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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish were led by Tyrone Willingham and represented the University of Notre Dame in NCAA Division I college football from 2002 to 2004. The team was an independent and played their home games in Notre Dame Stadium. Throughout the three seasons, the Irish were 21–16 (21–15 before Willingham was fired) and were invited to two bowl games, both of which they lost. After the 2001 season, fifth-year head coach Bob Davie was fired. His immediate replacement, George O'Leary, was forced to resign under some controversy for discrepancies on his resume, and Willingham was chosen to replace him. Willingham made immediate changes to the program and won his first eight games. Although his team floundered at the end of the season and lost their bowl game, he led the team to 10 wins and was named "Coach of the Year" by two different publications. His second year began with the signing of a top-5 recruiting class to replace a number of players who graduated. Although the team began the season with a win, they lost their next two games, and freshman quarterback Brady Quinn became the starter. Quinn led the Irish to four more wins that season, and the team finished a 5–7 record. Willingham's third season started with a loss, but three straight wins brought the team back into national prominence. The team went on to win six games, but their fifth loss of the season, a blowout to the University of Southern California (USC) Trojans, was Willingham's final game at Notre Dame. Although the Irish were invited to a bowl game at the end of the season, Willingham was fired. The eventual hiring of Charlie Weis as Willingham's replacement was called a good move, but Willingham's firing remained a controversial subject for years following his tenure. ==Before Willingham== In the 2001 season, the Fighting Irish, led by fifth-year head coach Bob Davie, had a record of five wins and six losses.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=2001 Schedule )〕 A day after the season ended, athletic director Kevin White announced to the media that Davie would not be retained as head coach of Notre Dame. A week after the firing of Davie, George O'Leary, seven-year head coach of Georgia Tech, was hired by Notre Dame for the head coaching position. Despite being a controversial choice criticized by some in the media, and Notre Dame being criticized for making a premature decision, O'Leary was happy to accept what was called his dream job. Five days after being hired, however, O'Leary resigned from the position. It was later revealed that O'Leary had lied on his résumé about receiving a varsity letter and a Master's degree while in school. While O'Leary was criticized for lying, some in the media said that his resignation gave Notre Dame a chance to make a better decision. Two weeks after O'Leary resigned, Notre Dame signed Tyrone Willingham, the seventh-year coach of Stanford, to a six-year contract. Willingham became the school's first African American head coach in any sport. He immediately made changes to the Irish program, including changing the long used Irish offense from an option attack to a West Coast type.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Independents' Day )〕 He also made his first-year Fighting Irish team only the second in Notre Dame history to pick captains on a game-by-game basis. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Notre Dame Fighting Irish football under Tyrone Willingham」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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