TY GOES FOR TWO
We’re heading into the official nadir of collegefootballdom, Memorial Day. But there’s good news, like the fact that you’re past halfway to the season, and that Phil Steele’s fan polls are getting rigged by Mormons, and that long after his departure from Notre Dame Ty Willingham is living your dream: pulling down two paychecks while only working one job.
Weis, who will enter his fourth season at Notre Dame in 2008, did receive a bump from his salary reported by the school from July 1, 2005, to June 30, 2006. In that time frame, Weis made $565,566 in salary, $53,115 in deferred compensation and benefits and had an expense account of $55,100.

His compensation was behind former coach L. Tyrone Willingham then, and for the second straight year, Notre Dame paid Willingham more than its current coach.
The school paid Willingham $650,000 from July 1, 2006, to June 30, 2007, as part of its settlement with the current University of Washington coach after Notre Dame fired him on Nov. 30, 2004.
We have this fiscal armageddon in our heads in two years if Weis doesn’t make it, and ND’s still writing checks to Ty, and to Charlie Weis for his three thousand year contract, and to the interim coach they fired in the meantime, and to me, because someone should write us two paychecks at once, too, and why not you, Notre Dame? We, too can coach a team to 3-9 and figure out that hiring Jon Tenuta is a good thing.
In the meantime, drinks are on Ty. Nice work, sir.









1
NDTom says:
RACIST!
just thought I’d get that out of the way
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:55 pm
2
ThreenOut says:
Sweet Justice and Victory Baby Jesus!!
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:03 pm
3
oc phil says:
It looks like ND really screwed up when the wrote up Ty’s contract and/or negotiated his settlement. Usually the buyout decreases if the coach gets a new job and the old school only has to make up any difference between the old salary and the new one. The domers got taken to the cleaners on this one.
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:10 pm
4
Rich Rod says:
Yeah… In any contract dispute the plaintiff has a duty to mitigate damages, no? Did they guarantee the money in the settlement to avoid a wrongful termination suit and actual evidence of a racist administration coming out?
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:25 pm
5
hobeg8r says:
And I bet he gets to take afternoon naps, too. Take that – you government contractors.
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:26 pm
6
scoring@home says:
I’m RICH, be-atch!!
{drives off in cigarette truck}
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:37 pm
7
socalbryan says:
Ty did such a horrible job at ND. He left them with crappy players like Jeff Smargia (spelling?) and Brady Quinn.
Thank goodness we were finally able to see the products of Charlie’s teaching ability last year. His players developed splendidly; a team of all-Americans for sure.
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:38 pm
8
Daniel says:
It has become very popular to complain about the escalation of salaries in sports as well as business. In this case, Ty is a bargain. Any school should be very happy to pay him far more not to coach their team.
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:44 pm
9
stranko montana says:
Damn! I wanted to be the first to claim racism on this one.
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:50 pm
10
NDTeve says:
SoCal,
Step away from the tanning booth. Worry about your athletic department’s lack of institutional control. ND will be just fine.
May 22nd, 2008 at 4:04 pm
11
dogtown gator says:
Give Charlie a break. It’s a well known FACT that Ty left the cupboard bare, and that it’s taken Weis 3 years to get the kind of videographer recruits necessary for his program to succeed.
May 22nd, 2008 at 4:11 pm
12
The Song of Hiawatha Francisco says:
@No. 7:
Ty didn’t recruit Brady Quinn; Chinedum Ndukwe’s dad did. Brady always traveled to ND with the Ndukwe’s, whose older son was in the engineering program. Ty, for some reason, had no interest in Quinn until very late. Not that that’s Ty’s fault. I mean, he shouldn’t have been expected to notice anything about the guy who was *throwing the fucking ball to the WR he was trying to recruit*, right?
Ty recruited Samardzjcixdkalsja but got the Heisman until Quinn committed. No Quinn, no Samardzjcixdkalsja.
May 22nd, 2008 at 4:37 pm
13
Ryno says:
Holy smokes! A Stranko sighting.
Where chu beeen maine?
