Willingham's Scorched Earth
(cfb360.com -NDNation.com)See also:
Willingham and Racism, It's Not What You Think
I just snicker when I hear commentators talk about Tyrone Willingham needing more time at Washington. More time for what? To kill Husky football for the next five years? If Willingham's allowed to continue he's going to deliver a death knell recruiting class to the Huskies. Babbling idiots like John Saunders and Mark May keep talking about Tyrone needing more time for his recruiting to take hold. They forget that it's already taken hold. It is what it is and what it's always been.
Washington had a good recruiting class last year. Not elite. Not great. Just a good class. It finished anywhere between 14th and 24th in the country depending upon which service you use. That class followed two straight recruiting classes by Willingham that didn't crack the top 25. And the only reason last year's class was good was because there were so many in state recruits that were high caliber. That won't be the case this year or in most years. Consider this fact: over the last three years Willingham has recruited exactly four four-star or higher players from outside the state and only three are with the team. One great player a year from outside the state? That wouldn't cut it at Texas, Florida or USC which are loaded with in state talent. Washington is not. To succeed you have to get at least some of best kids from around the country.
But that folks is as good as it gets under Willingham. Woof, woof.
Currently the Huskies have the 86th ranked class after losing their best player (who decomitted last week.)
Willingham is about to do to the Huskies what he did to ND and Stanford before him.
For those who didn't follow Notre Dame closely back at the end of Willingham's tenure, the most frightening element wasn't the prospect of another mediocre to bad season, it was the recruiting abyss we were staring into.
In Willingham's second season at Notre Dame he recruited one of the worst overall Notre Dame classes in decades. In this third season, he was doing it again, only this time it looked even worse. Two classes that were all but bereft of linemen.
When USC and Michigan are piling up top ten class after top ten class, that dog won't hunt.
Worse still was the fact that Willingham didn't expect things to get much better on the field, which would have ensured three straight bad recruiting years; a virtual death penalty that Notre Dame wouldn't have recovered from 'till this day.
What made all of this maddening to Notre Dame fans was that Willingham wasn't even trying, he simply expected recruits to come to him. Recruiting analyst Tom Lemming labeled Willingham and his staff outright lazy. Willingham would wait and wait to evaluate and offer kids while other coaches mounted full court presses.
Charlie, while still coaching the Patriots, wasn't able to do much to turn that second class around, but finally put together a top 10 class his second year and has followed that up with two top 5 classes including last year's number one recruiting class.
But the die had already been cast. Last year Notre Dame had exactly two offensive linemen in its junior and senior classes.
That's unheard of... or maybe it isn't... read on.
Willingham left Notre Dame with over 5 million dollars in payouts (he was still the highest paid Notre Dame coach last year btw) and then proceeded to scorch ND's reputation, letting John Saunders float charges of racism while Tyrone played the big man.
So that's Notre Dame. Scorched and burned. Millions out the window and a black hole in recruiting that's taken Notre Dame to its lowest depths in decades. That scorched earth is finally turning to fertile ground and the Irish are coming back from the dead.
None of this surprises Stanford followers who also felt the black hole of Willingham recruiting, twice.
Willingham created his own black hole back in 1996 when he failed to recruit one offensive lineman that year.
None. Zero. Zippo.
Willingham went 5-6 and 3-8 the next two years and almost got fired. But a 8-4 run against a depleted Pac 10 in 1999 (he was 7-1 against the Pac 10 and 1-3 outside of the Pac 10) saved his job before a third losing season in four years in 2000.
Willingham had his best year in 2001 finishing 9-3. But pain was coming as Willingham's recruiting sowed the seeds for failure again leaving Teevens with what the San Francisco Chronicle called "rampant inexperience on the offensive line" in 2003. Said the Chronicle, "... a line that couldn't run block, couldn't protect the passer and couldn't stand up to more experienced defenses at virtually every turn. " Hmmm... sounds like Notre Dame in 2007.
Here's the Stanford 2003 preview from SI: "The Cardinal is hurting on the offense line with only one experienced returnee in three-year starter Kirk Chambers, the left tackle. Kwame Harris' early departure for the NFL complicated an already dire situation, and now Teevens will have to rely on a host of unproven players, including seven redshirt freshmen."
Sound familiar Domers? What happened?
Willingham's recruiting left Teevens with only... drum roll please... TWO upper class offensive linemen out of fourteen on the team.
In other words, he created the exact same problem at both schools.
