Malloy's Remarks on Firing at Notre Dame Gaining Applause

New York Times ^ | December 10, 2004 | PETE THAMEL

[tvn]

As Notre Dame continued to search for a football coach yesterday, the former agent for the fired coach Tyrone Willingham applauded the criticism of the firing by the university's president, the Rev. Edward A. Malloy.

The former agent, Ray Anderson, who is now an executive with the Atlanta Falcons, said yesterday that among Notre Dame's administrators, Malloy and the athletic director Kevin White, who also opposed Willingham's firing, knew the coach the best.

Malloy, who will step down as president July 1, made his comments Wednesday at a sports forum in New York.

"In my 18 years, there have been only two days that I have been embarrassed to be president of Notre Dame, Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, because I felt we had not abided by our precedent," Malloy said, referring to Willingham's firing.

Anderson, who negotiated Willingham's deal at Notre Dame, said Malloy and White "were really disappointed" about the firing.

"It was really refreshing to see Father Malloy's comments," Anderson said. "For someone from the university to take a stance like that shows that they made a disgraceful mistake."

Seven Notre Dame administrators met Nov. 29 to determine Willingham's coaching status. He was fired after three seasons.

Malloy's assistant, Chandra Johnson, said Wednesday that she had shaved her head to protest the firing.

Anderson said he had been in touch with Willingham, who has emerged as a strong candidate to become the coach at Washington.

"I can't confirm that he's interviewed there, but by this point there has been some meaningful discussion," Anderson said.

Anderson also said that Willingham was in good spirits.

"The experience at Notre Dame was brought on by folks that didn't understand the whole picture," Anderson said.

Notre Dame was scheduled to meet with Tom Clements, the Bills' offensive coordinator, last night about its head-coaching position. Clements, a former all-American quarterback, led Notre Dame to the 1973 national championship. He has the support of the former Notre Dame coach Ara Parseghian.

[Ax]

My best friend from high school (class of 1959) is a former Holy Cross Brother. He went to his first two years at Notre Dame, after his novitiate summer, then got his Bachelor's at St. Edward's in Austin, TX. The order then sent him back to ND for his MEd. He's out of the order now, and lives in s. Florida. He is a RABID ND hater, and his college team of choice is, shockingly, the U. of Miami. I am a Motown Subway Alumnus.

[Happygal]

Oi! I've O'Connor genes.

~flicks full head of hair~ ;-)

[Paradox]

He had a good final season at Stanford, which is excellent considering the athletes they get. Having said that, his record there is not as impressive as I had though (other than his final year), so your comments have merit.

[Xphantasos]

You might be right about the record. Please save this post and come back to share the "I told you so" at game 6.

You haven't gat a clue.

[LI conservative]

I never bothered applying to the place, so, no, there's no rejection letter. What I dislike most about ND and their alums is their arrogance. I've actually talked to ND alums who've asked me if I didn't really wish I'd gone to ND instead of my alma mater. Unreal. That kind of arrogance isn't a particularly Christian characteristic.

[irish guard]

I applied at the place and went there. What I find most annoying about the place is the arrogance. If you really take the time to know some (and I say some) of the guys, they are great guys, but others are buttheads. Notre Dame does not have the corner on that market. However, Monk Malloy is one guy who did nothing to limit the arrogance and in fact, I could suggest he fueled it. I will be happy to see Malloy step down at the end of June 2005.

Really gutsy of Malloy to come out a week after Tyrone Willinghma has been fired to tell the world how upset he is/was. It speaks volumes about how the man operates.