Easing Ty out: yeas and nays
Malamute, 8 May 2008

If head football coach Tyrone Willingham of the University of Washington has another losing season this year, his job could be in jeopardy. Most people believe Tyrone is on the hot seat at UW, going into his fourth year of a five-year contract, which expires December 11, 2009. During his stay at UW, his contract has not been extended.

After last season, AD Todd Turner resigned under fire, saying he didn’t know he was expected to win. People say he took the bullet for Willingham because he supported him after last season’s 4-9 record, and that Willingham is on a short, one-year leash.

The common expectation is that if Willingham doesn’t win at least half of his games this season, it will be his swan song, his last season at UW.

Although Willingham is likely gone if he posts a losing season in 2008, there are reasons for keeping him, as well as reasons for letting him go, according to each side of the issue.

To me, firing Tyrone after next season is an iffy situation; the nebula that surrounds him is creating a number of budding stars, who have the potential to end the current miasma hanging over the Washington program. Yet, can the athletics program withstand six-straight losing seasons – extending from 2004 through 2009 -- if he’s kept on, especially if he’s the mediocre coach that some fans are saying?

Here is an open-end list of reasons to ease Ty out the door if he fails to go bowling this season and/or at least win half his games. The comments and opinions have been accumulated from columnists, posters on websites and blogs around the Internet:

• A mediocre coach: To his critics, Willingham (11-25) is a mediocre coach who has the potential to win more than half his games, but he's not the caliber of a Pete Carroll, say, or a Don James.

To the upper campus, as a coach, he represents the perfect fit between academics and athletics, fielding teams befitting the Stanford of the north.

He'll win enough games to keep half the fan base happy, along with the academic-minded -- but that won't fly with the fans nurtured during the Don James era. They point to his overall-career record of 76-76-1 and his three straight losing seasons at Washington. UW’s growing image, as a down-and-out program, can’t take two more losing seasons, his detractors say. 



• Coffee is for closers: Willingham can’t close the deal, they say. They point to seven-lost games last season in which the game was decided in the second half. The Huskies led Ohio State and ASU at half, were tied with UCLA at half, were tied with Oregon and WSU at the end of the third quarter, and led Arizona and Hawaii at the end of the third quarter. The year before, UW fell two-seconds short of beating USC, in a game some say was decided by a coaching error. Willingham took responsibility for the loss.
  
  

• Please sign here: In his 36 games at UW, he’s yet to post a signature win.
  
  

• He can’t develop players: According to scout.com, his recruiting classes were ranked 55, 35, 29, and 14 from 2005 through 2008, respectively. Negative fans say he doesn’t know how to develop his players, so the improvement in recruiting doesn’t mean a thing.
  
  

• Defense wins ball games. Last season, Tyrone fired Defensive Coordinator Kent Baer after Washington gave up an average of 446.4 yards per game, the worst in school history. Willingham hopes that incoming coordinator Ed Donatell can duplicate the turnaround in defense that DeWayne Walker pulled off at UCLA in 2006. The nega-dawgs say, “not likely," not with Tyrone in search of the great white whale.
  
  

• Sorry, Bob and Molly: His closed practices, with the exception of the first 25 minutes, have not set well with the local media. Willingham is overly cautious with his interviews, being almost taciturn at times.
  
  

• The check is in the mail: Under Willingham’s regime, the fan base has been split apart, into those fans who support the coach and into those who do not. Some high rollers have withdrawn their monetary support of the athletics program because of Willingham’s continued presence as head coach. They want him gone. After last season, one donor pledged to create a $200,000 scholarship fund if Willingham and the university athletic director were forced out.
  
  

• What a waste of talent: Some fans say it would be a shame to waste Jake Locker’s career at Washington. The 2009 season could be Locker’s last at Washington because of the temptation to turn pro.

Seven reasons to keep Ty if he fails to go bowling in 2008 and/or at least win half his games. I think most of his supporters would agree with the following:

• Rome wasn’t built in a day: Ty opens this season against Oregon, BYU, and Oklahoma, all ranked in the top 25, his schedule being one of the toughest in the country. Realistically, this year, UW has a chance to beat UCLA, Arizona, Stanford, and WSU. Upsets at home are possible against BYU and Notre Dame. His chances of leading his team to a bowl lie between slim and moderate. He has a better chance to go bowling in the 2009 season, when he’s had some time to develop most of his young players.
  
  

• It’s the money, stupid: Buying out Willingham’s contract after next season would cost UW $1 million. Currently, Willingham makes almost $1.5 million per season. Bringing in a top-rated coach could cost the UW millions of dollars more in compensation over the next decade, considering escalating salaries. There's no guarantee a new coach -- or each within a series of new coaches -- would do any better than Willingham.
  
  

• Play that funky music, white boy: The coaching carousal is spinning; I can hear the funky music now. Maintaining coaching continuity is critical. Washington has had four head football coaches in the last 10 years. And what happens to the assistant coaches, three of whom were hired this year?
  
  

• Clank! The gate is locked: Last year’s recruiting class was one of the best in Washington’s history. Seemingly, Warden Willingham has closed the fence around the state’s best inmates, its blue-chip prospects.
  
  

• Hold your thumb out: The local police blotter has become a stranger to Willingham’s athletes. Willingham is thumbing his nose at NCAA honcho Myles Brand, whose organization in the past has been laid over the UW athletics program like cheap camouflage material befitting third world dictators.
  
  

• At least, he’s not couging it: Willingham is graduating over 70% of his players and his team is meeting the NCAA’s APR requirements -- third best in the Pac-10. Washington State, on the other hand, has had several players run afoul of the law recently and is reportedly losing eight scholarships from its roster due to APR deficiencies. The comparison between the Washington and WSU programs is haunting Husky hater Jim Moore of the Seattle P-I at night, to the delight of UW fans. 
  
  

• Come to attention, baby: Willingham is president of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). Unlike Rodney Dangerfield, he gets plenty of respect.
  

Okay, I have had my say, fans; add your own bullets to what I think are two never-ending lists. Of course, all of this may be moot if University President Mark Emmert feels the way I think he does.