There’s been a lot of chatter in the afermath of Saturday’s humbling loss to Boston College. Now, more than ever, people have begun questioning Charlie Weis’s job status and right now there’s enough to room to have a full 11 on 11 scrimmage on the Charlie Weis bandwgon. For now, I am still on the Weis bandwagon for a number of reasons. Here’s a few.
I sincerely want Weis to succeed at Notre Dame
By the end of the Bob Davie and Tyrone Willingham Era’s, I couldn’t wait for both to get off of the Notre Dame sidelines. Davie and Willingham didn’t get “it” and didn’t get Notre Dame. Charlie Weis does. Weis is an absolute perfect fit for Notre Dame – he’s an alum, he gets how to recruit players to a school in Northern Indiana with stricter acadmeic restrictions than any other perrenial powerhouse, and he has proven he’ll work harder than anyone else to restore Notre Dame to the top of the college football world. All of those qualities make Weis verying endearing to Notre Dame fans have built up a lot of good will that both Willingham and Davie didn’t have.
Weis’s love of Notre Dame, though, moreso than anything else, has me still wanting to see him succeed. I want to see Charlie win at Notre Dame moreso than Davie of Willingham, and it’s not even close. When Davie and Willingham were coaching Notre Dame I wanted them to win almost solely because I obviuously wanted Notre Dame to win, but I cared very little about either coach’s personal success.
Weis can still right this ship
I still believe Weis can turn this ship around. Did he forget how to coach after the 2006 season? Hardly. He’s shown he can get Notre Dame to the cusp of being a great team already. Now, he has yet to show he can get the Irish over that cusp, but it would be hard for anyone to argue that either Willingham or Davie had the Irish as close to being a great team as Weis had them.
There’s a ton of talent on this roster, but like it or not, too much of that talent still resides in the freshmen and sophomore class. Weis’s first recruiting class – the current juniors – has proven to be a lot more over rated than anyone thought at the time. The freshmen and sophomore classes, however, have most of the playmakers on this team. Knowing all of that talent is still so young makes me believe that Weis can still take this team where it should be.
There’s also still time for Weis to salvage some respectability this year. With games against Navy and Syracuse the next two weeks, there’s no reason the Irish can’t be sitting at 7-4 heading into Los Angeles. If Weis can keep the team motivated the next three weeks and can finish off the season 7-5, a trip to a winable bowl game would be in the cards.
Weis is still bringing in top rated talent
The reason it was easy to want Willingham and Davie gone when they were let go with similar records to Weis is very easy to see – both coaches were unable to bring in talent anymore. The last few classes of the Davie years and the last two classes of the WIllingham years rnk among the worst in Notre Dame history since recruiting rankings were developed.
This isn’t the case with Weis. By all accounts, Weis will have another top 10 class this year and with a little luck down the stretch, maybe a top 5 class. Five star wide receiver Shaquelle Evans just committed to Notre Dame on Friday and the Irish are still in on several highly rated recruits such as Manti T’eo, Jelani Jenkins, Chris Bonds, and Davon Custis. If Weis weren’t having the recruiting success he is still having, it would be a lot easier to jump off the bandwagon.
If not Weis than who?
This is the question every Notre Dame fan calling for Weis’s head right now should be asking themselves. Does anyone else remember the last two embarassing coaching searches? After contucting two poorly managed coaching searches in the last 7 years, any future search must be handled much, much better. With first year athletic director Jack Swarbrick still settling into the positon is now really a good time to be thinking about making a change? No, it’s not.
There simply isn’t anyone out there right now that would jump at the Notre Dame job who wouldbe an obvious improvement from Weis. Knowing this is just another reason why I’m still on the Weis bandwagon and still holding out hope that Weis can right the ship.
So there you have it. I’m still on the bandwagon for now. A loss to Navy this weekend though, and all bets are off.
The above is right on target.
Although,I don’t think Irish football will ever be a joke..it may be years before the Irish become a true top 10 team.
Clausen does look lost…where is the motivation ?
