A Good Make-Up Call for Irish

Tyrone Willingham, stoic, erudite and--most relevantly--above reproach, was hired as Notre Dame football coach Monday, little more than two weeks after George O’Leary resigned in the wake of revelations that he fabricated biographical information about his playing and academic careers.

Willingham, the coach at Stanford the last seven years, becomes the first African American to coach any sport at Notre Dame. He directed the Cardinal to a surprising 9-3 record this season, finishing his tenure with a 24-14 loss to Georgia Tech in the Seattle Bowl.

Willingham agreed to a six-year deal worth between $2 million and $3 million a year, according to his agent, Ray Anderson. John Heisler, a Notre Dame associate athletic director, confirmed the length of the contract but indicated it is less lucrative. Willingham will be introduced today at a news conference in South Bend, Ind.

Bob Davie was fired Dec. 2 as coach of the Fighting Irish after posting a 5-6 record this season, his fifth. Willingham was among contenders for the job at that time, but Notre Dame officials did not interview him and instead moved quickly to hire O’Leary, the coach at Georgia Tech.

Within days it was revealed that O’Leary’s resume had two major discrepancies, one listing him as a three-time letter winner at New Hampshire, the other claiming he had obtained a master’s degree from New York University. Neither was true.

When O’Leary resigned only five days after taking the job, many of the same marquee names came up that had circulated after Davie’s firing, including Jon Gruden of the Oakland Raiders and Steve Mariucci of the San Francisco 49ers. In addition, Rick Neuheisel of Washington and former Irish Coach Lou Holtz, now at South Carolina, were mentioned.

Athletic Director Kevin White took heat from critics who said he hired O’Leary too hastily, and Notre Dame President Rev. Edward A. Malloy, who has urged the school to diversify, might have had a hand in the selection of Willingham.

“This opens up a lot of doors for a lot of people,” said Floyd Keith, executive director of the Black Coaches Assn. “We have minority candidates out there that just haven’t been considered before. There are other Tyrone Willinghams out there.”

The new coach has developed a reputation as a meticulous, disciplined and driven individual. Although his record of 44-36-1 at Stanford is similar to Davie’s 35-25 mark at Notre Dame, and he won only one of four bowl games, Willingham is admired for his integrity and leadership.

“It is critical that I set the tone for how the entire program should flow by the example I provide,” he said before the 2001 season. “With this style of leadership comes a level of expectation where the underachiever becomes the achiever and the achiever reaches his true greatness.”

Before Stanford defeated Notre Dame, 17-13, on Nov. 24--the Cardinal’s second victory over the Irish in three years--Willingham talked about the two schools.

“It’s good to look at records and standards, but it’s more important to remember the process of producing a consistent winner, and that starts early on each week before the games are played,” he said. “Both of our schools have high expectations, and we’re trying to live up to ours all week, not just on Saturdays.”

Willingham, who turned 48 on Sunday, should immediately help Notre Dame’s recruiting, which is at a crisis point. Several Irish assistants were pulled off recruiting trips when O’Leary was hired and the uncertainty created by his resignation caused more disarray.

But Willingham is familiar with recruiting obstacles. Admissions policies at Stanford are even more stringent than at Notre Dame and the recruiting pool is smaller.

Not only might a greater number of elite African American players warm to South Bend now, so might skill-position players who believed the Notre Dame offense was too conservative under Davie.

Quarterback Chris Olsen of New Jersey made an early commitment to the Fighting Irish but took other visits in the last month. Trent Edwards, an uncommitted quarterback from Los Gatos, favored Stanford and admires Willingham. Signing day is Feb. 3 and a dead period for recruiting ends Thursday.

Current Notre Dame players are expected to welcome the new coach, whose hiring brings an end to the uncertainty caused by the embarrassing O’Leary fiasco.

“I’m going to respect him and welcome him just like they did when I came in,” cornerback Vontez Duff said. “With all the things that have gone on the past few weeks, I think they’ve looked him over pretty close and I think he’ll be a good choice.”

Willingham, a native of Jacksonville, N.C., was a walk-on quarterback at Michigan State in 1973, choosing the school partly because he looked up to former Spartan Jimmy Raye, also a black quarterback from North Carolina.

“It was just one of those things that hang in your subconscious, that you don’t know why they’re there, but at some point it ties in,” Willingham told The Times’ Robyn Norwood in 1999.

Notre Dame no doubt double-checked Willingham’s resume. He earned a scholarship as a Michigan State sophomore, won three letters in football and baseball and was named the football team’s most inspirational player in 1976.

“I think [Michigan State] is well-documented for providing opportunity for African American players and coaches before it was popular around the country,” he said.

After stints as an assistant at Michigan State, Stanford and with the Minnesota Vikings, Willingham became head coach of the Cardinal and in 1999 became the first black coach to lead a team to the Rose Bowl.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Tyrone Willingham File

* Full name: Lionel Tyrone Willingham

* Date of birth: Dec. 30, 1953

* Hometown: Jacksonville, N.C.

* College: Michigan State, B.S., Physical Education, 1977

* Playing experience: A walk-on in football and baseball at Michigan State, Willingham went on to earn three letters in each sport. As a quarterback, Willingham was awarded the Big Ten Medal of Honor as the outstanding scholar-athlete in the conference. In baseball, he received the conference’s sportsmanship award in 1975 and was an All-Big Ten selection in ’77.

* At Stanford: 44-36-1 record, 32-24 in the Pacific 10. Four bowl appearances in seven years including a 2000 Rose Bowl loss to Wisconsin.