FIRE KARL DORRELL!
Firing Karl Dorrell, UCLA’s marvelously inconsistent coach, will be difficult for a number of reasons. The new coach will have to be good but cheap, because UCLA’s never really splashed out the cash for a head guy. Those are not easy to find. The new guy will also have to immediately pick up the recruiting trail from Dorrell against Pete Carroll, a move comparable in difficulty to handing off an F-15 mid-barrell roll to a novice pilot.
The administration, too, will face one possible claim: that they fired Dorrell and his 34-25 record because he is black.
Dorrell’s firing–not an inevitability but a highly probable event at this point–will evoke the Willingham saga all over again, but in a more diminished way because UCLA doesn’t have the gravitational media pull Notre Dame has. If there are whispers that Dorrell wasn’t given another year that a white coach might be given, the rancor won’t spread as it did when Willingham was let go. Also, Dorrell probably won’t go on ESPN claiming he was fired because he was black. He could, of course, but that all depends on how acrimonious said firing process is.
Nevertheless, those who would believe this will believe it anyway. Assuming someone was fired because they’re black/gay/fat/left-handed is an act of faith that can never be disproven, since the only evidence lies in the impenetrable inner thoughts of the AD and President who make the decision, or in a smoking gun memo that says “WE NEED A NON-BLACK COACH, SIGNED, UCLA PERSON.”
In that vein, we offer the following suggestion for a PR campaign for UCLA just to counter such rumors–since those who believe race played a factor will believe it no matter what you say.
There. Free PR, on the house. Sometime we’re astounded at how useful we are to this world.*
*Hey! It’s satire! Or an attempt at it, at least! We don’t actually think either of them was fired for being black. We’re making fun of those who assume anything involving a black coach being fired instantly equals racism! Now, Gary Barnett was fired for being black, and that’s the truth. Aren’t you glad you read footnotes?
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1
stapler says:
That Notre Dame loss looks worse and worse as the season progresses.
November 7th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
2
Herb says:
No, UCLA would be racist for firing Dorrell for losing to the Irish. Or to Catholics.
I assume that all the talking heads screaming that ND is racist if they don’t fire Weis (didn’t they already say ND was racist irregardless?) will use those same powers of extrapolation to “prove” Washington’s racism when they fire Willingham?
Although in that case, it will be ok, because fuck Todd Turner.
November 7th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
3
roaminggator says:
A couple of years ago I went on the Black Coaches Association website. In their mission statement they said that their goal or vision was to increase the number of minority head-coaches. So, I sent them an email, asking them if their goal is to get more minorities hired, then why don’t they call themselves the Minority Coaches Association? They never did email me back.
November 7th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
4
Signal to Noise says:
Is that Dorrell in the photo? I think that’s one of his coordinators.
Dorrell probably gets one more year. The rash of injuries afflicting the Bruins are not something he can help, although he continues to be aggresively mediocre as a head coach.
November 7th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
5
Orson Swindle says:
OMG that is one of his coordinators. We can’t decide if this makes it funnier or not.
November 7th, 2007 at 5:34 pm
6
Techie says:
At least Sylvester Croom is getting some results in the 4th year….
November 7th, 2007 at 5:34 pm
7
bruinhoo says:
#4 – its DeWayne Walker, the Def Coordinator.
November 7th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
8
Unhappy Monkey says:
That is one of the most subtle “they all look the same to me” jabs I have ever witnessed. Sublime even.
November 7th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
9
oc phil says:
I thought Dorrell was pretty secure even a few weeks ago. But losses to Utah, Notre Dame (this year), Washington State and Arizona all in the same year are pretty brutal. Even for a mid-level program like UCLA that might prove fatal for the coach.
He probably needs to go 2 for 3 against ASU, Oregon, and USC to survive at this point. That isn’t likely to happen. Given the goofy results of the past couple of years they might pull off one of those upsets though.
November 7th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
10
Verne Lundquist says:
Oh it definitely makes it funnier. The reasons for which Unhappy Monkey points out.
November 7th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
11
jebus says:
If Johnnie Cochrane were alive you’d never get away with posting a misattributed photo like that.
November 7th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
12
JAM says:
I thought it was Cuba Gooding, Jr’s head photoshopped in and chalked it up to comedic genius.
November 7th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
13
fotodog says:
Jesse Jackson just asked his secretary to book him a flight the LAX and have a driver ready to take him to Westwood upon his arrival.
November 7th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
14
Gilbert says:
That it is not Dorrell in the picture makes it funnier.
It’s actually been screwed up for real in other places before (running a picture of a black assistant coach and the caption saying it’s Dorrell). If Orson did it unintentionally, he’s not the first.
Great headline.
November 7th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
15
jebus says:
Apparently Johnnie Cochrane’s been dead for 2 years. We can’t decide if this makes that joke funnier or not.
