1Coach Tyrone Willingham announced his resignation Monday. Was this end-of-season resignation the right move — as opposed to removing him now and announcing an interim?

Maks: Neither. Willingham’s job status has been the main storyline all year long. If the school’s rationale for firing him was based on the hot seat issue, then maybe the school should have pulled the trigger last December. Clearly, a lot of people thought the team was going to be better than 0-7 at this point. Either that or a whole lot of people weren’t being honest with themselves.

Christian: I don’t think removing him would have helped, and I don’t think announcing his resignation now is going to change anything. But the whining from the boosters had reached an intolerable level, so I can’t say I blame Woodward for wanting to make some sort of decision. We all knew it was coming, anyway. This should make recruiting fun.

Ben: This is a tough one. On one hand, interim coaches generally do not have a lot of success. On the other, though, our team can’t really get much worse at this point. Ultimately, I’m just glad that the situation was settled with class.

Sheena: Yes. He’s made an earnest effort despite the freak injuries and being scorned by the schedule-making gods and he deserves to finish out this season even if he’s walking out to Green Day’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” playing as a theme song.

2Who would be a good coach to replace Willingham in 2009?

Maks: A coach that is A) incredibly high-profile and expensive, as to piss off Cougar fans, and B) capable of winning. What more could you need?

Christian: Mike “I’M A MAN!” Gundy. Press conferences would be a lot more entertaining. Plus, he’s 41 now.

Ben: I want an old-school coach. I want a coach who has won 69.9 percent over the course of his coaching career. I want a coach who knows what it takes to win a National Championship. I want Don James. Hey, he’s six years younger than Joe Paterno and Penn State appears to be holding its own this year!

Sheena: I’d love to start saving up to pay Jim Mora to come back to his alma mater. After all, he did mention that it would be a “dream job” to come back and coach the Huskies. Sadly, it would take a lot more than a Daily sports reporter’s salary to get the former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and future $4-million-a-year head coach of the Seahawks to come here.

3The Seahawks looked strong against San Francisco Sunday, is this the sign of a turnaround or just a case of the Hawks playing an even more egregiously terrible team?

Maks: It’s both. The Cardinals may be 2.5 games up in the NFC West, but they’ve lost three of five since starting 2-0, and they play a decent St. Louis team on the road this week. If the Hawks win Sunday versus Philly, they can gain some good ground in the division. Yeah, it may be a turnaround, but can we all just stop and remind ourselves that even if this team wins the NFC West or gains a wildcard berth, it’ll still get pounded on the road. Yay.

Christian: The 49ers really, really suck.

Ben: Really, J.Turnover O’Sullivan handed the Hawks the game from the get-go. That being said, Seattle protected the ball well on offense and scored points on turnovers, which was key to the victory. I guess we won’t really know whether Seattle has turned the corner until the Eagles come to town this weekend.

Sheena: It’s both. Granted, the 49ers are an awesomely bad team; the Hawks were able to force four fumbles in addition to an interception. Things looked pretty hopeful last Sunday and hopefully the Hawks can keep rolling with that.

4The NBA season has begun. Right now, which team do you see winning it all in 2008-2009?

Maks: Cleveland. We’ve all seen what LeBron can do alone in a series — think game five of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals. Now it’s just about adding the right pieces. The acquisition of a scorer and playmaker like Maurice Williams to the mix does wonders. But here’s something most people forget about — the impact of Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic. These guys were huge down the stretch in 2007. Cleveland’s bench isn’t great, but it’ll do. All that’s left to do is watch Bron Bron go to work.

Christian: Oklahoma City. Then, everyone in the area will celebrate by purchasing a new cowboy hat and kissing their siblings.

Ben: As lame as it is to pick them, it’s hard for me not to choose Boston here. I’m a big fan of defensive teams, and the Celtics are capable of simply shutting down their opponents. Mix that with an offense including Ray Allen on the perimeter, Paul Pierce from mid-range and Kevin Garnett in the post and you’ve got another championship-bound season.

Sheena: The Lakers seem to be a favorite, but after getting edged out last year I like the chances of the Hornets. They’re clearly hungry for a championship and to build on last year’s record-setting season. Plus, seeing more of Chris Paul wouldn’t be too hard on the eyes either.