Editor's
note: The following letters were received by postal mail or through
the magazine's React Online form.
The termination of Ty Willingham, when evaluated
by objective evidence, was truly a simple decision. The coaching
errors were simply too common and too obvious for any other choice
to be made.
There were the blatant mistakes that were apparent to the most
casual fan (e.g. having 12 men on the field on the first play
after a timeout on two separate occasions in 2003). There were
the curious strategic decisions (e.g. punting from an opponent's
30 yard line in 2004). Worst of all, however, was the stubborn
insistence on retaining an offensive coordinator who was obviously
not getting the job done.
For whatever reason, Bill Diedrick's offense could not be mastered
by two different quarterbacks with two radically different skill
sets. Carlyle Holiday was casually cast aside early in 2003 because
it was believed that Brady Quinn could better adapt to Diedrick's
offense. By the end of 2004, however, it was readily apparent
that Quinn was no more effective in that offense.
It is believed that Willingham was advised to change his offensive
coordinator at the end of the 2003 season, and it is widely understood
that Willingham was told to make this change a year later. He
refused to do so on both occasions. It was only when Willingham
went to Washington that he decided that Diedrick was no longer
essential to him. He apparently was not willing to replace his
coordinator to keep his job at Notre Dame, but he was willing
to replace him in order to get a job at Washington.
As is evidenced by the many top college coaches who take professional
jobs, the NFL is considered to be the pinnacle of the profession.
Had Charlie Weis not returned to his alma mater, it is virtually
certain that he would be an NFL head coach now. He would not,
accordingly, have been available had a change been made after
the 2005 season.
Weis has assembled a visibly more qualified staff around him,
and he has been visibly more effective in his recruiting efforts
to date. Odds are good that he will compile a visibly better won/lost
record over time. The decision to replace Willingham was, accordingly,
the correct one, and the decision to hire Weis was even more correct.
Patrick Toomey, Jr. '80
Miami Shores, Florida
I read with a great deal of interest your article
on Saturday football at ND. I, too, remember the two excruciating
losses you mentioned, even to the extent of remembering where
I was at the times.
I didn't feel that Willingham was doing the job, but I wonder
about the hiring of Weis. He seems a bit crude and "nasty" to
me; and $2 million a year for six years? How come Tom Clemens
didn't get a shot? He seems more a ND man than Weis. And what
if Weis doesn't work out?
I'm concerned about the academic standing of our second home.
The whole thing just doesn't "feel right" to me. Also, In 1949
the cost of tuition, room and board for four years was about 10
percent of today's cost for one year. Wow!
Clarence C. Zimmer '49
Rochester, New York
Kerry Temple's football article recounts in
detail the vicissitudes of our hallowed sport. But it falls flat
at the end with a paragraph of wishful thinking. Yes indeed, wouldn't
it be nice . . .?
Let's face facts. For years now, major college football is beyond
the sphere of student athletics and in the realm of big business
that largely ignores the academic needs of its players. Notre
Dame football's own business side, but not (yet?) its academic
requirements, confirms this. And certainly it appears unlikely
that college football as a whole will retrace its steps, given
the money involved. This brings Notre Dame to an unenviable dilemma
commonly seen as three-sided: either lower player academic standards,
or soften the schedule, or continue to have mediocre win-loss
records and bowl performances.
Permit me to propose a radical, nay heretical, fourth alternative.
Return football, and all other sports for that matter, to where
they should be in a great institution of learning, to true student
athleticism. To wit, abolish athletic scholarships an play only
academically great schools that have a similar policy.
Sure, it may mean giving up the big money from TV, etc. But it
also means taking a stand for what is right and uncorrupted in
our process of higher learning. Notre Dame once led in the expansion
of college football to its near professional status. Why not lead
back to what a university truly is all about: learning and preparation
for life? Or else stand alone, pure and proud of it.
James O'Hare '64
Jacksonville, Florida
Thank you for your sweeping essay, "The Indisputable
Importance of Saturday." I, too, grew up living and dying on Fall
Sautrdays, listening on the radio to Bill Stern broadcast ND games
in the 1940s. Since I lived in Utah, Notre Dame was an icon, far
away.