November 7th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
16
The Last Dragon says:
#8 – I was thinking the same thing as I fell out of my chair laughing. Nice dig Orson – intentional or not….
November 7th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
17
gerry dorsey says:
holy shit this is so unintentional genius.
orson…dr. freud on line 1 for you
November 7th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
18
marcillac says:
S2N,
Let’s hope your right. Dorrell is an absolute blessing. The one redeeming aspect of my Bears gving UCLAjy that game is that the “win” might end up tipping the scales in favor of his retention.
November 7th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
19
bruined says:
Deja vu.
The paper in Seattle (I think, it was one of the northwest papers) did the same thing, posting a picture of DeWayne Walker (DC) and labeling it as Dorrell. At least it wasn’t a picture of Willingham.
November 7th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
20
BDoc says:
Kanye would like us to know that Dan Guerrero doesn’t care about black people.
November 7th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
21
Jonsi says:
Isn’t the UCLA equilibrium a bunch of 7-5 seasons with a 10-2 punctuated every 4 years? The knock against Dorell is the inconsistent performances. With other head coaching jobs up for grabs this year, I’ll give him one more year, though it’s not like UCLA would dish out the big bucks of some of the other programs. If I were an AD and President, I would think “do we fire him and try to hire someone immediately when we expect other coaching jobs to create competition” or do you say “injuries galore, give him one more chance, we may be the premier coaching position a year later.”
November 7th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
22
Stacy Keibler Luvs Me says:
Funnier Alternative:
Rather than the LA Times parody, which loves Dorrell, it would have been funnier to have a fake piece by Fox Sports’ resident top negro writer – Jason Whitlock, the Clarence Thomas of the sports world.—->That’s a joke, I like his writing. His latest hit piece was great:
http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/7419706?MSNHPHMA
November 7th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
23
Tater Salad says:
UCLA needs to look into hiring Denny Crane to do its terminations.
And #8,
Last night I caught the rerun of the Chappelle Show where he says all people besides black people look the same to him. Impeccable timing
November 7th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
24
Tom says:
My first thought was that Dorrell looks suspiciously like Ty Willingham in that photo.
There’s no way UCLA can do this right though. After all, the school put up with about a decade of mediocrity under Bob Toledo before canning his ass, and unlike Dorrell, Toledo only had to deal with a subpar USC rather than the current juggernaut. UCLA has the all-too-common problem of thinking its football program is better than it actually is.
November 7th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
25
bruinhoo says:
#19: its closer to a 9-10 win season every 2-3 years, until this decade. The inconsistent performances under Dorrell are the killer, surprisingly the inconsistency seems to be getting even worse the longer that he has been coaching.
November 7th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
26
vegas_buckeye says:
*sigh* this piece takes me back to the harkenings of the good old days of comedy:
“So, do you think about these faggots getting married? It’s ok, I can say that, I’m black.”
- Daniel Tosh, white male, (c) 2005
November 7th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
27
Lawrence Ross says:
Wow guys. I’ve had a ball on this site and I can definitely take a joke. But let’s not confuse the fact that the NCAA has a terrible record when hiring black head coaches. Dorrell can get fired and that’s completely fine. That doesn’t raise the hypocrisy flag since UCLA isn’t claiming to be anything but UCLA. But when Willingham gets fired from a school that traditionally gives their coaches five years and only give him three, well that doesn’t pass the smell test, especially after Charlie Super Genius is 1-9. So I’m okay with laughing, but don’t demean the whole issue for the sake of chuckles.
Go Bears!
November 7th, 2007 at 7:27 pm
28
Stacy Keibler Luvs Me says:
Lawrence: This site laughs at, along with most of us here, consistently at the following:
Black People,
White People,
Brown People,
Yellow People,
Red People,
Green (tree huggers) People.
(apologies to the other __ color people that I missed.)
November 7th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
29
Unhappy Monkey says:
“I can definately take a joke” means you can’t when the joke hits your pet subject.
November 7th, 2007 at 8:04 pm
30
Mr Pelican Pants says:
#12
In that pic, I also thought that was Radio screaming “We gon’ run da REVERSE REVERSE, Coach! REVERSE!!!” Actually based on this years results, UCLA could have used RADIO’s help, and I think he is actually the ND Offensive Coordin….I mean ND’s offense could use someone smarter…I’m just sayin……
November 7th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
31
John says:
I know this is a thread-jacking but why did CBS pick LSU-Ole Miss on November 17th over Kentucky-Georgia? I know LSU is still in the national title hunt, but if Tennessee loses to Arkansas, Georgia beats Auburn and Kentucky beats Vandy, Kentucky-Georgia is for the lead in the East.
November 7th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
32
Bay Area Bear says:
SAVE DORRELL!!!
