SOUTH BEND, IND. ? Notre Dame fired football coach Tyrone Willingham after just three seasons on Tuesday.

It marked the shortest tenure of any full-time coach since Hunk Anderson was there from 1931 to ’33.

“We simply have not made the progress on the field that we need to make,” athletic director Kevin White said.

Willingham opened 8-0 his first year at Notre Dame — the second-best start in school history — and after a suprisingly easy victory at Florida State, the Irish, at No. 4, had their highest ranking in eight years. Then they played Boston College. The Irish lost, 14-7, and went 2-3 their last five games that season, including a 28-6 loss to North Carolina State in the Gator Bowl. They went 5-7 last season, losing by 30 or more points to Michigan, Florida State and Southern California.

This season the Irish beat Michigan and Tennessee, but also were beaten badly by USC and Purdue. They also lost games they were expected to win against BYU, Boston College and Pittsburgh.

“We’ve been up and down and sideways a little bit, a little bit inconsistent,” White said. “I think the program is closer than when he arrived.”

Players were considering whether to play in the Insight Bowl on Dec. 28, and White said he didn’t know who would coach the game.

White said he met Tuesday morning with Willingham to tell him he was fired, then both met later with players to tell them.

Players were stunned.

Tyrone Willingham barks at his squad during the second quarter of the Notre Dame-Stanford game on Oct. 9. Notre Dame announced the firing of Willingham on Tuesday. The coach went 21-15 in three seasons, including a 6-5 mark this year.

“I think it’s a shock to everybody,” tight end Jared Clark said.

One coach certain to be mentioned as a possible replacement for Willingham is Utah’s Urban Meyer, a Notre Dame assistant from 1996 to 2000.

“I have great respect for that university. That’s the reason it’s in my contract,” Meyer said of a clause that allows him to leave to take the Notre Dame job. “I think a lot of people look into it more than what it is. I’m sure that this is going to spark a lot of discussion, but I’m just trying to get a team ready to play in a bowl game.”

Other possible candidates include California’s Jeff Tedford, who has had success at a school with high academic expectations, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, who was hired as head football coach at Maine in 1990 by White when he was athletic director there, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden. He grew up in South Bend.