However, central to Mr. Wojciechowski's and other various malcontents' arguments that Tyrone Willingham's firing was unjust is that, had he only been given more time, Ty could have acquitted himself better. But the jury hearing this case is nowhere near any kind of acquittal.
I realize that many Irish faithful wish to move on from the subject, but Tyrone's name and the circumstances of his termination still quite commonly appear in present-day criticisms of the Weis era, and most recently, of Kevin White's departure. But conveniently left out of nearly all these sob-stories relating Willingham's canning, Notre Dame's insidious racism, and obligatory "Weis is fat" commentary is Ty's post-ND coaching career. When the pundits give up their warped apologies for Willingham, I will cease debunking them.
An overview of Husky football under Ty:
- an 11-25 record overall
- a 6-20 conference record
- highest conference finish was second-to-last
- 2007's worst defense in the Pac-Ten
- no defensive line (this year, the top two defensive ends on the depth chart have a combined career total of 3 tackles)
- a fan-base screaming bloody murder
Ok, the last bullet is somewhat subjective speculation, but it is my general impression after skimming a few Husky message boards.
And while we're speculating, it's been suggested that anything less than a .500 season will almost certainly spell doom for the Willingham era in Seattle (absent the Seahawks tapping him to be assistant equipment manager).
And what's Willingham doing to steel himself for, by the looks Washington's schedule, a nightmare of a season that could devastate his coaching career?
You knew that was coming!
In all fairness, Ty was playing in a charity tournament, so more power to him. But that doesn't mean I can't wallop him for this gem:
""You need a little luck," he said. "Take a football and go stand in your back yard. Hold it out in front of you in both hands and drop it. If it bounces straight back up, you don’t need luck.""
Luck is nice. So is teaching your players not to drop the football in the first place.
The Irish people, despite being labeled as such, have been anything but lucky throughout their history. So, too, is true of Irish football: what matters far more to our success, both in the past and in the future, is hard-work, fundamentals, focus and determination.
So keep relying on luck, Ty. Lotta good it did you in that sand-trap.