-rest of Pac 10
November 7th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
33
Out of Conference says:
26 SKLM -
Don’t forget gays and homophobes
November 7th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
34
Tim says:
Wow Lawrence – Since ND screwed up and gave Davie 5 years they should be forced to repeat that mistake with Ty? In the post-Ara era, the only other underperforming coach that got 5 years was Faust and that was obviously a mistake as well. That sample size is not large enough to say ND “traditionally” gives coaches 5 years. Everyone does black coaches a disservice by crying racism every time one is fired – who wants to hire a coach and then be unable to fire him without be labeled a racist?
November 7th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
35
Lawrence Ross says:
Hey Tim,
In a word, yeah. Faust and Davie screwed up and got five years to succeed. Willingham should have received the same five years in the same way Weis, who is screwing up right now, is going to get.
And please, the sample size? Devane, Ara, Holtz? You have to go back forty years to find an outlyer. So please.
And lastly, please don’t tell me when it’s convenient to point out racism, just because you don’t like it. No one says you can’t fire a black coach. What people say is that you can’t fire a black coach with different standards than you would another coach. That would make things unequal. And then you have to look into all of the factors for that inequality. When you check to see, and notice that everything else is equal (including record), then you have to look at other factors, including race.
November 7th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
36
Tim says:
Devine, Ara and Holtz were obviously successful, so the fact that they got 5 years does not support your point. If there were more underperforming coaches who got 5 years, you could maybe have a point.
And I’m not going to argue the merits of Ty vs. Weis again. It was obvious to everyone who followed the program that Ty needed to go, just as it is dawning on UW fans now. Please see this fine post on ndnation today:
http://ndnation.com/boards/showpost.php?b=football;pid=462486;d=this
November 7th, 2007 at 10:32 pm
37
Scrill Gates says:
Here’s what’s crazy…Willingham was actually fired for being mediocre and black. He was definitely struggling, but I believe that as a black football coach at Notre Dame, he had more pressure to win immediately than a white coach would have had. I guarantee that as the losses piled up, people were calling Williingham all types of names that I don’t need to get into…racism, unfortunately, is the American way.
November 7th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
38
JohnInHsv says:
Last year Carl beats USC and he’s on top of the world. Then, in what must be one of the most gigantic brainfarts ever committed in the history of college football, he hires Bob “BucketStep” Connelly off of SHula’s departing staff. This is the same genius that got Shula to ban the defense from blitzing in practice because “nobody bullrushes anymore”.
Last week the UCLA quarterback ended up in the hospital with a severe concussion and a collapsed lung.
Nice hire Carl. Should have watched some of Shula’s game film.
November 7th, 2007 at 10:46 pm
39
Mr Pelican Pants says:
Lawrence,
Checked out your profile. Nice work.
Will more than likely buy a few of your books.
Now, with all the changes that are coming up across the board in the NCAA, how many will be filled by black applicants? With Michigan, LSU, Texas A & M, Auburn, Nebraska, maybe UCLA, Tenn, Arkansas, maybe FSU, is there a percentage per league or percentage of the D-1 that should be acceptable for hiring black coaches?
I am sure there are facts and % out there, but there has to be a “per Conference” breakdown…
SEC-Croom
Pac 10- Dorrell and Ty
Big 12-?
Big 10-?
ACC-Randy Shannon
Big East?
Conf USA?
Another thing to look at, when a school hires a coach, one school loses a coach, opening up more vacancies and possibly,or not, opportunities at schools like Navy or Wake Forest….someone was throwing NCAA hiring percentage at 14.9% , just curious if you had more info
November 7th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
40
Matt says:
People can argue the fairness of Willingham’s firing until they are blue in the face without changing anyone’s opinion either way. What critics completely ignore is the lack of competence in the athletic department and the neglect of the former president. All of the decisions involving Notre Dame football since Holtz left have been the result of a grab-bag, half-assed process, including 4 dysfunctional coaching searches and 2 bizarre contract extensions. Because no real logic applies at any point in the decision making process, the vacuum is filled with perceptions of racism, favoritism, etc. Stupidity is a far simpler and more likely reason.
November 7th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
41
Jorgé the Bass Player says:
Lenny=White
Carl=Black
November 7th, 2007 at 11:31 pm
42
B2 says:
You all are forgetting the #1 reason Willingham was fired:
Urban Meyer was going to be leaving Utah and ND thought they had him in the bag. Simple as that.
And so once again ND’s ACME approach to hiring coaches blows up in their face leaving Kevin White blinking confusedly as the smoke rises from his blackened head.
November 7th, 2007 at 11:54 pm
43
Bob Gomez for Presidint says:
SKLM – Jason Whitlock is as racist as they come “Great Weis hope” gimme a break. BTW, have we started the coutdown clock for NCAA sanctions at USC yet. Here I thought ASU was going to be first in the PAC.
Question for the rest of the ND haters:
If Willingham was fired because he was black, then why was he hired?
Remember, you can’t have it both ways.
