Who cares how it happened, or if Tyrone Willingham was the second or 22nd name on the wish list, or if Notre Dame wasn't exactly Ocean's Eleven when it came to casing the country for a new head coach. All that matters is that the Domers finally got this one right, even if they had to take a very public and embarrassing mulligan on the first tee.

With all due respect to George O'Leary, whose fictionalized resume resulted in the shortest tenure since Al Haig said he was running the country, Willingham should have been the guy introduced at the Dec. 9 ND pep rally. But O'Leary had been on Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White's radar screen for weeks, maybe months. So whenever the courting of Oregon's Mike Bellotti, Oklahoma's Bob Stoops, Oakland Raiders' Jon Gruden, San Francisco 49ers' Steve Mariucci and who knows who else took a breather, White steered the ND private jet to Atlanta and arguably made the school's most important and visible hire in less time than it takes to get approved for a mortgage loan.

	Notre Dame finally made the right choice with Tyrone Willingham.

The living, breathing nightmare began about four days later, when a New Hampshire newspaper reporter innocently asked about O'Leary's playing career. By Dec. 14, O'Leary was gone, leaving White and Touchdown Jesus with a PR wedgie.

Weeks ago, when the first search was reaching blue-flame intensity, I called Stanford athletic director Ted Leland. No, he said, he hadn't received a request from White to speak with Willingham about the Irish opening. Yes, he said, he expected the call any minute. No, he would not be able to match the expected salary offer, nor would he try to dissuade Willingham from considering a move to storied Notre Dame. Yes, Willingham was one hell of a coach, "and an even better person."

It gets murky from there. There was never a formal interview. Or, there was a discussion, but Willingham wasn't considered a serious candidate. Or there was a problem with the buyout. Or Willingham wasn't convinced Notre Dame was a better job than the one he already had.

Whatever happened, Willingham was on ND's short list the second time around. And it's nothing more than an educated guess, but this latest hire appears to have more of university president Rev. Edward A. Malloy's fingerprints on it than White's. White was given semi-autonomy on the O'Leary deal and gagged. And while White might have been the front man on the Willingham hiring, it just feels as if Malloy was the one at the controls. After all, Malloy is the one who has urged the school to diversify, to think outside the lines of the Golden Dome.

What makes Willingham such a perfect choice is that Notre Dame's decision is both safe and bold at the same time. Safe, because Willingham has been successful at a program with more stringent academic policies than the ones at Notre Dame, with a smaller recruiting pool to choose from than the Irish. Safe, because Willingham's players earn degrees, because his reputation is as solid as the brick around Notre Dame Stadium, because -- what's that line someone once said about Rick Pitino? -- he's more organized than crime.

But this is the first African-American head coach in Notre Dame history, no insignificant piece of news. O'Leary, with his silver hair, ruddy face, Irish-Catholic backround, could have modeled for the cover of Leprochaun Monthly. The only thing Irish about Willingham is that he might occasionally wear something green.

Willingham's record and integrity speaks for itself, but his presence in South Bend won't be lost on elite African-American recruits who have otherwise dismissed Notre Dame as being too cold, too isolated, too white. Nor will his presence be lost on the local community, or on the Rev. Jesse Jackson, or on anyone else who has wondered if an institution such as Notre Dame could wrap its arms around diversity.

It took awhile, but now you know.

Willingham doesn't come cheap. There's his Stanford buyout, his new salary and whatever it costs to put together a new staff. Notre Dame is also writing a check to former coach Bob Davie, and who knows what's happening with O'Leary-Georgia Tech buyout issue.

But you get what you pay for, and what you get with Willingham is peace of mind and a coach who can make a difference. Is he the "home run" hire the ND subway alums craved, someone such as Gruden, Mariucci or Stoops? No, not in the conventional bigfoot sense. Willingham, at first glance, is more like a double in the gap.

Don't underestimate him, though. In due time he'll render O'Leary as a historical footnote. He'll win games. His players will walk away with monogram jackets and diplomas.

Nearly a month after botching the first hire, Notre Dame did itself proud on the second one. Call it fate, happenstance, divine intervention. Whatever it was, Notre Dame got its man. The right man.

Gene Wojciechowski is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at gene.wojciechowski@espnmag.com.