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American Morning

Can a New Coach Restore Notre Dame to Football Prominence?; Miami Hurricanes Smelling the Roses

Aired January 04, 2002 - 08:34   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: A man picked as the new head football coach for the Fighting Irish comes in with some impressive credentials. Tyrone Willingham is also the first African-American to lead one of the most storied college football programs in the nation. In fact, he's the first African-American coach in any sport at Notre Dame.

But can a new coach restore Notre Dame to football prominence? That is the big question.

And coach Willingham, as you see here, joins us now. He's actually joining us from the Stanford University studio this morning, although he's got the Notre Dame emblem hanging up there this morning.

Good morning, coach. Good to see you.

How are you?

TYRONE WILLINGHAM, NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL COACH: I'm doing fine this morning. And how are you in the new year?

HARRIS: So far, so good.

And I got to tell you, this announcement of your hiring at Notre Dame -- I'm a big football fan, and so I follow this very closely. This was -- it was a big shock to a lot of people. Your name actually came up in the first search when they hired George O'Leary. But many people -- and listening to talk radio about this incessantly, many people believe Notre Dame didn't really seriously consider you the first time around. Do you think they did?

WILLINGHAM: I think they really did, because I had conversations with our athletic director, and they were of a preliminary nature. But they were, I think, full of depth about the university and about my abilities to coach at Notre Dame.

HARRIS: I don't think there's any doubt about your abilities. Many people have been watching what you've done at Stanford. In fact, a good friend of mine, Daryn Kagan, who is sitting right here, Daryn Kagan, is a Stanford grad. She's been bragging about you for a good time. When you look at Notre Dame right now and you see the lay of the land, what do you see right now, that there is anything there that you can build some future success on right now, or are you going to have to come in and rebuild the entire thing?

WILLINGHAM: Well, our goal will be to win today, that that is really the focus. I think any coach that goes into a program is not focused on building for the future. He wants to have success today. And I'm really no different. I think Coach Davey (ph) has done some outstanding things there, maybe not to the extent that many people were very comfortable with. But yet at the same time, some good things, and there are some good young men there, but more importantly, there's a university there that believes in all the right things, that believes in the development of the individual, of both his mind and body.

HARRIS: Now the significance of your being hired in this particular slot. Many -- it is considered among almost everybody I'm ever talked to, to be the preeminent position in all of college football, maybe in all of sports. There is no other institution like Notre Dame, no other icon like Notre Dame and Notre Dame football. Has the significance, the social significance, of you being an African-American selected for the head coaching position there, has that sunk in for you? What do you think about that?

WILLINGHAM: Well, it will never be my focus, because I would really prefer we focus on what Dr. King said some time ago, and I would paraphrase that, that we really want to judge someone by the content of their character and not necessarily by their skin. So my focus will be to be the football coach at the University of Notre Dame that happens to be African-American.

HARRIS: I know that's going to be your focus, and I would expect you to say nothing else. There's got to be some thought in your mind about this, because this is -- in many eyes, this is an historic development here.

WILLINGHAM: Well, it is always nice to be a part of history, and I cannot deny that. But it is breaking some of the barriers that Jackie Robinson broke, no, because the times were much different. That was a time when you weren't allowed to walk on a certain side of the street. So this is much, much different, and I think much smaller in some regards to what has taken place in the past.

HARRIS: Was going to ask you about that. I'm glad you mentioned that. I was going to ask you if you did see any parallels between your situation and the Jackie Robinson situation? Do you see any parallel with any other situation?

WILLINGHAM: Well, I think anytime that you're the first, there has to be parallels to some degree. So I would answer that by saying yes. But again, I feel very honored. If you look at my career, having been the coach at Stanford was very special. I did follow in the footsteps of Denny Green as being the second African-American coach at Stanford, but now I have an opportunity to be a first at the University of Notre Dame, and it's very special, and it's special, because the university has, as you mentioned, a great history and great tradition.

HARRIS: That's right. Well, where do you start? You have a program here -- you've got a clean slate, man. I want to know the first thing you're going to do.

WILLINGHAM: Well, really, the first thing you do is try to get yourself oriented to the university and all the things that make it as great as it is. Then you start to build and put your staff together, you start contact the young men in your program, and those you hope will become a part of your program, because really, our success will be based in a great deal on the young man we're able to attract to the University of Notre Dame. There's some outstanding young men that are looking for what we offer, which is both the development of their minds and bodies, and also their spiritual minds and spiritual bodies.

HARRIS: Let me ask you about that, recruiting, because that's something that a lot of people think that you're one of the best at. Does this present any particular recruiting challenges for you? Does this make it easier for you? We know that the academic standards are still high at Notre Dame, but maybe not quite as high as at Stanford. So in that regard, do you think this will be actually easier for you than the recruiting you had to do at Stanford?