November 8th, 2007 at 12:18 am
44
GO IRISH says:
I actually feel for Dorrell. No team in the country would be winning with their 3rd string quarterback and 4th string running back (a walk-on) – its probably his time, however. You shouldn’t lose to our pathetic excuse for a team this year – even with a 3rd string QB.
Go Irish.
November 8th, 2007 at 2:27 am
45
Signal to Noise says:
#22 – god I hate Whitlock so much; nothing like a “blame hip-hop culture” first hypocrite who produces rap groups and hits the strip clubs in his spare time while writing columns about how despicable it is to call women bitches and hos and all those booty dancers in videos.
That said, a broken clock is right twice a day, and he happens to be talking sense on Weis.
November 8th, 2007 at 3:08 am
46
Signal to Noise says:
One more thing about Dorrell that I have observed often and harped upon: nothing ever seems to rattle him or piss him off regarding play on the field; there is no proverbial “fire” in the belly. He is of the Tony Dungy-mellow school of coaches, which works okay in the NFL but seems to have much less stock in college sometimes, when you need to motivate and rally college kids. Even Pete Carroll knows when to tap into that inner asshole.
Never good to almost always have a look of resignation on your face.
November 8th, 2007 at 3:13 am
47
Brian says:
This blog is largely an oasis from standard internet commenting by morons, rubes, and general know-it-alls, but I thought this was pretty funny:
http://stupidfilter.org/main/index.php?n=Main.About
November 8th, 2007 at 8:49 am
48
Biggus Rickus says:
Brian,
So basically, they’re designing a filter that will keep 99% of all comments off the screen. Maybe I’m strange, but I kind of enjoy reading through utterly moronic comment threads. It reaffirms my hatred for my fellow man.
November 8th, 2007 at 9:16 am
49
jebus says:
White coaches get fired like this – “bloop-bloop bloop”.
Black coaches get fired like this – “bloopity-bloopity bloop”.
[crowd goes wild]
November 8th, 2007 at 9:19 am
50
Unhappy Monkey says:
Biggus Rickus, I hate my fellow man too but then Jebus just made me question why with the next comment. Hooray for smart ass misanthropes.
November 8th, 2007 at 9:26 am
51
Biggus Rickus says:
Unhappy Monkey, I think it’s because the vast majority of our population find that cliched formulaic racial shit amusing, evidenced by the success of Carlos Mencia. Also, many of the people I work with think “Git r done” is the funniest shit ever. Dane Cook is rich. And so on and so forth.
November 8th, 2007 at 9:38 am
52
TigerNacho says:
Former UL-Lafayette coach Jerry Baldwin was fired after three years in which he was 6-27. He’s black – got to point that out, most people aren’t current on Ragin Cajun football. He sued. He won. It’s being appealed.
University presidents everywhere likely said “If we can lose a race discrimination lawsuit for firing a 6-27 coach, why don’t we just keep hiring white guys?”
http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/10662391.html
November 8th, 2007 at 9:38 am
53
ProfKid93 says:
Shorter #43 – I hate the crap Whitlock writes unless that crap confirms my prejudices.
I actually think Whitlock’s developed into a pretty decent writer, and the main points of that article have some merit. I do dispute his attempt to cry racism in the handling of the coaching extension, when the simpler and more obvious answer is that ND has a bumbling clown of an AD in Kevin White.
recruits on deck.
November 8th, 2007 at 9:58 am
54
UgasTexan says:
The thing that really hurts me in all of this ND is racist talk is the fact that it’s so focused on Ty. I mean, what about George O’Leary? He is IRISH. And he didn’t even get to coach a game.
That solves it: ND HATES IRISH PEOPLE! Dirty Anglophiles revealed!
@ Signal to Noise: Mark Richt? or the EVIL Mark Richt?
November 8th, 2007 at 10:02 am
55
bama_buck says:
#3 Black Coaches Association recently gave Alabama, and a few other schools “F”s for their coaching searches.
Apparently we didn’t get any credit for offering Rich Rodriguez, who can most likely claim minority hispanic status. Maybe the fact that he pretty much looks white negates the value of his consideration.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:03 am
56
Tater Salad says:
49:
Dane Cook may be rich, but someone has shit on the coats. Yes. Someone has shit in, or around, the coats.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:04 am
57
Scalz1 says:
Jah Rule coaches UCLA ?
November 8th, 2007 at 10:06 am
58
Brewster Crew says:
#52, the NCAA focuses on Native American mascot names and minority coaches, but when it comes to an offensive stereotype of a European people, it’s ok because they’re white.
Hell, why don’t we change the name to the Drunken Fighting Irish? I’m sure the NCAA won’t mind.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:10 am
59
Scalz1 says:
#56 Brewster -
And for the love of god, can we get the Vegetable Defamation League to do something about the Delta State U’s “Fighin’ Okra” ?
November 8th, 2007 at 10:29 am
60
weagle251 says:
#47
ROFL, that’s so right!
