Willingham fired as head coach of Pitiful Washington Huskies

Ty Willingham is held in the highest regard by everyone who knows him as a man of the utmost class and integrity.  Part of the job description of college football head coaches is to serve as a positive representation for the institution and as a role model for students and athletes.  Willingham is with few peers in this area of college coaching.

It’s the other half of the college coaching duality that he had trouble with at Washington:  winning football games.  After a season and a half at the helm the Huskies had a record of 1-11 and that won’t get it done anywhere in college football, let alone in the PAC 10.  As a result, Willingham was fired on Monday two days after his team fell to 0-7 on the year with a 33-7 home loss to Notre Dame.  That loss was no doubt particularly bitter for Willingham, as he was fired as the Irish head coach prior to accepting the gig in Seattle.

Willingham will step down at the end of the season—clearly, when you’re 0-7 and going nowhere you don’t have to rush these things.  Though the Notre Dame loss was the “last straw”, Willingham knew that it was only a matter of time following the Huskies 34-13 loss to Oregon State on October 18th.  At that point, UofW President Dr. Mark Emmert notified Willingham that a change would be forthcoming.  In a rare show of respect, Emmert left it to Willingham and athletic director Scott Woodward to work out the details of the transition.

Willingham didn’t mince words in his explanation for the ouster:

"We didn't win enough football games. That's it. Hopefully, we've done all the other things right, [and] it's a good strong program for someone to jump into and do things."

And while he won’t get a letter of reference from his former employer, the Oakland Raiders’ recently fired head coach Lane Kiffin is reportedly being considered for the job.  Kiffin was offensive coordinator at USC before heading for the NFL and has let it be known that he’s interested in the Huskies position despite this cryptic and noncommittal statement:

"The University of Washington is a great job. And it's one I'm sure a lot of people will be interested in."

In the meantime, things won’t get easier for Willingham and the Huskies as they play out the string.  They head to Los Angeles on Saturday to play #5 USC before things get somewhat easier with home games against Arizona State and UCLA.