Curse of the Black Leprechaun

On November 30, 2009, Notre Dame University found itself at
the same crossroads it has found itself at often in the new millen-
nium, firing a head football coach and preparing to hire another
one. The last hire could not have been more disastrous and it is
illustrative that by violating their own principals and bowing to
alumni pressure when they fired Coach Ty Willingham just three
years into his contract, the university may not only have bought
itself five more years of futility, it may have invoked “The Curse
of the Black Leprechaun.”

It is noteworthy that Ty Willingham, the first black head football
coach in Notre Dame history also happened to be the first head
coach in Notre Dame history not allowed to fulfill his five year
contract. Honoring the five year contract was a point of pride
and honor for the University. Even Gerry Faust, an over-
matched ex-high school football coach, despite going 5-6 in his
first year – Notre Dame’s first losing season in seventeen years –
never winning more than 7 games in a season and finishing with
a 30-26-1 record was allowed to fulfill his five-year contract.

By contrast, Ty Willingham became the first coach in Notre Dame
history to win ten games in his first year when he went 10-3 in
2002. Willingham also suffered some ignoble firsts during his
three years as coach including getting shut out twice in one
season for the first time since 1960 (2003) and a 41–16 loss to
Purdue (ND's only home loss to PU since 1974, and the second-
worst home loss ever to PU). Still, his three year record was
21-15, and his 2004 record was an improvement over his 2003
record, giving him two winning seasons out of three and a winning
percentage of .714.

The Gerry Faust era was known as “The Bold Experiment” but
nothing, apparently, was bolder than the Golden Domers hiring
a black head football coach on the last day of the first year of the
new millennium.

On December 11, 2009, to great fanfare, Notre Dame hired Brian
Kelly, its third new millennium coach, to a five-year contract.
Time will tell if he is the new Lou Holtz or the next Charlie Weis.
Time will also tell if “The Curse of the Black Leprechaun” will
prove as long-lasting and intractable as “The Curse of Billy Goat
Tavern” that has plagued the Chicago Cubs since 1945.

Here’s hoping “The Curse of the Black Leprechaun” doesn’t last
64 years (and counting) but that it lasts long enough to serve as
a reminder to the good provosts of Notre Dame to always do the
right thing.