Predictably, Teevens (not that he wouldn't have failed anyway) bombed in his second year in the same way Notre Dame did... just slightly worse than Weis's 3-9 last year. What we've learned is that both coaches were playing with a very unstacked deck due to negligent recruiting. Stanford followers speculated that Willingham got out just in time.
It's no surprise to anyone that Willingham led the charge to impose restrictions on coaches' travel. It saved him from having to compete on hard work.
The thing we Domers learned is that Willingham only cares about Willingham. He poisoned the well in every conceivable way upon his departure from Notre Dame. He left a media mess, a recruiting nightmare and a financial albatross. It didn't have to be that way either. If he fired Deidrick he could have stayed (something he did anyway when he went to Washington.) He didn't and that turned out to be the best thing that has happened to Notre Dame football in years. It's taken four years to cleanse the stench of losing and divisiveness. Much like Washington now, Notre Dame's players were just plain quitting in games, which happens when you have a coach that refuses to accept responsibility. That attitude takes a long-long time to change.
But now the Huskies are facing the same Willingham imposed virtual death penalty. A null recruiting class following one decent and two mediocre classes will hamstring the Huskies for years. And if you thought Willingham didn't work hard on the recruiting trail before, you ain't seen nothing yet. A lame duck Willingham won't be able to take the insult of rejection. Remember Tyrone only cares about Tyrone and recruiting takes a lot of groundwork.
Recruiting isn't microwave popcorn ya know.
Most Domers think that Willingham's a self-important con artist who talks in strange platitudes that sound smart when you first hear them, but upon reflection make little sense and mask his lack of understanding of the issues. I used to think his stern looks had meaning, now I just view them as funny faces he makes when he's clueless.
At Stanford he opined what he would do with Notre Dame's players. At Notre Dame he wondered what he would do without the restrictions. Lack of performance was always someone else's fault. I have no idea where he goes from here, but I believe that if he had an offer to go to another school with a good golf course nearby, he'd be on a plane already.
But after scorching the earth from South Bend to Seattle, it looks like this time the jig's up. When he leaves, don't expect it to be pretty. At Notre Dame he took people down with him and some reports claim he's already done that with Todd Turner at the Dub.
As AFCA president, Willingham may yet have another surprise in the works.
posted by Scott Engler @ 8:47 PM
32 Comments:
One of the most clearly written, coherent, timely assessments of Willingham I've seen written. I swear he has a set of 10 to 15 canned one liners that he pulls out whenever the need arises. The best one this weel is that they are still working towards a bowl. Amazing. Can't wait for him to be done at Washington.
Well done. I don't believe there to be another major college football coach who has had as many excuses made for him by the media in the face of numerous examples of failure and incompetence.
Thank you for the wonderfully written article/blog entry. It is a perfect illustration of the fraudulent resume that Lionel and his blind supporters carry. We at UW have seen everything unravel the way the Notre Dame and Stanford fans warned us it would, and you nailed every assessment on the head. I'll be sure to forward this to anyone and everyone who is and has been associated with UW.
Great, but sad, commentary. Ty has little class and no clue. On top of everything you mentioned, consider that now he is rapidly busying himself with burning the redshirts of some the Huskies' promising freshmen. That supports your assertion that Ty only cares about Ty. The hole he's digging for at UW is going to be a deep one . . .
Spot on analysis!
We are suffering up in Seattle. One has to wonder if the president of the UW is enabling TY to completely submarine his career in order to not listen to John Saunders (and the local anti-UW paper).
I hate Tyrone and everything he has touched. He is a c@nt and is a self-centered little man. I wish nothing but the absolute worst for him in all of his future endeavors.
*cue inevitable comments of racism when he gets fired, while ignoring his repeated inability to perform*
GREAT f*cking article. I wish the Seattle media had the balls the past few years to tell the truth instead of fear backlash.
You pretty well sum up the story of Ty. Unfortunately for the Huskies and their AD they are stuck with Ty-baby until the bitter end of the year. They don't want the R card played by Ty's press minions who keep pounding away on "give him a chance". Last thing they want is the h@ll the Irish faced after they rightfully canned him..............I know how sick the proud Husky fans feel. They have my sympathy.........Go Irish......................
Solid article and I agree he needs to go but Top 10 recruting classes are a little out of reach for Washington these days. Ty had absolutley nothing to work with when he arrived so I've been fairly pleased with his recruiting classes. However he's done NOTHING to develop these guys. I totally agree with the opinion that he uses his serious attitude to cover up his lack of coaching skills.
