[domer2]

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This contrasts with why it was important to axe Ty, because you fear he's likely to have a "good enough" year and make things harder for you if you let him hang around. If Charlie goes 7-5 or 8-4 next year, the mumbling may get a bit louder, but I think it will be contained enough.

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Ty was an OK gameday coach that fits well with a program like Stanford or Washington. Couldn't coach the offense worth a lick, and couldn't hire competent coordinators. His defenses were good and his special teams were decent.

His biggest off the field problems were (in order of importance): poor recruiting, no embracing of alumni/traditions, golfed constantly (to the point where it interfered with recruiting), and sounded like he was feeding everyone BS during his press conferences (once asked if he was a coach, he said thought of himself more as a "molder of men").

If those had been remedied after say his 1st year and he became more of an ND coach, he likely would've been given a 4th year to see what he could do with his first recruiting class. He was not a fit with ND at all, and the 3 blowouts by USC sealed his fate. Everyone but the AD was glad to see him go.

By the way, for those of you who say that Brady Quinn was recruited by Ty Willingham, that was not the case at all. Chinedum Ndukwe was on a visit to ND -- Ndukwe and Quinn were classmates in high school -- and Ndukwe's father basically handed Ty the tape of Quinn and said recruit this kid. Then and only then was Quinn offered a scholarship which he subsequently accepted. If not for that, he would've been playing for Ohio State.

Another Ty recruiting story. Jeff Samardzija came in and talked with Ty before one of the seasons and Ty basically told him "I don't see a future for you in football, you should concentrate on baseball." Lo and behold, next season when Weis steps in, he moves to third on the depth chart and becomes a starter when Rhema goes down. From there, he went on to set ND WR records.

So if you think Weis' grasp on talent is poor, you have not yet been introduced to Ty Willingham, golfer, molder of men, microphone flipper extraordinaire.