Willingham Has New Assignment — No, He's Not Coaching Again
Tyrone Willingham has resurfaced once more on the college football scene, accepting a second stint as a member of the CFP selection committee, which all seems a bit ironic considering his struggles at the University of Washington, his final coaching stop.
In four years in Seattle, no one was farther away from the national championship game than this one-time Husky leader.
Willingham will help choose the four teams that compete to be the college game's best after his final coaching assignment brought about the worst season in the UW's 131-season history.
Who can forget 0-12 in 2008?
In Seattle, everyone tries to.
Willingham will serve the final year for R.C. Slocum, the former Texas A&M coach who has been forced to step down and was recently hospitalized because of serious health reasons.
Tyrone previously served in this same CFP capacity in 2014-17, joining the selection committee a half-dozen years after bottoming out in Montlake.
Willingham, after enjoying previous football success at Stanford and Notre Dame, suffered through 2-9, 5-7, 4-9 and 0-12 seasons at the UW.
Fired by the Fighting Irish, Willingham was hired by athletic director Todd Turner and took over a sliding Husky football program that bottomed out to 1-10 under Keith Gilbertson.
The uncompromising Willingham proceeded to alienate the Husky fan base, media and a good portion of his teams while winning just 11 games in four seasons.
In his waning days on campus, a visibly upset Willingham could be seen at times talking things out with Husky basketball coach Lorenzo Romar, one of his few athletic department supporters.
Since leaving the UW, the former coach has been retired and living in the Bay Area.
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