If they hire Willingham they will be down grading.
Willingham did beat the Fridge in his first year at Notre Dame 22-0 and the Maryland AD is also African American like Ty. He may want to interview a minority candidate, and unfortunately, a pirate does not qualify as a minority.
Having said that, the owner/founder of Under Armour is a Maryland alum and knows Leach very well through his apparel contract with Texas Tech. He is also on the Board of Trustees and is pushing very hard for Leach to be hired.
ND vs The Pirate King