Aftermath of The Willingham Firing
In firing Willingham, the Notre Dame athletic department cited a relatively poor record of 21–15, a weak recruiting class, and three losses, each by 31 points, to rival USC. However, the Irish also hoped to entice Urban Meyer, the head coach of Utah, to lead Notre Dame. Meyer had just led the Utes to an undefeated season and he had a clause in his contract that stated he could leave Utah without a penalty to coach for the Irish. When Meyer instead took the head coaching position at Florida, the Irish were ridiculed in the media, saying that the Notre Dame coaching position is no longer as prestigious as it was in the past. After over a week without a coach, the Irish hired New England Patriots' offensive coordinator Charlie Weis as head coach. Weis was an alum of Notre Dame, and became the first alum to coach the team since 1963. At least one sports writer stated that Weis was a choice that made sense for the program. Notwithstanding, three years after the fact, Willingham's firing remains highly controversial with many believing he was treated unfairly.
Read more about this topic: 2004 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football Team
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