Time to pull the plug
by John Berkowitz on Sep 28, 2008 1:24 PM PDT
20 comments
Sometime's you just know it is time.
Last nights loss to Stanford was a clear signal that Washington will have a new head coach in December. It was also a clearer signal that the athletic department should start negotiating immediately with Tyrone Willingham to arrange a financial settlement which will allow him to step aside as coach at the University of Washington so the search for his successor can begin.
Before last night I thought Ty had a fighting chance to win the next four games but after watching the team give up nearly 500 yards to a mediocre Stanford team it is obvious that things are going to get worse before they start to get better. Washington just may go winless this season which was unthinkable to me only a week ago.
I was previously in the camp that even if it became obvious that Tyrone wasn't going to survive they should let him finish out the season and start the coaching search after the WSU game. I am now in the camp that the search should start sooner rather than later so at least the 2009 recruiting season can be salvaged.
Firing a coach is never an easy thing to do especially if it is done during the season. You only resort to that when you realize that things are only going to get worse. UW reached that critical point on Saturday and Scott Woodward needs to pull the trigger.
Chances are that Willingham himself may have come to the same conclusion. I wouldn't surprised to see him resign by Monday morning. If he does not Woodward needs to take the bull by horns and start preparing for the future.
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Time for a change
If Tyrone Willingham honestly cares about the best interest of this team and program he will work out a deal with administration immediately so that he gets paid, and he will step down at the end of the season. Let the AD start the search Monday morning!
John – I’ve got a bone to pick with you. I am in full agreement, I saw way too many smiles on the sidelines during the second half. Willingham never seemed to have any sense of urgency, and the players seemed like they didn’t care about the game. BUT, to call out Jake for having chewing tabacco crossed the line! Do you honestly think Jake had a wad of chewing tabacco? Has Jake ever done anything to make you think he’d be that stupid? Do you honestly think Willingham would let a player have chewing tobacco on his sideline??? Did Jake have a cup he was spitting into? I don’t know if it was gum or sunflower seeds or what, but you better be damn sure you are right before you accuse a really good kid of doing something really stupid!
Bone
Yep, that is what it was.
You would be pretty surprised what players have on the sideline.
I don’t think the chewing is the problem. Bad habit yes, but he can make his own decisions. It isn’t like he was tipping back a Budweiser.
When you are getting your butt beat for the fourth straight game of the year and you are on the sidleines there isn’t anything to be laughing about.
Wad and Resignations
I commented on the other thread – but I really can’t see Ty quitting. He wouldn’t do that to the kids. He owes those kids more loyalty than he owes us fans and the right thing for him to do is stick it out until he is removed … which will happen soon enough.
As for Jake, it certainly did look like a huge plug in his cheek. I must admit, though, that I saw neither a cup nor any spitting. It could have been seeds, I guess.
Shake that hand that shook the hand of Hustlin' Hugh
Wad
I agree the appearance of the wad looked bad. But Locker has never seen like the tobacco type. In all the glances at the sideline I never once saw him spit, or saw any cup or spittoon.
I’ll bet you dinner at any restaurant in Seattle it wasn’t tobacco!
Wad
Tough to say if it was chew; if it was it was definately plug or leaf tobacco. In regards to not seeing him spit, you really can’t say one way or the other based on that I know plenty of folks you “gut” it (i.e., they swallow the juice); also you can’t say he wasn’t because he didn’t have a cup (spitter) I know very few folks who use a spitter when they are outside.
I don’t care one way or the other if it was chew or not; I just didn’t like seeing him and others laughing it up on the sideline that was pathetic.
Laughing
I think they are all great kids. I just don’t think there is anything to yuk it up about when your team is getting its ass kicked.
I agree, I'm sure they are all great kids, but
when you compare the reactions of the UW players on the sideline the last two games with Tim Tebow and companies reactions yesterday, you can tell which team is a perennial top 10 team and what team is among the worst in all BCS conferences.
The culture of losing has set in, and that is one of the worst things that can ever happen to a program, it’s really tough to turn that around.
Tabacco...who cares?
If he chews who cares? Its his own choice, a stupid one, but his. Laughing on the sidelines is what i would be worried about, just goes to show that Washington accepts losing to lesser teams.
I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.
~Fred Allen
Lay off
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/photogalleries/photography2008210270/20.html
What do you want? Should he pretend to cry?
Sorry, Huskies
Based on our experience, I would not expect the separation from Willingham to go too smoothly. Once the end game arrives, the ‘no excuses’ attitude goes out the window. Ty has a cool affect, but at heart he is a players coach who will be leaving a mess for your next skipper. If you are lucky you can get out of this mess without a lot of bitterness developing in the locker room and without an ugly public scene like we had at Notre Dame.
Exit strategy
UW needs a solid exit strategy to avoid that.
Starting 0-4 and facing a ceertain thumping against Arizona next week should do the trick.
by John Berkowitz on Sep 28, 2008 10:03 PM PDT reply actions
Be a Man!
