Head coaching jobs vacated at 13 I-A colleges

With Tuesday's firing of Tyrone Willingham at Notre Dame, 13 Division I-A college football coaches have either been fired or have resigned so far in 2004.

And with BYU's Gary Crowton on the hotseat in Provo and Utah's Urban Meyer a hot commodity possibly on the move, here's a glance at each of the 13 departing coaches — and how Crowton's Cougars and Meyer's Utes fared against opponents coached by several of the now-former coaches.

East Carolina University — John Thompson

FIRED . . . after two seasons, going 3-20 overall and 2-9 in 2004. New athletics director Terry Holland cited long-time division in ECU athletics as hampering Thompson, a career assistant before assuming the Pirates' top job.

University of Florida — Ron Zook

FIRED . . . midseason of his fourth year as the Gators' head coach. Unable to match the storied successes of his predecessor, Steve Spurrier, Zook compiled a 23-14 record over the four seasons, including 7-4 in 2004 with a berth in the Peach Bowl. Administration cited as reasons late-game collapses, back-to-back Outback Bowl losses and Zook's confrontation at a UF fraternity this fall.

University of Illinois — Ron Turner

FIRED . . . after posting three consecutive losing seasons. Despite guiding the Illini to their first Big Ten title in a decade during his eight-year tenure, Turner was 35-57 at Illinois. This fall, Turner's Illini team managed a 3-8 mark.

New Mexico State University — Tony Samuel

FIRED . . . after two winning seasons in eight years as head coach of an Aggie program where winning records are a rarity. NMSU officials said their program needed a change as it moves to the Western Athletic Confere. Samuel led the Aggies to a 5-6 record in 2004 and an eight-year mark of 34-57.

Notre Dame University — Tyrone Willingham

FIRED . . . after three seasons, with a 21-15 record and two bowl games not good enough for a storied Irish program looking to return to national prominence. After winning his first eight games at Notre Dame and going 10-3 his first season, Willingham — who had two years left on his contract — followed with campaigns of 5-7 in 2003 and 6-5 in 2004.

VS. CROWTON: BYU's Crowton split his two meetings against Willingham, falling 33-14 at Notre Dame in 2003 and beating the Irish 20-17 at Edwards Stadium in the 2004 opener. The Cougars are scheduled to conclude the three-game series with a visit next fall to South Bend, Ind.