UW president offers support to Willingham

SEATTLE – The president of the University of Washington said Husky fans need to give football coach Tyrone Willingham a break.

President Mark Emmert said in an interview Tuesday that the team has one of its toughest schedules and the players and their coaches just need some things to bounce their way. The Huskies have gone 0-2 and face No. 3 Oklahoma on Saturday.

Emmert said no one is more frustrated by the team’s losing record than Willingham and his coaching staff.

“They’re working very, very hard to be successful and I support him because of that,” Emmert said.

Fans, alumni and media have been pressuring the university president to specify the test Willingham must pass to keep his job – he is 11-27 in three-plus seasons at UW. But Emmert, who retained Willingham after last season amid calls for his firing, said he’s not going to play that game.

“That’s utterly inappropriate. It’s about the progress of the program and having it move in the right direction,” he said.

The 2008 season is the fourth year of Willingham’s five-year deal that pays him $1.4 million a year.