By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Notre Dame football coach Tyrone Willingham had plenty of kind words Thursday night for prep football in Greater Cincinnati and Marvin Lewis, the Bengals new coach.

In an interview before speaking at the annual Moeller High School sports stag, Willingham said Moeller and other area high school teams play a part in the success of Notre Dame football.

"When you have a city that has a history and tradition of great football, and if one aspires to have a great football program, you have to find a way to get into that city and get some of those top players they produce," he said.

In his first year with Notre Dame, Willingham led the Fighting Irish to a 10-3 record and a Gator Bowl appearance. The Irish were 5-6 in 2001 under Bob Davie.

"I don't know if there is ever any one thing," Willingham said when asked what led to the turnaround. "I am reminded of a quote from (former Michigan State coach) Duffy Daugherty many years ago. He said, 'It's bad luck not to have great players.' I think that still holds true.

"You still have to have outstanding players who are committed to the team, and I think in our case, we were able to bring some outstanding coaches together with some players that wanted the same goal and same focus."

Willingham is just one of four African-American head football coaches at 117 Division I-A colleges. In the NFL, Lewis became just the third African-American out of 32 head coaches.

"I've always said I don't need to be outspoken on that issue," Willingham said. "It's one of those issues where the numbers speak for themselves.

"My thing is let's not make excuses. Let's go about solving the problem."

Willingham was running backs coach for the Minnesota Vikings from 1992-94. Lewis entered the NFL the same season as Pittsburgh Steelers linebackers coach.

"I think he will do great. Whether that means a Super Bowl next year, I don't know," Willingham said.

Moeller inducted four more members into its hall of fame: Bobby Brannen ('94), Tom Zinkan ('93), Tom Kennedy and Dick Beerman.

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E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

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