Tyrone Willingham made no secret that it was difficult to get through his final day as football coach at Notre Dame, but there was no trace of bitterness in his voice nor harshness in his words yesterday as he spoke publicly for the first time since being fired from the most storied program in college sports.
Willingham laid responsibility for his ouster, coming three years into a six-year contract, squarely on himself, saying he was disappointed he had fallen short of his expectations for restoring Notre Dame's prominence on the field.
"I don't get into what's fair and what's not fair," said Tyrone Willingham at his news conference.
(Joe Raymond -- AP)
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_____From The Post_____
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Notre Dame fires Tyrone Willingham after the coach amasses a 21-15 record in three seasons.
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Michael Wilbon: The powers-that- be at Notre Dame never wanted Willingham in the first place.
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Willingham was disappointed he had fallen short of his expectations.
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_____Bowl Schedule & Results_____
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Keep up with all 28 bowl games crammed into three weeks of college football action and find out who comes out on top.
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"When you don't reach your own expectations, you make yourself vulnerable to the will of others," Willingham said during a news conference on the Notre Dame campus.
The subject of race never came up in Willingham's remarks or in the questions that followed, and the outgoing coach steered clear of making broad statements when asked what his firing said about the state of the college game.
"I'm not going to go there," he said firmly.
Willingham is a man of few words, and he remained so yesterday, choosing each word carefully as he thanked Notre Dame officials for the opportunity to coach at the university and wished his yet-to-be-named successor the best. His only regret, he said, was that he wouldn't be able to coach the players he had recruited.
"The other part of it is when you aren't able to reach the standards and expectations you set for yourself and this program, it's like something is just ripped out of you," Willingham said.
Willingham was the first black head coach in Notre Dame history, and his firing leaves just two black head coaches among 117 in Division I-A football.
His ouster also represents a break with tradition at Notre Dame, which has prided itself on seeking the moral high ground. In football, that has meant honoring the full terms of coaches' initial contracts.
Asked why he thought he wasn't extended that courtesy despite a 21-15 record, Willingham said he didn't know.
"Someone else holds the answer," he said.
Willingham said he was surprised to learn Sunday afternoon, the day after his team's 41-10 regular season-ending loss to top-ranked Southern California, that Notre Dame officials had begun reviewing his job status. Earlier that day he had accepted on the team's behalf an invitation to the Dec. 28 Insight Bowl.
Tuesday morning he was informed he was being fired.
Irish players were stunned. Several faulted themselves. The annual Notre Dame football banquet, scheduled for tomorrow, was canceled, and the school began refunding money to those who had bought tickets. In its place, players chose to have a private dinner with the coaching staff and their families instead.
Late yesterday a group of players met to decide whether they wanted to take part in the Insight Bowl. They voted to play; defensive coordinator Kent Baer will serve as interim coach.
Asked if he thought his firing was fair, Willingham said: "I don't get into what's fair and what's not fair. I'm an optimist by nature. I'm also a realist. I will deal with the events that occur."