Notre Dame football was thus extremely important to me from then
on -- right through my acceptance by and attendance of the University
in 1953-54. That significance has never wavered, although the
reasons for its importance have changed, from deep pride to deep
concern.
In recent years, from toward the end of the Lou Holtz years
until today, I have been disappointed not so much by the decline
in winning percentage but rather by my perception we had lost
something more important: Sportsmanship, Dignity and Class.
We now look just like the rest of the colleges, taunting and
trash-talking; celebrating routine defensive plays and touchdowns
as if we had eliminated world hunger. We behave -- coaches, athletes,
and administrators -- as if the very mission of Notre Dame football
is 1) to raise money, 2) to conform our standards to television's;
and 3) to supply players for the NFL. The tail is wagging the
dog.
Notre Dame used to stand for students earning a degree and preparing
for a Christ-like life. If those students also happened to be
good football players, so much the better. Right now it appears
we've allowed our principles to be turned upside-down and inside-out.
The very work "recruiting" is noxious. No one should have to
be "recruited" to play at Notre Dame. The competition should be
between the very best football players in the nation, from Catholic
and public high schools, fighting to come to Notre Dame. They,
their parents, and their schools should be lobbying Notre Dame
to accept them. The "selling" job we need to do is to
rekindle the connections between Notre Dame and dioceses and churches
and high schools around the nation.
One example of this disconnect: In Concord, California, there
is a Catholic high school, De La Salle, which has been amazingly
successful in football for the last decade or so. Only a handful
of their players over the years has played at Notre Dame.
I firmly believe that when the above situations are rectified,
Notre Dame will become an even greater school and therefore ND
football will once again regain excellence and eminence. It will
not be accomplished by hiring and firing coaches; it will be accomplished
by attitude, policy and example.
Thank you again for a great, stimulating article.
"...And our hearts forever love thee, Notre Dame."
James Brennan '57
Walnut Creek, California
I commend Kerry Temple on such a well-written
piece of journalism. You stated the facts with precision and got
to the heart of the matter. After the Willingham firing, I suffered
for weeks with all the Notre Dame bashing. Maybe we deserved some
of it, but in the final analysis Father Jenkins made the correct
decision. We may not go undefeated for some time, but we are headed
in the right direction. Decisions like the one Father Jenkins
has to make are very difficult. My prayers and good wishes are
with the boys on Saturday and with Coach Weis.
I was a senior at ND when Temple heard about Ara Parseghian.
I lived through the seasons of Coach Kuharich and Devore, and
that 2-7 season the story referenced. So, I have lived through
the worst of Irish football. I now look forward to a team that
will play hard and compete in each game.
You are doing a great job, keep up the good work.
Gene De Agostino '64
Troy, Michigan
Excellent article on ND football history. Yes.
Notre Dame "means Catholic and football" to many people. I must
remind you that many Protestants and other "non-Catholics" have
helped "build" the University and its football program over the
years . . . including Ara Parsegian and (at the time) Knute Rockne.
There are thousands of Protestant and non-Catholic alumni and
"subway alumni "who bleed gold and blue and love Notre Dame. Although
I am sure you never intentionally meant to slight these people,
it would be more sensitive in future articles to point out this
fact and remember Father Sorin's philosophy and mission that all
religious denominations were welcome at Notre Dame . . . and have
come here to not only educate themselves, but to help glorify
the "School of Our Lady."
Dennis R. Pickens '64
dennpick@aol.com
I found Editor Kerry Temple's summary of the
current deplorable state of Notre Dame football in the Spring
2005 issue of Notre Dame Magazine ("The Indisputable
Importance of Saturday") to be, on the whole, comprehensive, balanced
and fair, except for one glaring omission; i.e., his failure to
mention that many Fighting Irish fans, myself included, strongly
feel that ND's current Athletic Director, Kevin White, is much
to blame for the current situation. He has been guilty of a number
of inexcusable blunders, including impetuously extending former
coach Davie's contract as well as ineptly mishandling the search
for Coach Willingham's replacement, which have cost the University
dearly in terms of both dollars and reputation.
When I raised this issue in a previous letter to Father Jenkins,
he rebutted me by pointing out several impressive successes by
Notre Dame teams in other sports. Those are indeed laudable, I
agree, but let's face it, football is the sport that has always
counted the most at Notre Dame.
