Minority coaching scene hasn't gotten any better

Caveat: The Fighting Irish football coach just got a vote of confidence and is now slated to lead his anemic Notre Dame team for a fifth year -- and this burns me up.

It's because of Tyrone Willingham, the stern-faced, African American coach who, despite his recent dismissal at Washington, is still known as much for the controversial firing he endured at Notre Dame in 2004.

Normally tight-lipped when talking Notre Dame, Willingham recently offered his thoughts to Fred Mitchell, a Chicago Tribune columnist. Willingham used the moment to discuss an issue that should cause our universities the utmost in shame: the vexing lack of non-white coaches in college football.

"What we have to do is look not just at my issue; it's a college football issue," Willingham said. "We've got to give coaches a chance to do their job. Because now we have got coaches -- especially when you look at some of the minority coaches -- who are losing their jobs after 2 1/2 years. That's not right!"

Let's be real, Willingham's Huskies have been atrocious in this, his fourth season there -- with one game left, they're winless -- so this time there was good cause for him to lose his job.

But recall that before arriving in Seattle, Willingham coached Stanford to a Rose Bowl. And that he left a decent legacy in three seasons at Notre Dame: a 21-15 record, a Gator Bowl trip, a team of true student-athletes.

Recall, too, the angst over his firing; how the first black football coach in school history became the first Fighting Irish football coach canned before his contract was up.

His replacement was hailed as a magician. So far, no magic. Weis, who got a 10-year extension his first season, is 6-6 this year after his team was crushed last week by USC and now sports a record of 28-21 overall. Despite a winning percentage lower than Willingham's (.571 to .583), he now has a vote of confidence.

Willingham indicated he doesn't necessarily begrudge Notre Dame for standing behind its man. He called his Notre Dame experience "a steppingstone as far as African Americans. Hopefully, it was a step . . . in moving us forward."