With motivation ND can play like the defense on the below clip. Without motivation ND looks like ( and IS) the offense….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAs7UtO5-S4
I’m an Irish fan in Dallas TX. I watch a LOT of Big 12 football. ND would lose to Texas, Texas Tech, Mizzou, OU by 50 plus points. I’m just not sure what it is though….Colt McCoy was a sophmore and threw 29 TD’s. Jimmy Clausen comes in and looks lost. I guess that’s a reflection of his head coach, who also looks lost on the sidelines. Recruiting classes mean di$k until they perform on the field. I’m coming to realize that Irish Football is a joke, and it hurts. Did anyone see Herbstreit on College Game Day yesterday? I was pissed at first, and then realized….wow…he’s right.
What people need to realize is that this is still a young team. You do not go from 3-9 to 9-3 in one year. Especially with no seniors on the team except 5th year seniors. Give this team some time and they will be up there with the elite playing for a championship. Bitching, moaning, whining and complaining will do nothing to help this team win, time and good recruiting classes will.
Has anyone considered the possibility that Charlie is simply such a jerk that the kids are playing despite him rather than for him ? He managed to personally insult 2 of my classmates before the start of his first season and MANY fans , locals and even some ND staff since then.He should be a great ambassador for ND rather than insulting or snubbing nearly everyone who crosses his path.
And , when I was a freshman ( 1963 ) the administration did a VERY smart thing ; appointed an “interim” head coach , Hughie Devore for a year while they did a careful,extensive and successful search which yielded Ara and a National Championship by our senior year 1966. He took the same kids who were 2-7 in 1963 to a 9-1 record in 1964 !!
We can and must do better than this .Frankly , the team does not embarrass me anywhere near as much as our head coach and his lame 4 year old collection of excuses and rationalizations !
I can only imagine where this program would be if David Cutcliffe would have been able to stay on as the offensive coordinator and not had to leave due to personal reasons. I think both lines need to be addressed, as the offensive line needs a mean streak and the d line needs to quit being blown off the line of scrimmage at the point of attack. Some big time recruits (especially at DT and OT) would really help, and perhaps the offense going to more of a zone blocking scheme. Just a few thoughts
I am and heres why,
People are calling for the charlie weis to be fired because he’s not been “productive” but the thing is what does a head coach do? he’s the face of the program, they have assistant coaches that take care of everything, he stopped calling plays because people were saying he’s to aggressive and again not productive, so he gave up play calling and thats turned out “ok”
Since all the head coach is is the face of the program, what does the face of a program do, they recruit and get recruits to come to their school and so far Charlie Weis has done a terrific job of that, bringing in consecutive top recruiting classes.
There is no need to fire Charlie Weis and/or the staff in the near future. I say let him keep working because they are obviously bringing ND in the right direction, and it’s hard to do that in 2 years after losing the draft class of Brady Quinn and etc.
Consider two other coaches, Mike Brey and John Wooden.
Mike’s obituary was written before the start of the 06-07 season. (Apparently, he didn’t read that edition.)
John Wooden coached at UCLA for 15 years before winning his first national championship. He then went on to win 8 out of the next 9.
Charlie’s chapter is still open.
I’m sure CW regrets some of the comments he made initially like “schematic advantage.” Part of the development of his team includes his development. He coached in the pros where the cream of the college crop came to him along with a mixture of veterans and seasoned players. They were used to the discipline and demands of big time football. At the college level he’s working with 18, 19, 20 year old kids that are starting out at a more fundamental level, fresh out of high school. He’s probably having to be part counselor and coach. No matter how smart a football guy you are, it’s a different set of skills but it sounds like he’s making the adjustment. He’s shown he’s a salesman, he knows the Xs and Os, now he just has to prove he’s a general manager and put it all together. If he pulled off a Holtz and beat USC on the road, all would be forgiven.
Look how bad Willingham trashed Washington. Think about it, how long before they recover? It’s no wonder Urban Meyer went to Florida. As a matter of fact, we could not hardly give the job away.
And for good reason. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun trying to be a perfectionist after the fact, however, in reality
we have a long way to go. Whether we like it or not.