Dick Callahan '55
Lions Bay, B. C., Canada
I want to compliment Kerry Temple on what appears
to be (after I've merely skimmed it) an outstanding article on
the importance of ND football. I'm a 44-year-old subway alumnus
for whom the 1973 Sugar Bowl victory wasn't the highlight of my
life as a fan but one of the highest lights of my life, period.
Your reference to listening to a 1964 radio broadcast with your
dad hits home hard, and beautifully.
It seems like this article beautifully captures the significance
of what ND football success can mean. Just one example of how
this has played out for me is my extensive volunteer work on behalf
of the Parseghian Foundation, which, obviously, strives to achieve
so much that is good. Thanks for a great article.
Joseph Casper
jcasper@bia.org
Kerry Temple's article on "The Indisputable Importance
of Saturday" started me thinking about the meaning of big-time
intercollegiate sports. In the article, President-Elect John Jenkins,
CSC, explained why Tyrone Willingham was fired. He said that success
at the University of Notre Dame consisted of "acting with integrity,
giving students a superb education and excelling on the field."
He followed this statement with one that warns us of what big
time sports have become today. He said, "Success in only one or
two of these areas is not the success we seek. Just as
we would not tolerate a program which failed to graduate its students
or to act with integrity, so we should not be content with one
that fails to succeed on the field" (emphasis added). As I read
this statement I realized that Father Jenkins assumed, intentionally
or not, that excellence on the field means winning more than 58.3
percent of the time (Willingham's record), and that winning more
than 58.3 percent of the time is as important as integrity and
education!
This is an important thing to know about a priest who is the
educational leader of the University of Notre Dame. It also helps
me understand the power of big time intercollegiate football,
even after studying it as a sociologist for the past 35 years.
When the priest/president-elect of a university reputed to epitomize
the combination of values and sports says that having a football
team with record of at least seven wins and no more than four
losses per year is as important as integrity and education, I
see how difficult it is to eliminate the hypocrisy and other problems
in intercollegiate sports. Would Father Jenkins accept five losses
if one was in a big-money bowl game? Maybe that's a silly question
to ask when being ranked and winning games is as important as
integrity and education.
Jay Coakley, '69M.A., '72 Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
Congratulations to Kerry Temple for his wonderfully
balanced article on the difficult and sensitive subject of Notre
Dame football. I can't wait to see the letters blasting you from
both sides. Notre Dame Magazine will be accused of following
the company line or being way too liberal; either way it was excellent
journalism. I was especially impressed with the sensitive way
you handled the disagreement between Father Malloy and Father
Jenkins. Unlike disagreements in the business world it is good
to remember that these men are members of a religious order and
must live under the same roof the same way a family does. This
will not be a permanent rift between these two men. I am convinced
that they both want to do what is best for the university.
Tom McCabe '53
Itasca, Illinois
What has happened to Notre Dame football? One
cause is the increased emphasis on scholastics. Undoubtedly, some
talented athletes turned down by Notre Dame turn up on opponents'
teams. The administration wants Notre Dame to become "the Harvard
of the Midwest." This has already been accomplished in football
and liberalism, if not in the classroom or endowment.
A deeper cause, I think, is a weakening of the "Spirit of Notre
Dame." Irish teams of the "glory days," when slightly lacking
in physical prowess, made up for it in spirit. Did this spirit
have "outside help" or did playing to honor the Virgin Mother
inspire extra effort?
Consider the "Old Notre Dame" of the Victory March. The school
was named for and dedicated to Our Lady. Students daily prayed
rosaries and sang hymns in her honor at the Grotto, a shrine replicating
Lourdes in France and built of rock from there. Mary was not adored
but honored and asked to be an advocate for every cause, including
football. Devotion to the Blessed Mother was obvious, and why
not? Notre Dame is her school! Who would be listened to more attentively
in heaven? Mary was chosen by God, the Father, to be the mother
of His Son. The Holy Spirit was her spouse. She bore Jesus, raised
Him and stood at the foot of His cross. She was born free of original
sin and was taken alive to heaven, to deprive death.
Our prayers to Mary asked her to intercede for us with God, whom
we also entreated directly at daily Mass. Did this praying and
pleading cause some fumbles and passes to fall into the right
hands, or tackle, blocks, or kicks to be made or missed, or was
it just the "luck of the Irish"?
