This video cracks me up. Notre Dame is a joke.
First Year
Both coaches had 10 win first season. Tyrone started out 8-0 before losing to Boston College at home. He finished 10-3 and was 4-2 against ranked opponents including a win over Michigan. Charlie also beat Michigan in his first year but lost to an unranked Michigan State the next week. He ended up going 9-3 and he was 3-2 against ranked opponents (losses to USC and Ohio State).
Second Year
Tyrone hit a speed bump in his second year. They were 5-7 and went 1-4 against ranked opponents with those losses being by 38, 13, 31 and 37 points. Bob Davie's below average recruiting was to blame and rightfully so; but with expectations being elevated the previous year, Ty's second year was a disappointment. Charlie's went 10-3 in his second year at Notre Dame but when you actually look at who he beat, it's not that impressive. He was 1-3 vs. ranked opponents and his losses to ranked teams were by 26, 20 and 27. But there is something to be said about beating who you are supposed to. He did this with the recruiting class Tyrone brought in after his 10 win season. That class consisted of all the seniors and redshirt juniors on the team. That's what good football teams do.
Third Year
Tyrone went 6-6, beat Michigan and went 2-2 against ranked opponents. He lost his last 3 games of the year though, including a 31 point loss to USC and a 17 point loss to Oregon State. Losses like that on national television were just another reason ND's AD gave when firing Ty after his third year even though the players who he brought in after his 10 win season were just redshirt freshmen and true sophomores. Charlie Weis is currently in his third season and he is having by far the worst season of this millennium for the Irish (okay, really this decade). They are currently 1-7 and are averaging only 10 point per game while they are giving up close to 30 points per game. Luckily, they have only Navy, Air Force, Duke and Stanford left on their schedule.
I cannot really say that Charlie should be fired, but this is a program that has set a standard of giving coaches only 3 years to perform. It would be unfair to Tyrone Willingham if Weis is the head coach next season. Ideally, I would love for ND's Athletic Director to say this...
"I know we only gave Tyrone Willingham 3 years but that was a mistake. We are big boys, we can say we were wrong. With that being said, we are deciding to keep Charlie on board even though the product he put out on the field this year was unacceptable. We are not going to make the same mistake twice. We look forward to better days in the future. Go Irish"
What do you think?
1 comment:
The image of a black Irishman never fit in their eyes.
There is no doubt in my mind that race played a part in Notre Dame's decision to let go of Tyrone.
When he was hired, Notre Dame touted themselves has some holier-than-thou athletic program, offering Ty a nice paycheck and citing their own program as a mark of growing representation in the upper realms of coaching.
But when Notre Dame hired Weis, they also stomped Ty's spirit like those cops once did to Rodney King.
Tyrone is too much of a stand-up guy to every admit this, but he knows it, too.
Just compare the salaries offered to Weis and Willingham. $3.3 mil per year vs. $1.5 mil per year.
They basically put out the same on-the-field product and inflation can't account for the difference.
Oh, let's also remember how quick the Irish were to throw Weis a 10-year extension.
For reasons like these, I will never support the Fighting Irish, who remain better at fighting equality than they every will at playing football.
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