November 8th, 2007 at 10:38 am
61
dogtown gator says:
Re: the mistaken picture.
Personally, I was wondering why Orson had posted a picture of [NAME REDACTED]. Confused, clueless, overmatched coaches all look the same to me.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:42 am
62
blazin says:
Hiring Rocky Seto would be a brilliant move. (whoops, that makes me a racist)
November 8th, 2007 at 10:56 am
63
spartymike says:
#55 +1
Also, I think this is an appropriate time to point out that Michigan State had to deal with Bobby Williams at the helm, so they are exempt from cries of racism in any form for at least the next decade and a half. A little Bobby goes a long way. His coaching was so bad, he made Jeff Smoker a crackhead.
November 8th, 2007 at 11:03 am
64
hailstate says:
Dorell’s problem is he’s been frustratingly inconsistent his entire tenure, while Croom has just been plain bad. Even though they have the exact same record this year, Croom is an SEC coach of the year candidate because of State’s improvement over the previous 6 years in the desert (three of which he led). State fans would erect at statue of Croom in the Junction if he went 34-25 over the next 4 years.
November 8th, 2007 at 11:13 am
65
RIP Logan Young says:
64
And there is the fact that Croom is at Mississippi State, and Dorrell is at UCLA.
November 8th, 2007 at 11:23 am
66
Brian says:
It just seems odd to me that given school’s willingness to win over anything else, that this is even an issue. Why would they pass over guys that could do really well if they existed.
Maybe the problem is that since coaching is a fraternity, its harder for a minority guy to get in at the lower levels, so maybe the rule shouldn’t be in hiring head coaches, but requiring the head coaches to give a fair evaluation of the minority assistants they could hire, who would eventually come up through the ranks to be HC’s. What the NCAA is trying to do is just circular logic, and not creating a new pool of HC’s, just circulating the same guys around.
November 8th, 2007 at 11:42 am
67
hailstate says:
#65 – That’s pretty much what I said. Expectations are different at the two.
November 8th, 2007 at 11:45 am
68
Edsall is God says:
52 – Holy shit! That’s unreal. I wish I was black. Then I could write crappy articles for the newspaper I work at for three years, get fired, and claim racism.
Seriously…why would a big-time school hire a black coach? It’s an absolute no-win situation unless he turns out to be Lovie Smith or Tony Dungy. Seriously, if Croom continued to suck…how could Miss. State fire him without the race card being thrown out there?
By the way, Whitlock is an asshole. Race has zero to do with Ty getting fired or Weis getting the extension. Weis got the extension because NFL teams were already lining up around the block to hire him in 2005. That’s just the truth. No one wanted Willingham, ever, when he was at Notre Dame. It’s economics baby.
November 8th, 2007 at 11:52 am
69
Because They Can says:
“Even Pete Carroll knows when to tap into that inner asshole.”
This comment made me snicker uncomfortably (in a Bevis and Butthead kind of way). Does that mean that I’m a homophobe or just insecure with my masculinity? Or mearly immature? As for the Willingham thing, the point about Urban Meyer is definitely a factor. BTW, I heard on ESPN radio a while back that Willingham wanted out of ND anyway, so it was an easy choice.
I just hate that those championing quota-thinking don’t see how much their cause is hurt by defending the firing of bad coaches every chance they get. It’s pretty illogical to tell ADs “You really should hire this black coach beacause it’s the right thing to do even though we’ll rake you over the coals later if he sucks and you want to fire him.”
November 8th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
70
Because They Can says:
mearly=merely
November 8th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
71
GeronimoRumplestiltskin says:
Sweet leaping Moses on buttered toast – more “Notre Dame is racist” stuff…..
Fine, you win. Yup, you’re right, we Domers are racist. That’s why hired Ty in the first place and gave him what was at the time the most lucrative contract in ND history: out of sheer hatred of the black man. He wasn’t fired for lazy and ineffective recruiting and unwillingness to make staff changes; we were just trying to keep the black man down.
We also hate fat people, which is why we hired Charlie Weis and are paying him even more money. Lord, if we could ever find a blind, homosexual, Jewish dwarf in a wheelchair who wanted to coach football, we’d melt down the Golden Dome into bars and gift wrap ‘em for him. But for now, we’re going to keep Weis, not because he’s a good recruiter and he is willing to make changes, but because we really enjoy making fat jokes.
Of course, most of all, we hate the Irish. Why else would George O’Leary only lasted a week?
November 8th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
72
GeronimoRumplestiltskin says:
(Now that I got the above out of the way)
Lawrence –
“And then you have to look into all of the factors for that inequality. When you check to see, and notice that everything else is equal (including record), then you have to look at other factors, including race.”