Of late, there seems to be a somewhat different atmosphere at
Notre Dame. While students display love of neighbor in charitable
and missionary work, I believe the love of God has declined because
of a drift away from some of His Commandments. The Holy Father's
edict, "Ex Corde Ecclesiae," requiring universities calling themselves
"Catholic" to have a majority of practicing Catholic faculty and
all theology professors be approved by the local bishop, has been
rejected. Organizations of gays and lesbians have been permitted,
while abortion advocates have been honored. Very questionable
film festivals and monologues are permitted. Surely, the Blessed
Mother is aware of what is happening at her school.
I pray that Notre Dame will return to what it once was - a truly
Catholic university with high standards for morality, integrity,
scholastics, and athletics.
Robert W. Degenhart '42
Columbia, South Carolina
I have to admit that while I enjoy your magazine,
I don't often have time to read all the articles, especially the
longer ones. I have even less time to respond to them. I guess
I epitomize the USA Today type reader, much as I hate
to admit it.
But I was hooked on your article about "The Indisputable Importance
of Saturday" with your first sentence. I too remember that dark
day in November 1964. Probably better than I remember Kennedy's
November 22, although again, I hate to admit that.
To this day, I can see myself, a callow youth of 15, lying on
my mom/dad's bed, listening to the radio that got the best reception
in the house in the tiny town of West Nyack, just north of New
York City. Being a glass-half-empty kinda guy even back then,
I could see (hear?) disaster written all over that last drive
by USC. So I did what any self-respecting, God-fearing, Catholic-grade-school-and-high-school-attending
lad would do. I promised God that if he didn't let USC score,
I'd become a priest.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
That hooked me into the story, but your second heart-breaking
moment propelled me to actually take the time to write (don't
tell my boss). I was actually at that late-November game in 1970
as a student of Our Lady of the Lake. It was the Senior trip,
but my buddy Snake and I flew up to San Fran and hitchhiked down
the coast to Los Angeles. Sounds funny, hitchhiking, but back
then it was a way of life.
We met a bunch of our cronies who were on the trip, and went
to the game. What a miserable, miserable day, at every level both
physical and psychological. It seemed like there were 178 ND rooters,
mostly sitting around us, and 78,000 Trojan rooters, mostly surrounding
us. Wet, bedraggled and exhausted, our last act of defiance as
the Irish ship sank late in the game was to start wadding up balls
of newspaper and firing them at particularly obnoxious USC fans.
Who, us, obnoxious??? Noooooo.
At any rate, Kerry, as the old TV program used to end, "Thanks
for the memories."
Brian L.P. Zevnik '71
Editor-in-Chief, Alexander Hamilton Institute
My conclusions from Kerry Temple's typically
excellent essay: (1) football built ND and presently holds it
captive; (2) the neophyte Father Jenkins is both our Judas and
our Brutus; and (3) having had a wonderful tenure, poor Father
Malloy abdicated his responsibilities months before he said he
would. Shame, shame on ole Notre Dame.
Peter R. Reilly '61
Bethesda, Maryland
Kerry Temple remains the profound writer whose
prose on a Notre Dame brochure inspired me to matriculate in South
Bend. His article on the lore and heartbreak of Irish football
was equally compelling. However, two 1993 occurrences that I believe
contributed to our Decade of Decline were omitted: the Under
the Tarnished Dome book that drew negative attention, and
the overconfident, painful 41-39 loss to Boston College when we
were ranked Number 1 in the regular season finale. But as Temple
has noted, Notre Dame is a place of overcoming seemingly insurmountable
odds and responding triumphantly when the world says you're done.
Under Charlie Weis, this will happen in striking fashion. Though
we need a better looking "The Shirt," no?
Alex Montoya '96
San Diego, California
Kerry Temple's article "The Indisputable Importance of
Saturday" reminds us that Notre Dame is not preeminent
in college football and has not been for decades. Jim Donaldson's
article"Man on the Spot" proves that we have a very fine coach
in Charlie Weis who, in my mind, was the best selection possible.