WILLINGHAM: Well, if anyone understands recruiting, you know that recruiting is never easy. Even though, I think, am blessed to have a great draw, if I would characterize it in that matter, but it is never really easy.

HARRIS: All right. So, the thing is, though, you're going to draw from a national pool.

WILLINGHAM: Yes.

HARRIS: And the fact Notre Dame is on TV every weekend, that's got to make it a little easier for you.

WILLINGHAM: Well, I hope it does. But, again, the minds of young people, and to often put the right things in there at a very critical age for them, sometimes is very difficult, because when you're young, there are certain things that you see and certain things that you don't see. And usually, you have to, I think, have the assistant of parents and other people that can guide them to see all the right things. I think that's what Notre Dame is, is all the right things, and if we can get them to see that, then we can get them to see their future, because a decision about a university is not just today, but the decision for your entire life.

And hopefully we have a university that can make that kind of impact on a young person, that can make them prosper not only throughout their four years at the university, but their entire life.

HARRIS: I have to ask you this one, coach, because this is something that does hit close to me. You are the first African- American in this situation, and there are a lot of people who would say they would never, they would never imagine a black coach at Notre Dame. And I remember back when Tiger Woods came out and was doing what he was doing when he was being first, and there was some ugliness around it. Have you heard anything at all, any negatives at all? Are you concerned about that at all? WILLINGHAM: I haven't, but as you know in life, they will be there. There will be those difficult situations that some people will not see the benefits. So therefore, it will happen, and I will go forward, and I think the university will go forward, because we're committed to having a great program. And this is not a program that will focus just on African-Americans, but it's a program that will open up to everyone. And I think as the university has done in the past, it has been a university for all, and not just an exclusive university.

HARRIS: You've given me another reason to root for Notre Dame, besides the fact that my cousin was tight end there once, Joel Williams.

WILLINGHAM: Well, thank you.

HARRIS: Coach Willingham, thank you very much. Good luck to you. And you know of course we'll be watching to see how things turn out.

WILLINGHAM: Thank you.

HARRIS: Good luck.

All right, we've some more football to talk about now. The Miami Hurricanes are smelling the roses. College football powerhouse took its fifth national championship last night in the Rose Bowl game. The Canes beat Nebraska 37-14. It wasn't even close, and it wasn't close early, believe me. They put an end to the controversy over who is the nation's top team.

CNNSI's Tom Rinaldi has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM RINALDI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You can forget the complex formulas, don't add up any equations, forget about the alphabet of the BCS, Miami showed everyone just where they could put their polls because excellence ultimately needs no analysis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We knew this team inside and out, and especially our defense did a great job all week long in preparing for the option and really showed it. We knew we were going to be dominant. We have so much talent on this team, and it's just a matter of going out there and executing the game plan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They did dominant, that's the truth. You know they came out and played a great football game. And we thought that -- you know we had to believe in ourselves and come out and try to give them the best shot that we could.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They played well from the offense, defense, special teams. And when it came down to it, they executed, they made big plays, and they -- I think they proved to everybody tonight that they're the best team in the country. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know, and a lot of people might say Oregon should have been here after looking at the score and things like that, we just had to play whoever we -- was here. I can't really even judge if they deserved to be here.

RINALDI: In every phase, in every facet, Miami needed just one half of football to show its complete power forcing Nebraska turnovers, stuffing the Huskers No. 1 rushing attack and then airing out its own offense in record-setting ways.

Andre Johnson, 160 yards in the first two quarters. Ken Dorsey, 258 yards passing in the first half. Time of possession, just over 11 minutes, a performance that actually exceeded the numbers and the records.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We knew we were going to come out and dominate. We knew we were going to get out on them early. What we -- what our problem -- what we needed to make sure to do was to maintain it the whole time. That was -- that was our focus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Usually during the season we come out on defense kind of flat during the first half. This time we talked about it in the locker room not coming out flat, coming out hidden, coming out showing who's going to be the bully, who's going to be the dominant person on the field, and we came out and proved it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we still had some mistakes early on and committed some penalties that stopped some drives, but I mean, you know, that's the type of -- you know that's the type of team we are. I mean even though we have a -- had a really dominant half, we still see -- we had room for improvement and stuff, but definitely we were happy with it, and it was just a matter of controlling the clock in the second half.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought we had a good game plan for them. I felt we (ph) prepared harder for this game than they did, and it's kind of a slap in the face that first half just how well they came out.