Yes, you can examine if race was a factor. However, that involves actually investigating whether or not race played a factor. The truth of the matter is that Bob Davie, Ty’s predecessor, would have almost certainly been fired after year 3 had it not been for the turmoil in the ND administration in Nov.-Dec. 1999, and definitely been fired after year 4 had his team not suprisingly gone 9-2. Since you obviously do not follow ND football closely, I will inform you of some things you do not know.
The “every coach gets five years” policy was the policy of Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, who was president from 1952-1987, and his VP, Rev. Edmond Joyce. That is why Terry Brennan (1954-58) got five years, and Joe Kuharich (1959-62) would have gotten five years if he had not left for a job with the Washington Redskins after his fourth year. It is also why Gerry Faust (1981-85) got five years.
Hesburgh retired in 1987. Rev. Edward “Monk” Malloy took over as president, with Rev. William Beauchamp taking over as VP. In regards to the football program, to call their tunure a clusterf*ck would not be a case of overstatement. Malloy, Beauchamp, and (as of 1994) athletic directory Mike Wadsworth’s relationship with Lou Holtz deteriorated to the point of Holtz resigning in 1996. It is often claimed that he was pushed out, a claim with considerable merit, but one I won’t get into here.
Bob Davie took over, and ND’s on-field performance dipped considerably. Though Davie never signed a recruiting class ranked worse than #15, the Irish went 7-6, 9-3, and, with a talented and senior-laden team in ‘99, 5-7. ND fans and alums wanted him gone, but he was not fired. However, Davie’s retention was not because of any “five year commitment”. In fact, he would have been fired if not for the fact that ND in December of 1999 was in no way prepared to conduct a head coaching search, for it had a much bigger problem at hand.
Throughout the fall of ‘99, the ND athletic dept. waited for the NCAA to hand down its decision in regards to the “Kim Dunbar Affair”. Ms. Dunbar, a South Bend resident, had spent in the neighborhood of $10K on gifts and trips for 4 Irish football players in ‘94-’96, one of whom she had a child with and later married. Holtz knew of these expenditures, but since she was neither an agent nor a student, alum, nor faculty or staff member of ND, Holtz did nothing. When it was discovered later (’97-’98-ish) that she had embezzled the money from the company where she worked, it raised some eyebrows at the NCAA, which unlike today ([cough] Reggie Bush [cough]) was still interested in enforcing its own rules. Though Dunbar had committed a crime, since she was neither an agent nor a student, alum, nor faculty or staff member of ND, it was thought that no NCAA violation had occurred…….until the NCAA discovered that Ms. Dunbar was a $25 member of the Quarterback Club, a group that was treated to a luncheon on Fridays of ND home football weekends. The NCAA (ridiculously) ruled that this made her a “representative of the university”, and continued their investigation through ‘99 with the promise of sanctions coming. It was thought that they would be announced in Nov., but Thanksgiving and the end of the season came, and still no announcement. AD Wadsworth was rumored to be on the way out, but the athletic dept. was pretty much in a holding pattern waiting for the NCAA.
In mid-December, the ND was officially put on NCAA probation for the first time in its history. Malloy forced AD Wadsworth into retirement, and relieved VP Beauchamp of his duties as overseer of the athletic dept. and put himself in charge. So now the two people who had conducted both the previous football coaching search and the previous spring’s men’s basketball coaching search (both botched, IMO) were no longer involved with ND athletics, and Malloy certainly wasn’t going to conduct a coaching search on his own.
Ariz. St. AD Kevin White was hired as ND AD, but did not begin his tenure at ND until mid-April 2000, hardly the time to replace coaches. However, it was common knowledge that, as the SB Tribune put it at the time, he “was the man hired to find Bob Davie’s replacement”. Had Davie’s 2000 season (his fourth) been a subpar one, he most certainly would have been fired. However, the Irish finished the regular season at 9-2, and received a Fiesta Bowl bid. In Dec., White updated Davie’s contract, extending it two years but also adding a buy-out clause. The two-year extension proved to be an unwise move. The Irish were destroyed in the Fiesta Bowl and went 5-6 the following season, after which Davie was fired.
In contrast, Malloy and White had no intention of firing Willingham after 3 seasons. However, Malloy was retiring in 2005, and new president-elect Rev. John Jenkins and the ND Board of Trustees saw clearly that ND football had no future with Willingham:
->The Irish were about to complete their second consecutive non-winning season. They had never ranked higher than 81st in total offense under Ty, and their veteran and senior-laden defense in 2004 had been the 2nd worst pass defense in the country. However, Ty refused to change coordinators.
-> His first recruiting class was a Top 10 class in most rankings, but his next one (the current Irish seniors) was the worst in 40 years. His third one was not going much better as of late Nov. 2004: he had only 6 verbal committments, and ND was not considered as a strong candidate for any of the remaining elite players. It was widely reported and generally accepted that Willingham and his staff were slow and ineffective recruiters. However, after the subpar 2nd class, Ty and his staff had made no changes to their recruiting efforts.