However, he is human. He will not win every game. And all of us
who dwell in mediocrity from time to time, should remember that
we do not win the equivalent of a National Championship every
year in our respective occupations, professions or daily efforts.
So give Charlie a break when he does not either.
Philip L. Russo, Jr., '80
Virginia Beach, Virginia
I witnessed many magical football-Saturday moments
during my time at Notre Dame (1977-81) -- a national championship,
field goals with only seconds left, and "The Comeback Kid" making
that name for himself. I was very fortunate to experience another
magical moment just prior to Ty Willingham's move to Notre Dame.
My son, then 15, and I were seated at Coach Willingham's table
at a fundraiser for the Positive Coaching Alliance, a nonprofit
organization with ties both to Stanford and Notre Dame. Coach
Willingham couldn't have been more kind or encouraging to my son,
a young athlete and baseball player with big dreams. He stressed
the importance of getting an education and reminded my son that
participating in college sports was, most of all, character-building.
My son heard a man of incredible integrity tell him that it wasn't
your accomplishments that defined you, but how you dealt with
your disappointments and even your failures.
When Ty Willingham left Stanford to take the head coaching job
at Notre Dame, I couldn't have been more pleased. I hoped beyond
hope that Notre Dame would benefit from his wisdom, his concern
for his players and their futures, and his incredible insight
and integrity. Little did I know that the men (yes, mostly men)entrusted
to lead Notre Dame, Our Mother, would betray the legacy that has
defined generations of those who love this University so dearly.
Thank you, Father Malloy, for expressing what so many of us were
feeling the day the announcement of Coach Willingham's firing
was announced -- yes, we were ashamed, for the first time we could
ever remember, to be sons and daughters of Notre Dame.
I wish all the best to Ty Willingham at Washington and have to
say that I'll be cheering against ND for the first time ever when
the two teams meet this year.
Go Huskies.
Mary Ahern '81
Half Moon Bay, California
In addition to providing a much-need, fair summary
of the events of the last several months, Kerry's article evoked
my own memories of becoming emotionally invested in the football
team. Of course, the big wins are more fun to remember than the
heartbreaks. My memory of the 1973 Sugar Bowl is particularly
vivid. The article's headline is a classic.
I've been surprised by the number of friends and casual acquaintances
who remain critical of the University's decision to change coaches.
The short-term damage to ND's reputation is considerable. Although
I wish it hadn't happened (because I had great expectations for
Ty Willingham), I nonetheless continue to support the decision.
There's no reason to be defensive about our aspirations for excellence.
Why field a football team unless you expect to win the games?
At the end of the day maybe it's not too corny to make football
a metaphor for living one's life. Caring deeply about what we
do, trying to do that thing in the right way, and, yes, striving
for as much success as possible, and then maybe some more -- that's
a pretty good "mission statement" for most things we set out to
do.
The importance of symbolism can't be overstated. The University's
renewed commitment to the success of our most visible symbol is
both a welcome development and a high-stakes bet. I suspect the
pressure will be excruciating. But then I remember being 9 or
10 years old and living in suburban Chicago, and getting to know
Paul Rafferty, who was the older brother of a pal of mine and
an avid fan of the football team. Notre Dame was in the doldrums
at the time; I think Terry Brennan had just been fired. The Chicago
newspapers were annoyed about Notre Dame's attitude towards winning
football games. I believe one of the articles in the Chicago
Tribune was headlined "Does Notre Dame Really Expect
to Win Them All?" Paul wrote a brilliant letter to the editor
that, as I remember, simply said "Hell yes, if not more!"
Tom Gies '72
Potomac, Maryland
If you think the football part is in bad shape,
take a look at the Catholic part. To see where Notre Dame is headed
one need only visit Harvard, Princeton or Yale where religion
is just another academic subject and football is just another
extracurricular activity. If that is what you really want, why
don't you just go there and leave us alone. As for me, give me
Catholic and give me football and give me a faculty and student
body that appreciates the Church, the pope, our bishops, and all
the athletes who fill our stadium on Saturdays in the fall. If
by chance you do choose to leave us for one of those schools in
the east, please take academic freedom with you. It has not served
us well.
Tom Wich '63
Clarendon Hills, Illinois
Three brief points.
1. Tyrone Willingham is a class act, a fine man, and a great
role model.
