Tyrone Willingham facts for kids
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| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 30, 1953 Kinston, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1973–1976 | Michigan State |
| Position(s) | Quarterback, wide receiver |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1977 | Michigan State (GA) |
| 1978–1979 | Central Michigan (DB) |
| 1980–1982 | Michigan State (DB/ST) |
| 1983–1985 | NC State (DB/ST) |
| 1986–1988 | Rice (WR/ST) |
| 1989–1991 | Stanford (RB) |
| 1992–1994 | Minnesota Vikings (RB) |
| 1995–2001 | Stanford |
| 2002–2004 | Notre Dame |
| 2005–2008 | Washington |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 76–88–1 |
| Bowls | 1–4 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 Pac-10 (1999) | |
| Awards | |
| George Munger Award (2002) Home Depot Coach of the Year Award (2002) |
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Tyrone Willingham (born December 30, 1953) is a well-known former American football player and coach. He led college football teams as the head coach at Stanford University (1995–2001), the University of Notre Dame (2002–2004), and the University of Washington (2005–2008). Throughout his career, his teams had a record of 76 wins, 88 losses, and 1 tie.
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Early Football Career
Tyrone Willingham grew up in Jacksonville, North Carolina. He was a talented athlete at Jacksonville Senior High School. He earned "letters" (awards for excellence in sports) in football, basketball, and baseball.
He then went to Michigan State University. There, he played both football and baseball. In 1977, he earned a degree in physical education.
After college, Willingham started his coaching journey. He worked as an assistant coach at several universities. These included his old school, Michigan State, plus Central Michigan University, North Carolina State University, Rice University, and Stanford University.
Later, he followed his coach, Dennis Green, to the Minnesota Vikings. Willingham worked as the running backs coach for the Vikings from 1992 to 1994.
Head Coaching Roles
Leading the Stanford Cardinal
After the 1994 football season, Tyrone Willingham returned to Stanford University. This time, he became the head coach, even though he had only been a position coach before.
He coached the Stanford Cardinal for seven seasons, from 1995 to 2001. During this time, his team's record was 44 wins, 36 losses, and 1 tie. They also played in four different bowl games.
A special highlight was his team's perfect record against their big rival, California. Stanford won all seven games against them under Willingham. In 2000, he received the Eddie Robinson Coach of Distinction Award. This award honors a college football coach who is a great role model and has achieved a lot.
His best season was in 1999. The 1999 team won the Pacific-10 Conference title all by themselves. This was the first time Stanford had done that in 29 years! They also played in the famous 2000 Rose Bowl game. Willingham's 44 wins were the most for a Stanford coach since John Ralston in 1971.
Coaching the Notre Dame Fighting Irish
2002 Season Success
On December 31, 2001, Willingham became the head coach at Notre Dame. He had an amazing start in the 2002 season, winning his first eight games! He became the only first-year coach in Notre Dame's history to win 10 games in a season.
Because of his great work, he won several awards. These included the ESPN/Home Depot College Coach of the Year and the George Munger Award.
However, the season ended with a tough loss to rival USC, 44–13. This loss meant Notre Dame played in the 2003 Gator Bowl, where they lost to North Carolina State.
2003 and 2004 Seasons
The 2003 team finished with 5 wins and 7 losses. They had some very tough games, including two shutouts (where they scored no points).
In 2004, Notre Dame had a 6–5 record in the regular season. This included another big loss to USC. After three seasons, with a record of 21 wins and 15 losses, Notre Dame decided to make a change. Willingham's time as head coach there ended on November 30.
Leading the Washington Huskies
On December 13, 2004, Willingham was hired as the new head coach at the University of Washington. The team had struggled the year before, winning only 1 game.
Willingham's main goal was to improve the team's image. He brought in strict rules, like a hair policy. He even visited his players' classes to make sure they were attending.
2005 and 2006 Seasons
In his first season at Washington in 2005, his team played against his former team, Notre Dame, and lost. The Huskies finished the season with 2 wins and 9 losses.
The 2006 team started well, winning 4 of their first 5 games. A big win was upsetting UCLA. But after their starting quarterback got hurt, they lost their next 6 games. They ended the season with 5 wins and 7 losses. However, they did beat their state rival, Washington State.
2007 and 2008 Seasons
The 2007 Washington team had a very difficult schedule. They finished with 4 wins and 9 losses. After this season, there was a lot of talk about whether Willingham would continue as coach. He was allowed to return, with the hope that the team would do better.
Willingham had a serious personality, which sometimes made it hard for him to connect with fans and the media. Despite this, he was kept for a fourth year.
The 2008 season started with a tough loss to Oregon. Then, in a very close game against BYU, Washington lost by one point due to a penalty. The team continued to struggle, losing to Oklahoma and Stanford. Their starting quarterback, Jake Locker, also got injured.
The Huskies kept losing games, including big losses to Arizona and Oregon State. They also lost to his former team, Notre Dame. On October 27, 2008, Willingham announced that he would leave Washington after the season. The team finished the 2008 season with 0 wins and 12 losses. This was the first time in 119 years that the Huskies had a season with no wins.
After Coaching
In 2014, Tyrone Willingham was chosen to be part of the College Football Playoff selection committee. This group helps pick the top college football teams.
He also volunteered as a coach for the Stanford women's golf team in 2011. In 2008, Willingham was the president of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Board of Trustees. On July 18, 2010, at 56 years old, he announced that he was officially retired from coaching.
Personal Life
Tyrone Willingham is married and has three children.
Head Coaching Record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford Cardinal (Pacific-10 Conference) (1995–2001) | |||||||||
| 1995 | Stanford | 7–4–1 | 5–3 | 4th | L Liberty | ||||
| 1996 | Stanford | 7–5 | 5–3 | 3rd | W Sun | ||||
| 1997 | Stanford | 5–6 | 3–5 | T–7th | |||||
| 1998 | Stanford | 3–8 | 2–6 | T–8th | |||||
| 1999 | Stanford | 8–4 | 7–1 | 1st | L Rose† | 24 | |||
| 2000 | Stanford | 5–6 | 4–4 | 4th | |||||
| 2001 | Stanford | 9–3 | 6–2 | T–2nd | L Seattle | 17 | 16 | ||
| Stanford: | 44–36–1 | 32–24 | |||||||
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Independent) (2002–2004) | |||||||||
| 2002 | Notre Dame | 10–3 | L Gator | 17 | 17 | ||||
| 2003 | Notre Dame | 5–7 | |||||||
| 2004 | Notre Dame | 6–5* | Insight* | ||||||
| Notre Dame: | 21–15 | *Fired before Insight Bowl | |||||||
| Washington Huskies (Pacific-10 Conference) (2005–2009) | |||||||||
| 2005 | Washington | 2–9 | 1–7 | 10th | |||||
| 2006 | Washington | 5–7 | 3–6 | 9th | |||||
| 2007 | Washington | 4–9 | 2–7 | 10th | |||||
| 2008 | Washington | 0–12 | 0–9 | 10th | |||||
| Washington: | 11–37 | 6–29 | |||||||
| Total: | 76–88–1 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
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