Over the objections of Malloy and White, Jenkins and the BOT forced the firing of Willingham.
Weis will not be fired after this season because there is still some hope of future success with him. He has 22 verbal commitments for this year’s recruiting class, a class rated #1 right now in many rankings. If he keeps this class together, it will be his third Top 10 class in a row, something ND has not had since ‘88-’90. He has shown willingness to shake up his staff, bearing fruit in new DC Corwin Brown.
Mr. Whitlock’s claim of race being a factor in that Weis’ received a hasty extension after a 5-2 start while Willingham received none during or after his 8-0 start is another superficial charge. White had extended Davie’s contract in Dec. 2000. Two weeks later, while on the sidelines during Oregon St.’s demolition of ND in the Fiesta Bowl, the look on White’s face alternated between ‘pissed’ and ‘physically ill’. He came under withering criticism for the extension throughout 2001 as Davie’s last squad wheezed to a 5-6 season. White was also hammered pretty hard for the O’Leary fiasco. Ty’s 8-0 start came less than a year after this, and White was understandably timid about making another move that could blow up in his face. Weis’ extension, however, was 4 years later and prompted by outside pressure: along with major sports news outlets, internet message boards in the two weeks following the epic 2005 USC game were buzzing that Weis’ ND buyout was very low, and that he would likely jump to the NFL after the season. This was a rumor that had considerable legs: when my then-girlfriend hears from another (non-football following) woman at work that “I hear your boyfriend’s team is going to lose their coach”, you can be fairly sure that everyone’s heard it. The extension was a pricey “hands off” to potential NFL suitors, something that was never a factor with Ty.
If you still wish to believe that race is a factor in regards to the way ND dealt with Willingham vs. the way ND is dealing with Weis, then please refer to post #71.
November 8th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
73
Because They Can says:
Could you be a little more specific?
November 8th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
74
GeronimoRumplestiltskin says:
To all -
Sorry about the length of #72. I find it distressing when an institution I love is repeatedly smeared with a charge backed up by a superficial account of what actually happened. Don’t even get me started on the case of the Catholic Church vs. Galileo, the most misunderstood scientific and religious episode in history……
Best wishes to all…..
November 8th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
75
Matt Leinart's 2006 bowl win says:
Geronimo,
Please don’t confuse us with the facts. Racism just sounds better, and is easier to ‘understand’
/end uniformed ND hater
November 8th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
76
Mr Pelican Pants says:
#72
Can you clarify that point? I blame Notre Dames collapse on the DaVinci Code and Mary Magdalene…
There is a conspiracy here at Notre Dame, I think something along the lines of the Crusades are in order….Riddle me this…..how does ND get a BCS bowl bid automatically being in the top 8? WTF is that all about?
All in all, I blame Ron Powlus and Beano Cook..One of the most heavily-touted prospects in the history of high school football…. After Powlus signed his letter of intent with Notre Dame that year, ESPN analyst Beano Cook predicted that Powlus would win the Heisman Trophy twice. Proving my theory, hype + hype+bullshit=
1-10 season. You have the most overhyped QB in Notre Dame History coaching the 2nd Most overhyped QB in Notre Dame history. Notre Dame doesnt need a black coach, they need a Dennis Dixon at QB….
November 8th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
77
Matt Leinart's 2006 bowl win says:
*uninformed
DOH!
November 8th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
78
Stacy Keibler Luvs Me says:
#43 – Bob Gomez for Presidint: Jason Whitlock is not a racist. More like a flame-thrower. But, his stuff is entertaining to read, especially when he is dead-on.
#71, 72 – Geronimo: Ty W was fired not because he is Blaaque, but because Urban Meyer was available and making googlie-eyes at his favorite univ in the whole wide world (ND). Subsequently, Meyer left ND at the altar.
It is like a middle-aged man leaving his frumpy wife for the hot secretary. Only to find out too late that the slutty secretary was interested in someone else. So, the middle aged sap is left with a hefty alimony bill and a bunch of could-woulda-shouldas.
You have to admit that ND lost something when it went against its long-standing tradition and firing someone after three years.
Former Notre Dame president Theodore Hesburgh made no secret of his disapproval of the decision. In his 1990 autobiography, Rev. Hesburgh wrote that if his football coach graduated players and followed NCAA rules, “he would not have to worry about alumni pressure. If he lost some games, or even had a losing season occasionally, I would take the heat, not he. If hired, he would be assured of a five-year contract.” *
* http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=3097324&sportCat=ncf
November 8th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
79
Lawrence Ross says:
Geronimo,
Thanks for the reply. Without reposting your note, I’ll respond. But first, and this is not directed at you, but other posters, I think it’s ironic that those who accuse people of “crying racism” love to then declare people to be “Notre Dame haters” or even more offensive, “Catholic haters”. Nothing further from the truth. One, I am Catholic. Two, I’m a twelve year Catholic (Jesuit) school vet. So I have no inherent prejudice against ND or against Catholism (my eight year old wouldn’t go to Catholic school if I did).