RINALDI (on camera): While critics of the BCS system will point to Nebraska's showing in this game, Miami is a champion beyond argument in winning its 22nd consecutive game and capping a perfect season in winning its 5th National Championship at the 2002 Rose Bowl. Miami gets the trophy every collegiate team wants, the Waterford crystal football that they hold over the collegiate football world.

At the 2002 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, I'm Tom Rinaldi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Joining us now here in the studio to talk some more about Miami's Rose Bowl win and the college football championship CNN "Sports Illustrated's Nancy Newman.

Good to see you again. Long time, no see.

Happy New Year.

NANCY NEWMAN, CNN/SI REPORTER: Happy New Year to you.

HARRIS: What do make of this? Daryn Kagan and I have been talking about this on and on, about us dodging a bullet here.

NEWMAN: The BCS?

HARRIS: Yes, if I can say this, the BCS, I'm one of those who thinks it's a bunch of crap.

NEWMAN: That's not exactly the terminology he used off the air, but you get the point.

HARRIS: Exactly. But the thing is, we were kind of hoping that we'd have the big controversy if Nebraska won, and as you see, it didn't happen last night.

NEWMAN: Not at all.

Had Nebraska won, they of course would have had the sentiments of the coaches -- excuse me, the BCS, and the automatic winner of the BCS. They would have got that call. The AP, you know their sentiment would have went the way of Oregon after -- how they dismantled Colorado. So we didn't have that, though. They averted that entire situation. Now we've got Miami 12-0, undisputed. The controversy maybe has been averted, but I don't think the questions would have been.

Just another point about the BCS before I continue. If they do make a change, for instance, like the most popular request, is to accommodate a conference champion. Well, at that point, you would leave some one-loss teams out of the picture. Colorado, two losses, it would have picked it.

More controversy; it's just a tough call.

HARRIS: You got to have a playoff to settle it. It's got to happen. They can do it.

All right, let's talk about Miami. Congratulations to the Canes. Great performance last night. I have to admit, I switched off after it was 34-0. By that point, it was over. But Miami's offense last night was just incredible.

NEWMAN: Just dominating, wasn't it? Ken Dorsey, Andre Johnson, both guys coming back. How about that? Two for Hurricanes fan. Let me throw a few numbers at you -- they averaged scoring 47 points per game this season. Dorsey threw for 2,600 yards, 23 TDs, just nine INTs on the season. He threw over 362 yards last night, 3 TDs. As Leon mentioned, 34-0 by halftime. Clinton Portis (ph) ran for over 100 yards, and that without their injured running back Najee Davenport (ph). Speed, size, that good. And the man to man, you're not going to stop this team man to man.

And Their confidence was building. You could see it as the game went on. Late in the game, third and long situations, they were converting. The offensive line, Brad McKinney not giving up a sack his entire football career. And folks, that means college and football. They're going to take some hits on the offensive line. A few guys moving on, seniors, after this season, but they're back loaded, 22 juniors returning, including, as I mentioned, Dorsey and Johnson, so this team is going to be something to watch. And another interesting point about this team I think that is they're not the bad boys of the Hurricanes gone past.

HARRIS: Totally different.

NEWMAN: They're a very likable team.

HARRIS: That's a different -- that's a change for Miami, unfortunately, we have to say that though. How about defense? We talked about the offense. How about the defense? They looked pretty good last night.

NEWMAN: You know, and there's one word that works on both sides of the ball and that is speed, and that is just speed and size.

HARRIS: Incredibly fast.

NEWMAN: I think, Leon, it would be hard to say that any team, whether it be Oregon or Colorado, that you put up against this defense last night, would have been able to accomplish anything. They held Crouch to 5 of 15 and 62 yards, and you know, the damage was done, Colorado creating the blueprint, Miami came out throwing, had Nebraska on their heels before they knew what hit them. And we remember, too, that this Hurricane school, this system, this program, revolutionized recruiting in a way. Quicker linebackers, turning them into big defensive ends, so they would recruit size, beef these guys up, put them on the line, and look what you've got.

HARRIS: Those guys are incredibly fast. Real quick, before we go, of the five Miami teams that have had titles, would you say this one is the best of them all?

NEWMAN: I think it would be hard to argue. You've got to look back to Jerome Brown and Jimmy Johnson, 1987, but this ranks right up there, and hats off to Larry Coker, rookie coach, just the second ever to accomplish the national title in his first year.

HARRIS: Great story, even though we did avoid the controversy.

NEWMAN: Yes, we did, sort of.

HARRIS: The BCS lives one more year.

NEWMAN: At least for now. Hopefully some changes again for next time around.

HARRIS: We shall see. Thanks, Nancy. We'll talk to you later on.

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