Willingham was a politically correct choice, a man of character (to be fair) when the prevailing wisdom (WRONG!)in Seattle was anti-Neuheisel. RN brought quality local and national recruiting, insightful interviews, and FUN to the program. TW believes his integrity alone is enough to bring in quality recruits and inspire them to play hard, instead of showing them some love and passion, on and off the field. He might be a great coach in the Ivy league, but he was a poor choice. for a major school like ND or UW. As you brilliantly document, the evidence for this should have been clear before he came to UW. The talent level now may be the lowest in the history of the program.
The Huskies have another massive problem the Irish faced when Ty got fired.
Many of the top coaches knew the recruiting hole the Irish were handed and they were not interested in the job.
When offered the ND job it was reported Urban Meyer polled some of his coaching buddies on which school could win sooner, Florida or ND ? They overwhelmingly said Florida and so Urban turns down a job he always wanted because of the recruits mess.
Pete Carrol said not long ago he figured the Irish were in trouble before the disasterous 2007 season because of the lack of upper class linemen.
On top of his lack of passion is the highest level of arrogance I have ever seen in college football. I gave my Husky gear to a homeless guy three years ago. I long for the day when we can be proud Husky fans again. Fire Ty now!
"Christine" is actually is "Christopher" w/ chopped off weiner.
here is the way it is in Seattle and why Ty Willingham hasnt been fired. I posted mid season last year (in the Seattle Times blog)that the only reason that Willingham is still the coach at UW is that he is the Pres. of the Black coaches asso. and that UW would not be willing to take the racial heat for firing him. I am now unable to post due to incorrect content.
I have found out that you can be right and still be incorrect.
I hope Tyrone has painful hemroids and the clap.
Fantastic and spot-on article. Of all the myths about Willingham, the biggest seems to be that he is a good recruiter. He is a terrible recruiter and has recruited abysmally to Washington, which isn't hard to recruit to. Last year's class was solid because it was a record year for in-state talent and they all pretty much said they'd always wanted to bu Huskies, not play for Willingham. Combine that with the way he treats players, fans and the media and you have a train-wreck of epic proportions. It's just a shame nobody did their homework before hiring Ty.
udubs president and administrators should be held most responsible. they have not had a competent person running the athletic department for 15 years. they thought they could just get by on husky tradition. they made of mess of the neuhisel situation and then made it worse by hiring gilbertson. On bright side for gilbertson is that his recruiting classes were better than anything ty has brought in. ty didn't have a lot to work with but he had more than he has now. A good coaching staff would win with locker period. they would have found a way to win games last year and the year before. ty has left the program bare and he hasn't been fired yet. a white coach would have been fire by now.
Wow, Mrs. The Rock...talk about holding a grudge. I'd hate to be the teacher that gave you a bad grade in high school, or your parents for disciplining you for sneaking out of the house. You ND fans are absolutely ridiculous. What you don't point out is that Spanky O'Genius won with all of Ty's recruits...Brady Quinn, Smardia(sp) Zibikowski (sp), Walker, etc. But couldn't win after that...in fact, it wasn't until he turned over offensive play calling to someone else have they done anything, and who they've beaten this year is not impressive.
Ty has done an admirable job in a HORRIBLE situation. Neu-weasel and Barbara Hedges (former AD) left this program in a mess - nobody knew if we were going to get hit with sanctions or what the fallout would be. Recruits didn't want to come here because of that - Jonathan Stewart, Taylor Mays, etc. Ty has gotten recruits in here, and no, they did not just "always want to play for Washington". Do your homework! MANY came to play for Ty, and they still play for Ty.
Don't get me wrong, on the field he, and the coaching staff as a whole, has not developed the talent they have well enough and that will cost him his job - and at this point I support that.
What cracks me up is how ND fans keep using Ty as a scape goat for the fact that ND is irrelevant in the College Football world. Bob Davie was a stellar coach, huh? Spanky O'Genius has done a great job, huh? Get over it.
Go Dawgs!!!
How did TW leave a financial albatross at ND? I don't understand.
BTW, he's a shitty coach.
Ty's payout. He made more than Weis last year.
We still have some @sses who think Ty is the man. He is the worst type of person for a coach. The personality of a rock. He cannot coach. Period.
No blame for the AD/Prez. on signing a shitty coach to a shitty contract? TW sucks ass, but I don't agree that you can blame a financial gaffe on a football coach.
