Word: willingham
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Marty frowned. “Well, if somebody like Tyrone Willingham were coaching here, it wouldn’t matter, right? Good coaches still find ways to win games...
...fact, you’ll notice if you go to a lot of events around here that there aren’t a lot of coaches who look like Tyrone Willingham,” I said...
...Willingham has restored the players' confidence by teaching them how to walk in the blazing Notre Dame spotlight without being blinded. His advice: "Never get hung up on the game you just played." How does he get his you-can-do-it message across? "I don't know," he says. "You can't know if 18-, 19-or 20-year-olds ever believe what you're saying." It's a low-key approach tied to a high-octane playbook. Willingham brought his free-spirited West Coast offense--lots of passing, lots of trickery--to augment Notre Dame's already dominant...
...Willingham has also pumped up Notre Dame's cash flow. College football is a $5 billion-a-year business, and it has long been a moneymaker at Notre Dame. Last year the football program generated $32 million in revenues and profits of $21 million. In the past month, some 80,000 RETURN TO GLORY T shirts were sold on campus. Should Willingham take the Irish to one of the big bowl games, which seems likely, the team will score another $11 million to $15 million in profits from ticket sales and television rights. The folks in the fund-raising department...
...Irish are in the hunt for a place in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 3 to determine the national champion. "This season is magical because nobody expected it. He's done a spectacular job," says NBC's Schanzer. And fans can't wait for next year. That's because Willingham's success has made Notre Dame a top choice for the nation's schoolboy stars--even if Willingham was never top choice for Notre Dame. --With reporting by David Thigpen/South Bend