The Firing Line: Focus on Willingham - 9/30/2008

“The Firing Line” at Football Rumor Mill focuses on coaches around the country who are in serious jeopardy. The latest edition centers on Washington’s Tyrone Willingham…

From the brink, Tyrone Willingham called opening his eyes Monday morning an achievement. He’s alive and employed, at least. If the keys to his office still work today, he’ll probably need a plaque to commemorate the feat. This is what a four-games-old season has come to: a day-by-day, mistake-by-mistake, wrenching anticipation of the inevitable. It’s no longer worth wondering if Willingham can save his job. He’s finished at Washington. Basic arithmetic suggests he could still win enough this season to be retained, but if there were mathematicians at Husky Stadium on Saturday, even they would agree it’s over. – Seattle Times

Asked Monday how he keeps himself going in the midst of what he has acknowledged is one of the toughest professional situations of his life, Tyrone Willingham said he reviews previous successes. “You look at all the things you have done in your life, and every now and then go back and count your successes,” the Washington coach said. “And I’ve had quite a few successes since I was born. Waking up this morning was one of those, and it’s not bad.” Waking up with his job intact, some might say, would be another. Later on his radio show, when asked if he had considered resigning, Willingham responded, “Nope,” and said he thinks a turnaround is ahead. “I am still very enthusiastic and optimistic about our football team and the things we can do,” he said. – Seattle Times

With increasing calls for his job raining down around him, Washington football coach Tyrone Willingham said Monday that he would resign if he felt it was in the best interest of his players or the university. “I’ve always said this, that it is important that everybody in our program be part of the solution,” Willingham said. “And I’ve always said that if I’m cynical about my job then, no, I don’t want to do my job… Asked how he would respond if his employer asked why he should be kept on in light of an 11-29 record over 40 games at Washington and a 76-80-1 record over 14 seasons at three major universities, Willingham responded: “Because I have the enthusiasm for it, the focus and concentration for it, and I’m still very much into what I’m doing.” It appears Willingham will not have to make that pitch anytime soon. When Scott Woodward became permanent athletic director 13 days ago, he said that he believes in evaluating coaches at the end of the season, and that he would fire a coach during the season only in special circumstances. Woodward reaffirmed that stance Monday from Dallas, where he is attending a national meeting of athletic directors. – The News Tribune

The coaching hot seat is cooling off for Arizona’s Mike Stoops, but it’s on fire for Washington’s Tyrone Willingham after an 0-4 start. “Complaints and speculation over his future have become the No. 1 topic surrounding UW football,” The Tacoma Tribune wrote Monday about Willingham, “and that seems unlikely to change until either a joyous breakthrough is achieved or a grim press conference is called.” Stoops is 20-29 in his fifth season at UA; Willingham is 11-29 in his fourth year at Washington. – Arizona Central