large part of the reason that Lou Holtz was pushed out, and Bob Davies fired, was not their won/loss record. It was the quality of human being they brought into the football program that brought them grief. Every year there were players in brushes with the law, alumni scandals, etc. Ty brought discipline back to the program. He was a great role model and the students and players respected him.
The worst part is, Coach Willingham and staff were having one of the best recruiting years in the history of ND. By all accounts, one of the top 5 recruiting classes in the country, with more prospects leaning toward ND. If they had given him one more year, at least the new coach would have had great material to work with. As it is, most of those recruits will go elsewhere now. It's a shame.
Athletic Director Kevin White has in his brief tenure shown a tendency to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. With this decision, his track record appears to be intact.
People here have quickly forgotten that a large part of the reason that Lou Holtz was pushed out, and Bob Davies fired, was not their won/loss record. It was the quality of human being they brought into the football program that brought them grief. Every year there were players in brushes with the law, alumni scandals, etc. Ty brought discipline back to the program. He was a great role model and the students and players respected him.
The worst part is, Coach Willingham and staff were having one of the best recruiting years in the history of ND. By all accounts, one of the top 5 recruiting classes in the country, with more prospects leaning toward ND. If they had given him one more year, at least the new coach would have had great material to work with. As it is, most of those recruits will go elsewhere now. It's a shame.
Athletic Director Kevin White has in his brief tenure shown a tendency to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. With this decision, his track record appears to be intact.