May 22nd, 2008 at 4:56 pm
14
DC Trojan says:
hobeg8r @ 5 – not only is Ty taking afternoon naps, but he is doing so while being driven around the golf course in a custom built cart.
May 22nd, 2008 at 5:10 pm
15
DC Domer says:
In one respect, it’s a major sign of societal progress. Ty’s setup has effectively doubled the number of African-Americans that get paid a boatload of money to play golf…
May 22nd, 2008 at 5:33 pm
16
oc phil says:
#11 I think it is amazing how many domers on the net refuse to give TW credit for anything he did.
Given that Weis faces a schedule weaker than nearly every BCS team not named Iowa this year, it will be interesting to see what happens if ND tanks again. I hope they don’t though since I dislike them being such a drain on USC”s strength of schedule.
May 22nd, 2008 at 7:45 pm
17
J in SD says:
As to ND’s continuning payments to Willingham, it is known that Washington got Willingham on the cheap — if an 11-29 record is worth what they pay him — because his UW salary would be an offset to ND’s obligation to continue paying him. Therefore Willingham had no reason to demand a high salary from UW because ND had the obligation to make up the difference anyway. So ND Is getting an offset but Ty Willie was passive aggressive and still managed to screw ND by not negotiating a “market” salary from the Huskies — but then again “market” for an 11-29 record can’t be that high.
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:16 pm
18
St. Daywalker says:
@3 True, Mike Shula’s buyout was reduced by his salary as QBs coach for the Jags this year.
Actually appears to have done well with their young QBs.
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:34 pm
19
southernmost says:
Mike Shula is a fine position coach. He should never, ever be given the reins to an entire offense, much less an entire football team.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:09 pm
20
fife in the bay says:
i need to know, right now, if domers are still going to blame ty this year. i will say this, i called domers racist for firing him but after seeing his “work” at UW i cant wait to see him gone.
but fuck, how long has he been gone for? give it up guys.
May 22nd, 2008 at 11:23 pm
21
J in SD says:
The intelligence level of the anti-ND crowd comes across as very low with very high frequency.
May 23rd, 2008 at 12:09 am
22
JTG says:
Ty is worth every dime we’re paying not to have him coach the team anymore.
And if Charlie doesn’t figure things out this year, we’ll pay him not to coach, too.
My question is, does Ty now count for two in the minority coaches head count?
May 23rd, 2008 at 12:39 am
23
wooderson says:
J in SD, you’re hitting the nail right on the head.
It’s amazing how little some folks understand the recruiting game. TW did absolutely nothign in recruiting except to scope out the best golf courses around the country on ND’s dime.
While a bad season this year will nto be fully attributable to Willingsham, the dearth of 5th year and senior players is directly his fault. Expect to see a very young Irish team on the field this year.
And OC Phil, I know you think ND playing teams like Stanford may represent a weak schedule, but I don’t have to remind you how that turned out for our respective programs last year, do I?
May 23rd, 2008 at 7:06 am
24
Bama93 says:
#19 – exactly. Good guy, good position coach and hot wife. That does not always = good head coach as we came to find out.
May 23rd, 2008 at 7:30 am
25
GamecockTony says:
You are taking quite a few liberties with the word “working.”
I’d like to also “work” on my short game as much as Ty does.
May 23rd, 2008 at 7:37 am
26
sb says:
J in SD @ #21…it appears the antipathy of the anti-ND crowd provides an exact corollary to widespread ND-homerism…while intelligence doesn’t seem to enter into the equation.
May 23rd, 2008 at 7:39 am
27
I R A Darth Aggie says:
And if Charlie doesn’t figure things out this year, we’ll pay him not to coach, too.
Too bad he has a long-term contract without a buyout clause.
And you people have a law school?
May 23rd, 2008 at 9:02 am
28
fife in the bay says:
@25
Hence the quotes, chief. I can’t wait until he is gone from UW.
@23
Ill take that as a “yes,” thanks.
