After Notre Dame announced the firing of coach Tyrone Willingham
Tuesday, UCLA coach Karl Dorrell now stands as one of only two
black head coaches currently in Division I-A college football.
Though there were five black coaches to begin the 2004 season,
only Dorrell and Sylvester Croom of Mississippi State remain at the
helm of their respective programs.
Willingham, along with former coaches Fitz Hill (San Jose State)
and Tony Samuel (New Mexico State), have all been fired or resigned
in the last two weeks.
“I’m disappointed,” said Dorrell.
“Sometimes in this profession we lose sight of the big
picture and that’s unfortunate. But you know what, this
profession is not the most fair profession to be in and we
understand this too.”
If the Bruins find themselves at the Insight Bowl on Dec. 28, a
very likely possibility, they would face the Fighting Irish, who
accepted an invitation from bowl officials on Sunday.
Because of Willingham’s departure, Dorrell, who is in only
his second year, is now the longest-tenured black coach in college
football.
“Wow, I haven’t really thought of it that
way,” Dorrell said. “I think I’m still a
youngster at this job. I know it could be my turn at some point in
time, and so you don’t take anything for granted.”
In 1998, it appeared that some progress was being made when the
number of Division I-A black coaches reached a record number of
eight. But out of 117 current coaches, that number has now dwindled
to two.
Floyd Keith, executive director of the Black Coaches
Association, told the Associated Press he was disappointed with
Notre Dame’s decision. He said the firing makes it seem that
black coaches are held to a higher standard than their white
counterparts. Bob Davie, Willingham’s predecessor at Notre
Dame, compiled a 21-16 record during his first three seasons, but
was allowed to coach for the duration of his contract. He finished
with a five-year record of 35-25.
Willingham, who went 21-15 with the Fighting Irish, had two
years left on his contract.
“This action sends an alarming message to
African-Americans who are pursuing coaching at the Division I-A
level,” Keith said. “It’s still going to be
tough.”
When asked for a reaction to Keith’s statements, UCLA
tight ends coach Jon Embree would not go so far as to agree with
him, but said the facts speak for themselves.
“In that situation you have to look at if (Notre Dame) has
ever fired anyone without completing a contract and they
haven’t,” Embree said. “So maybe that’s a
coincidence, but I don’t know.”
Dorrell said the situation is a byproduct of one of the
unpleasantries of coaching on the collegiate level.
“What I do know is that this is a very challenging
profession, driven by, unfortunately, wins or losses sometimes, and
that’s unfortunate,” he said. “It’s
unfortunate when these situations happen, but it’s part of
the business and the ugly part of the business.”
Willingham, who was hired away from Stanford to coach at Notre
Dame, made a big splash early in South Bend, Ind.
In his first season, Willingham went 10-3 and put the Fighting
Irish back on the map with a Gator Bowl appearance. However, last
season’s record of 5-7 compounded by a 6-5 mark this year,
along with last week’s thrashing at the hands of USC spelt
doom.
His firing comes after a season in which the Irish pulled off
upset victories over Michigan and Tennessee, but also were beaten
badly by USC and Purdue.
While Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White praised
Willingham’s handling of the team, he said the performances
of the Fighting Irish were subpar.
“From Sunday through Friday our football program has
exceeded all expectations, in every way,” White said.
“But on Saturday, we struggled. We’ve been up and down
and sideways a little bit.”
But Embree looked at White’s statement as a
contradiction.
“So I guess the message is don’t worry about
graduation, don’t worry about your kids going to class, just
win,” Embree said. “So if I’m a parent or
I’m a recruit and I do want to get a degree, I don’t
know why I go there.”
“It’s unfortunate for (Willingham) and I hope he
lands on his feet and I hope he gets to come back and beat Notre
Dame.”
With reports by the Associated Press.