Ty Willingham: Stay or Go?

[irishtexan]

Ty has to go. After watching the Pitt game I am convinced he has to be let go. Yes there wer bad calls, but the secondary looked like they had never defended the pass before. That is a result of bad coaching. I am sick and tired of seeing an inconsistent offense and conservative play calling in the crucial times of the game. The Irish have loads of talent still, they just dont have desire. That is a result of Willingham's "positive" coaching techniques. I was skeptical when Ty was hired a few years back because he had a shaky record at Stanford, he lost all 3 times he faced San Jose State for christ sake, and now he is just flushing Irish tradition down the toilet. WE WIN AT NOTRE DAME. There are no exceptions. There are kids that would love to come play in South Bend but why waste their time playing for a team that loses at least 4-5 games a year. Has anyone noticed that when Notre Dame is behind the sidelines are quiet? Noone is really trying to pump each other up. Ty is just standing there with his arms crossed like always looking confused. If he doesnt get fired, then we will have to suffer like this again next year. As a fan you must ask yourself, do you want to watch a team play who struggles against average adversaries? Do you feel confident we can win 8 or 9 games a year? If the answer is no then Ty has to go.

[penguin]

I am not happy with coach Ty, but I say give him one more year.
He needs to win 8 out of the next 14 games, however. That would
mean the bowl game at the end of this season and 7 games next season or at least 8 games next season. The pressure is definitely on.
After the two Michigan wins, I had hoped we'd improve each week, but something just isn't right with Ty's teams. The schedule is one of the toughest around, but there seems to be no logic to which games have us victorious and which result in embarrassment. We beat teams we should have lost to and lost to ones we should have beaten!!
I think I've seen Ty look enthusiastic exactly one time this season! I care and I'd like to know that the coach cares. Show me you care, Ty!!!
I also don't like addidas and Ty wearing that brand....
Who is Urban Meyer ?

[penguin]

I remember seeing many predictions earlier in the season (Sept, after BYU) where the expectations were low. Many predicted a 5-6 season. I predicted 6-5 and it seems we're headed that way now. I didn't expect to beat TN, though.
After that win, I expected the Pitt game to be better played. Oh, well... 7-4 would have been nice...*sigh* it's been a rough up-and-down journey. But at least we've won 6 games! With this coaching crew, that seems to be an accomplishment. It only takes two more victories next year to make 8 wins.

Take solace in the other superior Notre Dame athletic programs. :-)

[irishtexan]

Winning 6 games at Notre Dame is not acceptable. If we were in the MAC conference or in the Mountain West it may be o.k. , but this is freakin' Notre Dame!!!!!!! The Irish secondary made Tyler Palko look like John Elway today!!! I am sick and tired of watching the Irish not show up to play. You would think that they would realize they are playing for the greatest football program ever and do everything they can to help it win, but I only see a few show up to play. What happened to the toughness the Irish had under Holtz? Watching the Irish those years was great because they would stuff the ball down your freakin throat. Now I see crappy tackling (how do you let a tight end who runs a 4.8 40 outrun the secondary) and a lack of character on the field. I could see the pain in Justin Tucks eyes after the game. You could tell he was tired of losing like this, which scares me because now he will probably go pro and not come back next year and why should he? Willingham has a SISSY at offensive coordinator and he has no idea how to prepare for games. We only beat Tennessee because Ainge got hurt and Kyle Orton slaughtered us. We had 11 rushing yards against the Mormon whackjobs of BYU. We beat a very subpar Stanford by only 8, and we should have killed Navy. Michigan State almost came back on us. At the 22 starting offense and defensive positions on the field Notre Dame has a high school american at almost every spot. Why cant we win with players like this? Last years recruiting class was one of the worst in history and we didnt even crack the top 25. With Ty at the reins of the program we cant compete with average teams because Ty is not a real Irish fan. He is a Spartan, and he loves Stanford. I dont think he cares if he stays or goes because he gets something like 2 million a year to be there. Urban Meyer was an assistant at ND but I doubt he will leave what he has built at Utah to come to Notre Dame. He likes the fact he can bust the BCS with Utah. What Notre Dame needs is a coach who can bring the fire and heart back into the program. If we play someone like Boise State in a crappy bowl game, i bet they throw for 4oo yards on Dwight Ellick and Mike Richardson. That is when I will give up hope. If the Irish cant compete with Pitt, how can we play against a top passing offense of any team? I think we are doomed for the tenure of Willinghams career in South Bend.