May 23rd, 2008 at 9:15 am
29
J in SD says:
sb — you’re a cipher who hasn’t been paying attention.
as to #27, see my comments at #21. Claiming that Weis has no buyout is just plain dumb.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:22 am
30
wooderson says:
Yes, fife. TW’s shitty recruiting is TW’s fault. Fortunately, this is the last year of that.
Besides, the talent Weis has recruited has alread usurped the TW talent any ways, so the yougner guys will be getting the nods.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:46 am
31
oc phil says:
#23 Wooderson: It is not my opinion that ND plays a weak schedule, I was looking at the numbers calculated by the man of Steele the other day. Iowa and Missouri have weaker schedules, but I don’t remember any other teams from BCS conferences that did.
Yeah ND beat Stanford, but did you forget what happened when USC and ND played each other? Or what USC’s final record was last year?
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:02 am
32
sb says:
J in SD @ #29…you must admit that the pro-ND faction exhibits a startling lack of humor…or maybe you mustn’t…regardless, intelligence is out the window when the discussion involves fandom and the defense of your particular flavor…and I prefer being “a cipher, within a riddle, wrapped in a conundrum, who hasn’t been paying attention”
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:32 am
33
St Guinefort says:
ND sucked last year. It doesn’t really matter WHY we sucked, just that we did. We SHOULD be better this year as our team will mature a bit and our schedule will be significantly more favorable (and perhaps even on the “easy” side, though that has yet to be determined). All the above being said, most knowledgeable ND fans expect ND to be average this upcoming year…just above sucky, but below good.
If Charlie tanks this year (i.e., the team shows no improvement), I’m guessing he’ll be out. If we are average, he’ll get another year.
As for TY, he sucks too. Everyone knows that misery loves company. Food for thought…Scout recruiting rankings follow..2005 Ty pulled in the 55th ranked class, Weis pulled in the 27th; 2006 Ty pulled in the 35th ranked class, Weis pulled in the 5th; 2007 Ty pulled in the 29th ranked class, Weis pulled in the 11th ranked class; 2008 Ty pulled in the 14th ranked class and Weis pulled in the 2nd. I think it’s hard to argue that Weis is a significant upgrade in that department. I won’t even delve into Ty’s amazing lack of disregard for position depth, etc. when he rececruited because I expect it will fall on deaf ears. Suffice it to say, he didn’t really plan for the future. Further you’ll note that most of Ty’s prized recruits at Washington are kids from Washington. He SHOULD be getting Washington kids.
As for sense of humor, I think ND fans have one just like everyone else, but it’s a bit hard to laugh at charges of racism from those who know not of what they speak.
May 23rd, 2008 at 5:18 pm
34
fife in the bay says:
@33
Well said.
May 24th, 2008 at 7:48 am
35
sb says:
St. @ #33…personal choice to grant credibility to and attempt to defend a questionable racist charge…still no evident humor and without it ND loses before setting foot on the field…you’re supposed to be having fun…Saturday am…goin’ to the beach! See ya!
May 24th, 2008 at 8:32 am
36
J in SD says:
sb – when I called you a “cipher” I meant it in the original sense of the word – “zero”. The last refuge of a moron appears to be to say that ND fans “lack a sense of humor.” Are you really Jay Leno?
May 24th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
37
oc phil says:
The reason ND fans look ridiculous here is because they are still obsessed with Ty Willingham and using him as a scapegoat for Weis’ failures. This is Charile’s FOURTH season at Notre Dame. The guys in Charlie’s first recruiting class are not “youngsters” any more, they are SENIORS. Guys that Charlie tried to recruit to Notre Dame will be playing in the NFL this season.
It is legit for Washington fans to have questions or issues with Willingham (though there is no doubt that program is now in better shape than when he came in; that isn’t saying much). Domers who won’t let go and keep harping on “Ty sucks” or “it is all Ty’s fault” make themselves look pathetic and maybe a bit racist.
May 25th, 2008 at 11:59 am
38
Helio says:
“It’s impossible to put pressure on someone whose expectation is greater than those who seek to apply pressure. Is there anyone who wants to win more than Coach Willingham?”
- Mr 11-25
May 25th, 2008 at 3:21 pm