2. The most embarrassing episode in the events surrounding the
dismissal of Tyrone Willingham came when Father Malloy expressed
his personal embarrassment at being president of Notre Dame. As
president, Father Malloy should have done one of two things: He
should have retained responsibility for this decision and kept
Willingham, or he should have supported the decision of the university.
One cannot have it both ways. Father Malloy, essentially, washed
his hands of the situation and then condemned the decision. That
is embarrassing!
3. A portion of the outcry related to Willingham's dismissal
was racially motivated. Tyrone Willingham was not hired at Notre
Dame because he is black. Willingham was hired because he was
the best candidate for the job at the time. To say otherwise would
be an insult to Willingham's ability and an argument that Notre
Dame hired a coach that was not qualified except for his skin
color. I did not believe this when he was hired anymore than I
believe it since his dismissal. Willingham was dismissed because
he was not doing the job he was hired to do. His tenure was not
cut short because he is black. Hypothetically, should Charlie
Weis have the same results as Willingham and be dismissed before
his contract is complete, will the same people be outraged? Will
anyone shave their head?
Larry Iwanski '00
Atlanta, Georgia
Kerry Temple's journey down memory lane was
nostalgic but he selectively omitted a couple of the uglier aspects
of Notre Dame football.
Notre Dame's quasi-membership in the Big East is demeaning to
all schools football-playing members. This "We're too good for
you" attitude has driven three schools to another conference,
prompted the Gator Bowl to dump the Big East and threatens to
exclude the conference from BCS membership.
Notre Dame's response to this slow-motion tragedy is complete
apathy. The Irish cherish their independence in football and they
don't care in the least if their football-playing peers in the
Big East Conference sink into obscurity with the MAC and CUSA.
Jason Gatto
Oswego, New York
This was a truly excellent history of Notre
Dame football politics over the last two decades. The administration
looks as disjointed as our on-the-field offense! I can finally
erase the email sent to Father Malloy in early December -- you
have captured the truth far better than I ever could.
The follow-on article about Charlie Weis, "Man on the Spot,"
brings hope. If everyone, including whoever claims to be running
Our Lady's University at this point, catches the same sense of
enthusiasm, ownership and responsibility as the "Jersey Guy,"
we may just have a chance.
Go Irish!
Jim Jesse '69
Charlotte, North Carolina
A wonderful article that sheds new light on
the circumstances surrounding the firing of Willingham. Beautifully
written with objectivity in spite of the appeal for ND football.
I too, have followed ND football for 70 years and can appreciate
the past and the influence it has had on football, and the academic
world over the years. The criticism that followed Willingham's
firing was ONLY because it WAS ND. Malloy never should have made
his statement, and it only served to fuel the fire. ND is a fine
institution and needs to be outstanding in ALL areas.
Willingham's approach to guiding ND with the "west coast" offense,
in spite of the obvious lack of talent, was duplicated in Washington
by Steve Spurrier's quest to install the "fun and gun" offense
in pro football. Both men are wonderful coaches but had blind
spots that ruined their efforts as head coaches. You start by
assessing your talent and go from there. Both men refused to evaluate
the individual circumstances.
The result, in both cases, was the inability to field a consistently,
good team, week after week. Successful people in all fields, medical,
military, pedagogical, etc., must first evaluate the current situation,
tools or talent available, then establish a plan of attack. Two
successful coaches failed because they overlooked the most basic
rules that govern everything we try to accomplish in life: 1)
assess present circumstances; 2) where do I want to go and can
I get there with ease or do I need to re-examine and institute
a new approach; 3) and finally, the most important phase . . .
planning.
Both coaches will be successful at their respective universities,
but their success in the past blinded their approach to winning
football.
Again, a wonderfully well-written article. I thoroughly enjoyed
it and will pass it along to my many ND friends and ND fans. All
my life I have answered this question the same way to everybody
who knows me, "Hey Robert, you really like Notre Dame, don't you?"
My response is, "No, I LOVE Notre Dame." Nothing has changed.
Robert Pallone
Annapolis, Maryland
The best compendium on Notre Dame football I
have ever read.
Joe Schaefer '59
Universal City, Texas
Great article.
Ray Dubriske '41
Arlington, Virginia
(April 2005)
