>>ND tried getting him before they hired Ty<<
Huh? If this were true, he would have been there and not at Utah.
ND hired George O'Leary and then "asked" him to resign when the flap about his resume came up. The "reinterviewed" Willingham to deflect the criticism about not hiring a black coach. They decided to go ahead and hire him.
The really should have left Bob Davie alone. Until ND joins a conference or quits playing such a rough schedule (and I'm a HUGE fan of a tough schedule), 7 or 8 wins is about the best they can expect.
Sheer nonsense. Other than USC, ND didn't play a really good team this year (Michigan is laughably overrated, and they play in the Big 10-which is weak this year, Tenn had a hurt QB and didn't deserve to be ranked).
I don't see all these other mediocre teams losing by 30-40 points when they play a decent team. The problem has simply been coaching, Ty Davie, or Bob Willingham if you will were so disorganized not only in their predictable game plan, but even their press conferences it was apparent these guys couldn't motivate an Eskimo to buy a space heater.
ND has had 3 successive poor coaching choices(including OLeary). It was obvious the moment they hired these guys that their records, or lack there of didn't come close to matching up with ND. People were whining in the 60s after Kuharich about the academics or the schedule, but as soon as they got a good coach all that talk magically disappeared. So will be be if the University opens its sizeable wallet for once.
No conference, no schedule changes, no whining, no excuses. Go Irish.
Your chronology is correct and,maybe tried was not the correct word to use but, ND was interested in him, he just was not available.
Although I think it will be Urban who get's the job - here's a name to throw in the mix:
Charlie Weiss, Offensive Coordinator for the New England Patriots. Among other things, he's an ND Grad.