Now, to the reply:
1. One, you assume I don’t follow ND football. That would be a mistake. ND is a national team so you have to follow it along with your own team. From the Holtz years to the present, it’s not only easy to follow ND, good or bad, but much easier than your own team if you live out of town.
2. The reasoning for why Davie’s received five years is based on assumptions. The extenuating circumstances in the ND athletic department are neither here nor there. Turmoil or relative calm, football pays the ticket for most sports on most campuses. And when Willingham was fired, it was quite clearly done because of pressure from those OUTSIDE the athletic department, as you have noted. If it was no time to fire Davie after White was hired, how was it suddenly time to fire Willingham in the same scenario? As you probably have noted, many ND fans hold Willingham responsible for this last class, however it can also be said that by hiring an NFL coach who could recruit full time until the end of the playoffs, ND created their own mess.
3. One of the arguments for Charlie Weis is that he took ND to two BCS bowl games before this disaster of a season. That’s a fact. But could it be argued that in every game Weis has coached against a team either equal in talent or better, he’s lost by huge margins? And that he’s rewarded for a close loss to USC. Whereas Willingham, in his final year, he beat a top ten Michigan and Tennessee in an inconsistent year.
3. Hope for Weis: I agree that three years is too soon to judge a coach. But I’m consistently puzzled on how ND fans can project future success for Weis in a year where his teams have no underperformed against top and bottom talent, while Willingham is thought to have no shot at guiding his juniors and seniors to BCS type records, despite the fact that they would go onto do so. What you want people to do is prove a negative in that if you think Willingham was a bad coach and recruiter, then he couldn’t possibly have success in the future. While in spite of the evidence today, you want people to be an optimist when it comes to Weis’ future on the basis of Weis’ development, or lack thereof, of his own recruits.
4. Extension: Again, the reasons for regretting extending a coach are curious. White is sick about giving Davie an extension. Fair enough. So he doesn’t give Willingham an extension. Fair enough. But he then gives Weis an extension. Whoa. Let’s first get something straight. Extensions have nothing to do with deterring the NFL. The NFL gets whoever they want. The NFL makes a profit, a huge profit, without a single fan purchasing a ticket. So buyouts don’t deter them. Buyouts DO deter other colleges to a bigger extent, but Top 25 schools can overcome those too. So what are buyouts? Buyouts are votes of confidence in coaches. It says that we’re trying to tell recruits that we have laid a firm foundation and this guy is our coach. That’s why Weis, in the face of a 1-8 season, can say he’s going to be at ND for a long time. So did ND, after Willingham went 8-0 in a season most people figured he would have a 2007 Weis season, think that Willingham wouldn’t be at ND long term? Curious.
5. Someone once said that to end racism, it’s not that people have to get the same opportunity to be great, but the same opportunity to be mediocre. Most people in this world, including college coaches, are mediocre. I would include Willingham, Faust, Davie and Weis in that column. How they got treated side by side, with circumstances that are remarkable similiar (once you get rid of the rationalizations) then you can point to race as being a factor in decision making. And if you can’t figure that out, then it’s pretty difficult for me to believe that you’d ever objectively recognize it.
November 8th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
80
Stacy Keibler Luvs Me says:
Lawrence: Minor Point…..I would rank Davie and Willingham about the same, mediocre, “C” grade. Weis and Faust, though, I would rank as below average, “D” or “F”.
November 8th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
81
DC Trojan says:
the NCAA, which unlike today ([cough] Reggie Bush [cough]) was still interested in enforcing its own rules.
You know, getting that 2005 loss vacated isn’t going to make you feel any better about this season.
Many thanks to ND for beating UCLA though; hope that SC can manage to do the same this year. That would be embarrassing otherwise.
November 8th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
82
PJ from NU in SF says:
Spartymike, re: your no. 63…
Yay! By that measure, it means Northwestern’s off the hook until at least 2050. I never thought I’d thank God for Denny Green, but there you go.
November 8th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
83
azthecheat says:
Willingham was fired because he spent more time playing golf than he did recruiting.
I wish I could use the color of my skin as an excuse for every bad thing that ever happened in my life whether it was my own fault or not.
November 9th, 2007 at 3:27 am
84
Lawrence Ross says:
And Weis obviously spends more time eating than he does coaching. I wish I could use the excuse of the previous guys fault as an excuse for every bad that that ever happened in my life whether it was my own fault or not.
November 9th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
85
Bwana says:
Hey, Jebus!
Whatever happened to the UCLA Assistant Football Coach with several priors who was arrested for burglary this past summer? Did it go away as Dorrell “predicted”? Actually Dorrell is having a very successfull season. Many sportswriters wrote before the season that the Bruins are the team to beat and almost all of their opponents have.
November 10th, 2007 at 12:01 pm