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After Notre Dame announced the firing of coach Tyrone Willingham Tuesday, UCLA coach Karl Dorrell now stands as one of only two black head coaches currently in Division I-A college football.

Though there were five black coaches to begin the 2004 season, only Dorrell and Sylvester Croom of Mississippi State remain at the helm of their respective programs.

Willingham, along with former coaches Fitz Hill (San Jose State) and Tony Samuel (New Mexico State), have all been fired or resigned in the last two weeks.

“I’m disappointed,” said Dorrell.

“Sometimes in this profession we lose sight of the big picture and that’s unfortunate. But you know what, this profession is not the most fair profession to be in and we understand this too.”

If the Bruins find themselves at the Insight Bowl on Dec. 28, a very likely possibility, they would face the Fighting Irish, who accepted an invitation from bowl officials on Sunday.

Because of Willingham’s departure, Dorrell, who is in only his second year, is now the longest-tenured black coach in college football.

“Wow, I haven’t really thought of it that way,” Dorrell said. “I think I’m still a youngster at this job. I know it could be my turn at some point in time, and so you don’t take anything for granted.”

In 1998, it appeared that some progress was being made when the number of Division I-A black coaches reached a record number of eight. But out of 117 current coaches, that number has now dwindled to two.

Floyd Keith, executive director of the Black Coaches Association, told the Associated Press he was disappointed with Notre Dame’s decision. He said the firing makes it seem that black coaches are held to a higher standard than their white counterparts. Bob Davie, Willingham’s predecessor at Notre Dame, compiled a 21-16 record during his first three seasons, but was allowed to coach for the duration of his contract. He finished with a five-year record of 35-25.

Willingham, who went 21-15 with the Fighting Irish, had two years left on his contract.

“This action sends an alarming message to African-Americans who are pursuing coaching at the Division I-A level,” Keith said. “It’s still going to be tough.”

When asked for a reaction to Keith’s statements, UCLA tight ends coach Jon Embree would not go so far as to agree with him, but said the facts speak for themselves.

“In that situation you have to look at if (Notre Dame) has ever fired anyone without completing a contract and they haven’t,” Embree said. “So maybe that’s a coincidence, but I don’t know.”

Dorrell said the situation is a byproduct of one of the unpleasantries of coaching on the collegiate level.

“What I do know is that this is a very challenging profession, driven by, unfortunately, wins or losses sometimes, and that’s unfortunate,” he said. “It’s unfortunate when these situations happen, but it’s part of the business and the ugly part of the business.”

Willingham, who was hired away from Stanford to coach at Notre Dame, made a big splash early in South Bend, Ind.

In his first season, Willingham went 10-3 and put the Fighting Irish back on the map with a Gator Bowl appearance. However, last season’s record of 5-7 compounded by a 6-5 mark this year, along with last week’s thrashing at the hands of USC spelt doom.

His firing comes after a season in which the Irish pulled off upset victories over Michigan and Tennessee, but also were beaten badly by USC and Purdue.

While Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White praised Willingham’s handling of the team, he said the performances of the Fighting Irish were subpar.

“From Sunday through Friday our football program has exceeded all expectations, in every way,” White said. “But on Saturday, we struggled. We’ve been up and down and sideways a little bit.”

But Embree looked at White’s statement as a contradiction.

“So I guess the message is don’t worry about graduation, don’t worry about your kids going to class, just win,” Embree said. “So if I’m a parent or I’m a recruit and I do want to get a degree, I don’t know why I go there.”

“It’s unfortunate for (Willingham) and I hope he lands on his feet and I hope he gets to come back and beat Notre Dame.”

With reports by the Associated Press.