Washington football was just one win away from the national title under Kalen DeBoer. But outside of that recent run, the Huskies’ history has had more downs than ups — and now, it just took another hit.
Washington is back in the national spotlight, but for all the wrong reasons.
CBS Sports analyst John Talty ranked former Washington head coach Ty Willingham as the sixth-worst hire since 2000 in his new article, “College football's top 25 worst coaching hires this century.”
“By all accounts Ty Willingham is a good man who cares about his players,” Talty wrote. “But Washington giving him another prominent job so soon after his failed Notre Dame stint felt foolish in the moment and only aged worse from there. Willingham flamed out spectacularly in Seattle, never posted a winning season and ended his time with the lowlight of an 0-12 final season in 2008.”
Willingham had successful stints at Stanford and a strong start at Notre Dame, but things completely unraveled at Washington. He spent four seasons in Seattle and finished with an ugly 11-37 record — never making a bowl game and never finishing with a winning record.
His first and final seasons were especially brutal, winning just two games combined — capped off by that winless 0-12 campaign in 2008, which turned out to be his final year as a college head coach.
Willingham’s time in Seattle is still a sore spot for Husky fans, and for good reason. And while the program has fought its way back to national relevance in recent years, this serves as a harsh reminder of how deep the hole once was.
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For a school with tradition and a passionate fan base, showing up on a list like this isn’t just painful — it’s personal. It’s a look back at one of the darkest chapters in Washington football history. And one they hope is buried for good.