Ryan is clearly a nitwit. Weis won with players who were, at best, marginal under Ty. Given your comments to date, I'm sure you'll just attribute that to the mere passage of time, rather than Weis's coaching. But if passage of time and maturing were all that was needed to improve in the college game, why aren't the Huskies leaning on Ty's first recruiting class this year?
The facts are clear: Ty is a lackluster recruiter, a rotten and stubborn gameday coach, an inaccessible and uncommunicative cipher to the media, and scornful and dismissive of Washington's alumni.
Only in an overly politically-correct environment like Seattle could these realities be swept under the rug in favor of wishful thinking that this particular leopard will somehow change his spots. Ty is a subpar coach, and has been the majority of his career; he has a career losing percentage below .500 and has left two marquee programs who were already down in worse condition than when he found them. The better question in my mind is why won't the media talk about that fact?
yeah, the great recruiter; if i remember correctly, he did not even know about or pursue Brady Quinn until Quinn's HS teammate, and future ND teammate, Ndukwe told Willingham about Quinn. I wonder if UW will be vilified for this firing when it happens. what also kills me is last year during NDs 3-9 run, you dare not ever try to explain that half, or some of the reason for the bad season had to do with Tyrone's crappy recruiting efforts....no one wanted to hear about that. the only acceptable possibility for why ND was so bad last year was because Weis had to be a bad coach and couldn't win with 'his' players. a good example of this is Pat Forde over on espn. When ND nation was trying to explain this recruiting issue last year, ole Pat must have gotten sick of hearing about it and now sarcastically calls Tyrone 'the scourge of humanity' when he is writing his column. i guess it took a UW 0-5 start and more crappy Ty recruiting efforts in order for people to now fully understand what everyone was trying to say about the state of ND football LAST year.
A very good list of observations about the awful mess Coach(?) Willingham is about to leave at Washington. The new AD ought to fire him and hire the recently fired Raider coach. He is young and a proven commodity at USC.
There are a lot in agreement that the Dawgs should hire Lane Kiffen. The new AD at UW has stated that he will not move on this situation until the end of the season. Providing that nothing extreem happens. He sites consistancy in the program. The problem with this thinking is that no good high school senior will sign with Washington until Willingham is fired and a new man is in place. We all know that Willingham will be fired. Should have been fired 2 years ago but those at the UW and the Willingham supporters wrongly thought that Willingham needed more time. That is like a doctor saying that Cancer needs more time. I have been a husky fan most of my life and I was screeming NOOOOOOO! The day Willingham was hired. I wish I was wrong. And now it looks like he is torpedoing the program by playing all the new freshmen. Hell he is even considering playing a hurt Jake Locker!!!
Ty Willingham is and always was the wrong man for the job at Washington. But in a world of needing to be "PC" it has to get this bad before the President of the Black coaches asso. can be fired. How sad that the UW had to cower down and let Ty Willingham almost destroy our football program.
But the Dawgs will be back.
As much as I hate Notre Dame, they KNOW football. So when they fire Ty I think there is a reason. And, sure enough as we have found out, there was a reason. Of course, they were so smooth in doing it by having the president say he wasn't aware of his firing. But, he didn't think it right to interfere with the AD's decision so he would have to let it stand. WOW what P.R.
I just hope we have balls as big as theirs.
Bob F
Slam!
That's the sound of the nail getting hit squarely on the head and sunk deep into the wood.
Does Willingham talk during a football game? Does he coach? What does he do?
Ryan is absolutely clueless. Another individual willing to give Ty the props for Weis' success in his first two years, but never giving Davies' the credit for Ty's success in his first year. The fact is, ND got worse each year Willingham was there. Charlie coached around it. Pete Carroll was right - everyone that follows ND football saw what was coming in year 3. ND was racist for firing him? Were they racist when they hired him?
Really an excellent article. I approved of Willingham's hiring, having liked what I thought I saw at Stanford, & just figured ND was their getting their just desserts. However, except for Skippy's Rose Bowl year & having Marques Tuiasosopo as a leader, I haven't seen much motivation at Montlake for years. Lambright was a great DC & Gilby a great OC, but both guys lost their thread as head Dawg. 10 years apart, these two Arizona games have made me desperate for a change. Ty ain't got it, but let me float this idea: Mike Holmgren.
His treatment of former players and boosters at UW is mind boggling.
Alienate the hand that feeds you, there is a recipe for success.
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