[penguin]

I left for an appointment about 5 minutes into the second half, so I missed the ending vs. Pitt talked about here. My blood pressure cannot take it this season, so it's good I missed it. It sounds like we looked terrible in the 4th Qtr.- true ?
I hate to say this, but sometimes ND doesn't seem like a division I team! It seems like the player components are there, but they are not 'calibrated' as a team or focused on the same clear goal. They do well almost in spite of themselves. It's sloppy. I wonder about the basic drills they follow and their conditioning. I'd rather see a methodical offense which gains a consistent 5 yards per carry than a flamboyant passing attack. (with all the attendant dropped passes) Later, mix it up. Basics first. Defense, defense, defense. Tighten up! I agree that the calls by coach have been horrible at times, and this happened last year as well !! His program is not working.
I don't think he really understands Notre Dame tradition, either. That's his biggest error - he may go through the motions sometimes, but he does not feel the spirit!!!

I have a question - Can anyone tell me when we've had sustained positive momentum for a full quarter in any game this season ? I'm curious and would love to hear some discussion. Right now, I'm drawing a blank.

[penguin]

I'm new here today and would like to mention that I began watching ND football on WNDU in 1963. I love Ara Parseghian. There is a wonderful article about him on the ND Fighting Irish website. I loved the way he coached and the way he interacted with the community/alumni.
I looked at the "All Time ND Coaching Records" via the link at FireTy.com and Ara is represented well at an 83.6 % record over 11 seasons. The controversial 10-10 tie against Michigan State (in 1965?) was painful, but I supported Ara's decision then. He has integrity.
Too bad some of it didn't rub off on Willingham when Ara was recently honored on campus. The constant pain of the past few years under Willingahm is the kind that dulls your senses and leaves you numb.
No, we don't deserve this. But the new coach must have something special, a great work ethic, be someone the players can relate to, and have a certain spark/energy/spirit that translates well to our beloved tradition. Plus be able to recruit a great staff. We can take our time looking around while we let Willingham know his days are numbered. (expensive error hiring him!)
Lou Holtz was good, I enjoyed him and his teams. I always thought that he was ready for a change, too, though. When I looked at his record, it was the same number of years (11) as Ara, but 16 more games (and maybe tougher schedules.) It's a great record, very solid.
Also, noticed that 11 years occured between Leahy and Parseghian, and 8 between Parseghian and Holtz. Since Holtz left in 1996, we've waited another 8 years for a return to glory. It did look like we might have been heading in the right direction at the end of last season, it could have gone either way...but I always had doubts about Willingham. I didn't want to have them. I just never felt convinced by his actions on the field. I've spent way too much time the past few years yelling at the TV. There have been so many idiotic decisons during games. SO, yes, we should get a new coach - it's time.
But it needs to be the 'right' one this time.
So, I stand by my previous statement of giving Ty one more year. Meanwhile, the search should be on !!!

[QueensNY]

Penguin you have got to be friggin kidding me, give Ty another year. Have you even watched this team the past 3 years...your 5 and 6 predictions are off as well most ND fans were saying 8-3 I was thinking more in the lines of 7-4, but the way this team has played I truely don't cre if we beat Usc. This Fool has got to go. You don't even know who Urban Meyers is , well he's the hottest young coaching prospect in the country who has an out in his contract for the ND job. Doesn't matter though were keeping Ty cause of his skin color. Which is Absolute BS I could care less what color the guy is, I happen to think he's making black coaches look bad. This fool can't coach drop him!