Return to Glory: Inside Tyrone Willingham's Amazing First Season at Notre Dame

By Alan Grant

Book Overview

Notre Dame's Football Program, for decades the most celebrated in the nation, was in disarray. After a lamentable five wins in 2001, the team was dispirited and desperately in need of leadership. Facing one of their toughest schedules ever in 2002, the players had little to look forward to -- until Tyrone Willingham showed up. This stoic and mysterious new coach, who shunned the glare of media attention, wasted no time reclaiming the national spotlight for his team. Set on recapturing the glory of earlier eras in his very first season at Notre Dame, Willingham proved from the very first game that he had transformed a struggling group of players into the most exciting team in the country. By the season's end, he had doubled the team's victories from the year before and earned himself the distinction of winning more games in his first year than any other coach in Irish history. And it wasn't just the Notre Dame record books that took note. As one of only four black coaches in all of Division I-A football, and Notre Dame's first black coach in any sport, Willingham caught the attention of fans nationwide. Earning the titles "Coach of the Year" from ESPN and "Sportsman of the Year" from Sporting News, he staked his claim as one of the major forces in college football. In Return to Glory, Alan Grant takes readers inside Notre Dame's program as no one has seen it before. Given exclusive access to the players and coaching staff, he masterfully re-creates, week by week, the drama of a team playing above all expectations and the maneuverings of a master strategist facing the biggest challenge of his life. Most of all, he takes readers behind the famously stone-faced persona of Ty Willingham, revealing the warmth, intelligence, and originality that inspired the players and fans. From sweltering summer practices to tense coaches' meetings to the sidelines of the Gator Bowl, Grant shows how a single season transformed one of the nation's most renowned sports programs -- and how an unlikely pairing of coach and university proved to be the beginning of something huge. Book jacket.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316607657
• ISBN13: 9780316607650
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.0" x 6.3"
• Age Range: 13 years and up

Customer Reviews

Great Book

Couldn't put the book down. Can't wait for the book on year 2 "Return to Mediocrity".

This is Much More Than Football

The title,Return to Glory, is indicative of much, much more than the mere chronicle of the first year of Tyrone Willingham at Notre Dame as the humane coach of a stuggling,group of talented, gifted, articulate and motivated young men. To simply relegate this book to a play-by-play report of the Notre Dame football team on the field is highly inaccurate. This is the powerful account of the very first black head coach in any sport;a black man at an institution within a part of the country where football is king , but some of its coaches are not...not until 2002. Grant gracefully shares to the reader who has the ability to be insightful and thoughtful, the emotions of a coach and his players regarding not only football, but what it means to be talented,athletic and intelligent in an arena where these traits are not usually expected. Willingham is portrayed in this very same light. This is a coach who has pride and he imparts this to all of his players, regardless of ethnicity or background. Yes, this book is about football., but Grant craftily enlightens the astute reader of the subtle and sometimes not so subtle tone of the racism that still, sadly pervades some of this country's elite, prestigious universities.With factual information, conversations with the players, and personal meetings with Willingham , Grant creates some wonderful, and at times witty metaphors. Prior to the Air Force game Grant describes the team as "an unlikely jazz ensemble" with "Willingham,the slight oboe with the resonating tone, and Notre Dame, the haughty brass section," as they were beginning to harmonize. And "the coach, his team, and their fans were already jamming to the same simple beat." With its wonderful combination of football facts,color calls, and social commentary, I found this book to be quite a delightful read, and an inspiration for serious college football fans and any serious reader.

An inspiration

Hi my name is ambrose. this book is great. it makes you want to play for notre dame. i convinced my friend to play for notre dame too. the part about the nc state game in the gator bowl is the best. go irish

One of the best sports books ever written

Aside from being an incredible leader and an extraordinary person, the most notable trait about Tyrone Willingham is that he is guarded. Had it not been for the fact that author Alan Grant had played under Willingham at Stanford, there's no way he would have been given inside access to the program. As a former NFL defensive back and one of ESPN's best writers, Grant has the football acumen to break down the intricacies of the West Coast offense as well as the literary skills of a novelist to weave a compelling story. As Grant's literary agent, I'll be the first to admit my bias, but this is definitely one of the best books I've ever read. It's as much about sociology as it is football, and Grant's closeness to the coaches and the players (especially Shane Walton, Arnaz Battle, and Courtney Watson) makes you feel like you were there for Willingham's historical, record-breaking season. As you'll see, Grant argues that Willingham's hiring is the most significant moment in the history of sports since Jackie Robinson smashed the color barrier in 1947. It's a bold premise, but before you disagree, pick up a book that is sure to be a bestseller.

A must for any Notre Dame fan.

I just could not put this down; I read it in 2 days and would have done it in a single afternoon if I'd had time. This book is a great mix of ND traditions and history, Willingham biography, and football recap. It's got some behind the scenes stuff like coaches meetings and lots of interactions with players. I especially enjoyed it since I was a football manager last year when this book was being written, so I remember all of the events in the book. It's also written so casually, which is fantastic. Not many books refer to people as "a cool cat." And it often shows Coach Willingham with his guard down a little; just relaxing. Nobody ever sees that side of him, but he's a really cool guy. Do yourself a favor and buy the book.