He needs to cowboy the frig up and move along…his time here is long gone.
Linehan just got canned. Could be perfect timing. Name Donatell (who else would you want) interim head coach and bring in Linehan now to learn about the players but as an assistant coach (or something around those lines) as the next coach of UW. Let him worry about recruiting and preparing. I still like Kiffin more but with his win this week he will probably see the light of next week. If he gets the axe…bring him in!
Fire Willingham NOW!! Give the players, fans, boosters, alumni, city of seattle something to grab a hold of for this year as a promise of the greatness to come. If we wait until December, it could set us back 2 more years. Let a guy start now! If we sit on our hands and pray for a miracle (no way we get Pinkel) or wait until the end of the year…you can count this years recruiting class out of the window. We need a coach who can recruit and bring some positive energy to the game. Pat Hill, Riley not the answer, If Hill was so great he would have got picked up a while ago and Riley just beat USC but got beat by Stanford…not the direction that i would like. Peterson could be a great coach in the Pac 10 because he knows the recruits well and knows the Pac 10 coaches well which could give him an advantage when preparing.
And by the way…apparently it only takes 2 years to right a ship. Nick Saban…Alabama. Bring in the BIG time coach who can get sh*t done!
Big Dave
He brings up the point I’ve been thinking a lot about.
Is it worth it to get a replacement installed mid-season or is it better to let your current staff ride it out and then go full-bore for your top 2 or 3 targets (who are most likely already employed) at the end of the year?
JB – you say we should have an “exit plan”. I’m not sure what a good exit plan is – but what do you think the right answer is? My take is that it is better to leave Ty in place ’til the end of the year if for no other reason than to protect players from the open criticism that, as of now, the coaching staff is absorbing for them.
Shake that hand that shook the hand of Hustlin' Hugh
Big Dave
He brings up the point I’ve been thinking a lot about.
Is it worth it to get a replacement installed mid-season or is it better to let your current staff ride it out and then go full-bore for your top 2 or 3 targets (who are most likely already employed) at the end of the year?
JB – you say we should have an "exit plan". I’m not sure what a good exit plan is – but what do you think the right answer is? My take is that it is better to leave Ty in place ’til the end of the year if for no other reason than to protect players from the open criticism that, as of now, the coaching staff is absorbing for them. Try to take the anger and frustration out of the equation – tactically, what’s the best move?
Shake that hand that shook the hand of Hustlin' Hugh
Exit Plan
I guess the best exit plan is to continue to lose games. The biggest fear Washington administration has is the national backlash that could come if Willingham is fired. The fear of that backlash is the ultimate reason Willingham was retained last December and Jim Mora Jr is not currently the head coach.
I guess the best scenario is for Willingham to resign but continue coaching for the rest of the season. That allows Washington plenty of time to find a new coach, and it allows Willingham to leave with some dignity. It isn’t like Tyrone Willingham is Jon Mackovick.
They were never going to fire Willingham last year
Emmert chose to fire Turner rather than Willingham. I happen to think that was the correct move, since you wouldn’t want Turner, the guy who hired Willingham, to hire the next coach — or to have anything snarky to say as Willingham was being fired. There’s no way Emmert could have fired both at the same time. It’s also pretty questionable whether he could fire Willingham over Turner’s head anyway. Wouldn’t Turner have quit? I know that sounds good, but trying to hire a coach without an AD is not what good programs do. He’s being orderly.
It seems to me Emmert’s gotten a bad rap. If you ignore the canned, media-ready statements, his actions have been pretty good for football.
I doubt that this Jim Mora thing was ever reality, it lived only in the media. The guy’s going to make three times as much money with the Seahawks. But one thing has always confused me. Why is it so obvious to everybody that Mora would be a great college head coach? I’m not saying he wouldn’t, but what in his resume suggests he’d be a better hire than one of the other, proven, names tossed around? Is it just that he’s a Husky? That’s a stupid reason to hire him. I’m a Husky, too, but you sure could do better than me.
DJ- He did that at LSU
At LSU Emmert fired the coach and there was no longer an AD in place. He went off and hired Saban with a search committee of one. It was a ballsy move but he also had the support of the LSU board of regents. the board of regents actually like football down there. Presidents in the SEC get fired for losing football programs as crazy as it seems. UW is a whole different culture.
From what I hear Emmert made up his mind to fire Willingham before the Hawaii game. Politics got involved and he reluctantly kept him for another year. It was close, but they felt the firestorm created by firing Willingham would have a negative effect in the state legislature. Nationally the NCAA didn’t want to lose another black head coach, and of course the NAACP was also waiting in the wings. It might have gotten pretty messy.
I don’t think there will be any flak if he gets fired this year. He has had four years and the program is in worse shape than when he took it over.
The fascination with Mora is all about being a former DJ Husky , Hugh Millen’s best friend, and the son of Jim Mora Sr.. Mora be the answer but, I think the best bet is picking someone who has experience building a college football program.
by John Berkowitz on Sep 29, 2008 12:27 PM PDT reply actions
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