previous white Irish head coaches Terry Brennan (1954-58), Gerry Faust (1981-85) and Bob Davie
(1997-2001) all were given five years prior to their termination.
After a 10-3 debut in 2002, Willingham's Irish were 11-14 in their last 25 games, losing six of those
games by at least 25 points and also floundering on the recruiting trail.
"From Sunday through Friday, our football program has exceeded all expectations in every way," White
said. "Tyrone has done some wonderful things, but on Saturday we struggled."
"I understand that I did not meet the expectations or standards that I set for myself," a disappointed
Willingham said. "When you don't meet the expectations of yourself, you leave yourself vulnerable to
the will of others."
The Notre Dame brass immediately targets 11-0 Utah head coach Urban Meyer, an Irish assistant from
1996-2000, as its "Messiah Coach," a term derisively used by Malloy. More than a week later, Malloy
bares his soul in a public meeting.
"In my 18 years [as president], there has been only two days that I've been embarrassed to be president
of Notre Dame," said Malloy, referring to the firing of Willingham and the day after. "I thought we were
going to abide by our precedent, which was a five-year window for a coach to display a capacity to be
successful within our system to fit."
— Lou Somogyi
UNDER THE DOME
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