It hasn’t gotten better in Willingham’s eyes

Thought: Notre Dame should keep Charlie Weis. And barring a monumentally terrible season next fall or some ugly off-field issue, he should remain exactly where he is for a good while more. So three cheers for Mr. Weis.

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.”

There’s little forward motion when it comes to minority coaches. There are now only three black head coaches in major college football -- out of 119 schools. Disgusting.

Will things ever change?

Consider DeWayne Walker, the tough-minded, African American defensive coordinator largely responsible for almost every notable Bruins win in recent memory -- upsetting USC two years back, Oregon last year, or even Tennessee and Stanford this woeful season.

Walker has watched patiently as he’s been passed over for the brass ring -- Washington will offer the job to USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.

If I’m a college president, I’m giving Walker a real chance. And if I hire him, he’s getting what all college coaches should get: an eight-year deal.

Change? Why must we worry whether DeWayne Walker will get a legit shot?

“Obviously,” Willingham told Mitchell, things haven’t “gotten any better.”

Change? It came to the White House. But in the world of college football, it’s far off.

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