Bmwolf21 Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 SEATTLE (AP)—Tyrone Willingham’s ouster Monday as Washington’s football coach surprised only his players. Two days after the Huskies fell to 0-7, athletic director Scott Woodward sat next to Willingham at the coach’s weekly news conference and announced Willingham will be replaced after the season. A move that seemed seasons in the making was actually days in the making. University president Dr. Mark Emmert said Willingham was told a change would be made after the Huskies lost 34-13 to Oregon State on Oct. 18. LINK I don't know what to make of him. Seems like a class act and real nice guy, but just doesn't seem to be getting it done on the recruiting trail in recent years, and Washington is a mess on the field. He was pretty good at Stanford (44-36-1 in 7 seasons) and was OK at Notre Dame (21-16 in 3 years, although that is bolstered by his 10-3 record in his first season) but is just 11-32 in 3 1/2 years at Washington. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el Tigre Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 The guy is a mystery to me also. He did a real good job at Stanford. That's a tough place to win because of the academic standards. He ran a clean program and took them to a Rose Bowl. I thought he got a raw deal at ND,but looking at his record since,maybe not. I know a kid that played for him at Washington and he had nothing but good things to say about him as a coach and a man. The only criticism I've ever heard of him is he takes himself really serious,maybe needs to loosen up just a bit. I'd like to see him get another shot somewhere,maybe a smaller program. He seems like the kind of coach that may do well at an academic 1-AA program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynical Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 The guy is a mystery to me also. He did a real good job at Stanford. That's a tough place to win because of the academic standards. He ran a clean program and took them to a Rose Bowl. I thought he got a raw deal at ND,but looking at his record since,maybe not. I know a kid that played for him at Washington and he had nothing but good things to say about him as a coach and a man. The only criticism I've ever heard of him is he takes himself really serious,maybe needs to loosen up just a bit. I'd like to see him get another shot somewhere,maybe a smaller program. He seems like the kind of coach that may do well at an academic 1-AA program. UB after they lose Turner? Edit: Yes, I realize UB is not 1-AA, but if I understand their position, UB has no intentions of competing with the big buys (ala Penn St., Syracuse, etc ...) as they are more focused on the academics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el Tigre Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 UB after they lose Turner? Edit: Yes, I realize UB is not 1-AA, but if I understand their position, UB has no intentions of competing with the big buys (ala Penn St., Syracuse, etc ...) as they are more focused on the academics. Yeah,that might be a nice fit.I could see him going to a program like that and staying a long time. It just seems like he fits the smaller,more academic enviroment better than the big football schools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartshan-83 Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Great man, high character, average coach, terrible recruiter. Ty Willingham left ND's football program better-off as a STUDENT-athlete body, and worse off as a football team. He was simply not good enough at bringing in top talent and he did not have the coaching prowess to make up the difference. What I always thought was a strange paradox was that he was ineffective as a recruiter, yet his players absolutely loved him. His firing my senior year tore the team apart. One of my good friends on the team was so pissed that he decided to forgo his redshirt senior year and enter the draft. Had he stayed, his presence could have been the difference in '05 when our only pre-bowl losses were a pair of heartbreakers to Mich St. and USC. Brady Quinn said the same thing...he was asked what type of coach he hoped to get as a replacement and he responded a clone/twin of Tyrone. I wish him nothing but the best and I hope he settles into a lower-level program where he can help foster a strong academic and high character football environment while still being successful as a head coach. He was simply out of his league in the upper-echelon of college football. He had a good run at Stanford, sold his stock high, had a miracle first season at ND and then continued to fade into mediocrity or worse. I regret that his name will always evoke some negative feelings for me due to the end of his tenure at ND. The perception will always be that ND kicked him to the curb without a fair shake. And in terms of the racial connotations that inevitably come up with that discussion, it is a shame the Notre Dame will always be known as the school that unfairly fired a black coach instead of one of the few premier college football programs that hired one. Godspeed, Tyrone...I'm sure you will land on your feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmwolf21 Posted October 29, 2008 Author Share Posted October 29, 2008 UB after they lose Turner? Edit: Yes, I realize UB is not 1-AA, but if I understand their position, UB has no intentions of competing with the big buys (ala Penn St., Syracuse, etc ...) as they are more focused on the academics. Honestly, I hope not. If Ty is as bad a recruiter as many have described, then I don't think he'd be a good fit at UB. I feel like UB will need a good recruiter to pull the occasional players away from the Penn States, Ohio States, Syracuse, not to mention the rest of the MAC schools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartshan-83 Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Honestly, I hope not. If Ty is as bad a recruiter as many have described, then I don't think he'd be a good fit at UB. I feel like UB will need a good recruiter to pull the occasional players away from the Penn States, Ohio States, Syracuse, not to mention the rest of the MAC schools. I'm tough on his recruiting because I think his record speaks for itself. However, I wonder if this would apply to lower level talent. Do you expect UB to pull the occaisonal *blue chipper* away from a school like Ohio St. or just a regular player (3 stars) that they were also interested in? I have my doubts that Ty could do the former, but I think he could do the latter. The players he does convince to come fall in love with him, so he obviously has a terrific rapport with some. I just think (and this is purely opinion) that he didn't fight hard enough to convince the 5-star guys to forgo a place like USC or Michigan. I think he could be very successful at a place like UB where he was out of the direct spotlight he has been thrust into for the last 7 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilly Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Syracuse lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynical Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 lol Believe it or not, Syracuse and some of the other schools in the Big East actually are attempting to be competitive. They may be failing at it miserably, but they are trying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 Honestly, I hope not. If Ty is as bad a recruiter as many have described, then I don't think he'd be a good fit at UB. I feel like UB will need a good recruiter to pull the occasional players away from the Penn States, Ohio States, Syracuse, not to mention the rest of the MAC schools. No offense to the UB Bulls, but the caliber of players that Penn St and Ohio St recruit don't have much interest in attending a MAC school Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmwolf21 Posted November 2, 2008 Author Share Posted November 2, 2008 No offense to the UB Bulls, but the caliber of players that Penn St and Ohio St recruit don't have much interest in attending a MAC school No doubt, but there are always a few bubble guys that might play at OSU or Penn State but could start quicker and be more of an impact player at a MAC school. Those are the guys that a good recruiter, like Gill, would be more likely to bring to UB than a bad recruiter would. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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