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Read other letters about this article
From Harrington:
"Sorry, but I'm not buying it. When Lou Holtz took over the Irish in 1986 and turned the program around in one game, I didn't hear anyone talking about how the credit should have gone to Gerry Faust for his steller recruiting job. And so I don't want to hear anything about how Charlie Weis gets a pass now. This is his 3rd year and he's doing far worse than Willingham did in his 3 years. Sad to say, but the only reason I can see for the different treatment is as clear as the skin (color) on his face....."
Actually, in ND circles, it's very common to hear Faust complimented for several things, despite the very strong desire to see him not coach the team anymore. He's a likable guy who bleeds ND with the rest of us. He's regularly given credit by the fan base for recruiting well, and recruiting Tim Brown, especially. His problem was that he treated all that talent like HS kids! He was just too nice a guy to really make it in college.
And at this point in their respective tenures, Weis is doing better than Willingham in both overall record and in recruiting. So how exactly he's doing "far worse" than Willingham isn't apparent, at least to me.
And if you want to see racism in TW's firing, then you're going to see it. But that institution is nothing if not fiercely ethical, and I'll stand by the facts. That would include that we're one of the only schools to have ever *hired* a black coach, that both our current coordinators are black, and ~especially~ our graduation rates of black athletes compared to other schools. Importantly, a very large part of what ND's about is social justice, and ND has as an institution stood by civil rights and actually worked to better the lives of the underpriviliged. Look at the school's work in Haiti and Africa. Hell - look at the school's work in South Bend! You're crying racism up the wrong tree.
