Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football Under Tyrone Willingham - Before Willingham

Before Willingham

In the 2001 season, the Fighting Irish, led by fifth-year head coach Bob Davie, had a record of five wins and six losses. A day after the season ended, athletic director Kevin White announced to the media that Davie would not be retained as head coach of Notre Dame. A week after the firing of Davie, George O'Leary, seven-year head coach of Georgia Tech, was hired by Notre Dame for the head coaching position. Despite being a controversial choice criticized by some in the media, and Notre Dame being criticized for making a premature decision, O'Leary was happy to accept what was called his dream job. Five days after being hired, however, O'Leary resigned from the position. It was later revealed that O'Leary had lied on his résumé about receiving a varsity letter and a Master's degree while in school. While O'Leary was criticized for lying, some in the media said that his resignation gave Notre Dame a chance to make a better decision. Two weeks after O'Leary resigned, Notre Dame signed Tyrone Willingham, the seventh-year coach of Stanford, to a six-year contract. Willingham became the school's first African American head coach in any sport. He immediately made changes to the Irish program, including changing the long used Irish offense from an option attack to a West Coast type. He also made his first-year Fighting Irish team only the second in Notre Dame history to pick captains on a game-by-game basis.