You can throw stones all day long, but most of the stone throwers don’t have Football Coach on their CVs or Resumes.
Without a doubt, fault finding is the most common unskilled labor and I for one have been guilty of it. So, I must say, I still have faith in the team and Charlie. They deserve our support because we are much improved over last year regardless of the flaws.
Goooooooooooo Irish!
I couldnt agree more. Now is not the time to get rid of CW. A 7-5 record this year was expected with anything better a blessing. ND had halftime leads at N.C. and against Pitt but couldn finish the game. Remember back to the Mich St game, which was relatively close at halftime. As for the B.C. game, well the defense played well, all I have to say is 4 picks, a blocked punt and a fumble after the def held B.C. to 3 and out after the half. With all things considered 17-0 was actually a closer game than what could have occurred. Go Irish Beat Navy!
I think that most of you are losing sight on not only what the football team and Charlie Weis needs, but what the entire school of Notre Dame stands for, faith. I could not see any of the “legendary coaches” winning anymore than Weis has on the youth in which he is working with. Talented, yes, inexperienced, absolutely. Do not doubt Weis’s abilities to develop talent and place players in the position for them to succeed. For he has only had one season between the amount of game Clausen has played last season and this season to develop this young and talented QB. How bout the line? A group that has given up more than their share of sacks last year, and the comparison this year. With only one senior on that line (Turk), I am sure they will be primed for a breakout season next year for the team. Wins do not say everything (even though they do when job retention is at stake), the development of the players are evident, people just don’t look for them through the blindness of wins vs. losses.
I would sure like to know what the players think. Any current students out there who could enlighten us?
good points by everyone, & good article by frankieV
I’m of the opinion that CW should stay. While i’m just as dissapointed as anyone else, I feel like a coaching change would do more harm than good. I mean, college football isn’t like pro sports coaching changes are a bigger deal in college (recruiuting, offensive/ defensive schemes etc.)
remember when Ty got fired & Urban Myer turned us down for FLA?? the biggest knock on ND was that we were unable to any longer get the “big time” recruits (paul hornung anyone?), well while its still early I think charlie has gone a long way to disspell that idea. now its time to show it on the field!
-with that being said, i think one of the biggest problems I’v noticed the last few years is how much more “pumped up” our competition (& their fans) seems to be week in & week out. now obviously I dont know what is, or what is not being said in the locker room, but other than the Stanford game I cant think of a time where we were more “emotional” than the other guys, or at the very least atleast equal to them.
frankieV, you’r a Phillies Phan right? *unfortunately for you ;)* wouldnt you say that the emotion, or “fire” they seemed to play with was a big part of their championship??
-your getting the right guys in the system Charlie, now start having it translate on the field!!
GO IRISH!!
David – agreed; lack of depth was not the only reason for going 3-9, but I think that anyone who continued to support Weis after last year has had to take a leap of faith that the lack of depth/talent set the stage for a lot of the other problems that came to the surface.
I predicted ND to go 8-4 this year. I figured losses to Mich, Mich State, USC and expected a split btwn BC and UNC. Obviously it didnt happen that way, but given the season last year 8-4 or 7-5 last year was totally acceptable. Any team in major college football that is led by frosh and sophs will lose games they are supposed to win I don’t care who the coach is. The talent is in the underclass and it takes time for that talent to grow into leaders and consistent playmakers. All this talk of firing Weis prematurely is not helping recruiting. ND will not fire Weis after this year even if they finish 6-6. All this talk is just discouraging future recruits and making Weis job tougher.
Terry Bowden would be a nice addition….. to the cbs pregame show.. Skip Holtz? He’s coaching a mediocre team in a less-than-mediocre conference. 4 of his 6 wins are by five points or less. Let’s not talk about hiring a guy because of his last time. This is kind of a reiteration of Frank’s last point. There aren’t any big names out there that really jump out as a guy who would be worth replacing Weis with. Let’s not also forget the remainder of Weis’s contract that would need to be paid out, the potential loss of recruits, potential loss of current players. We as fans could not handle another regime’s attempt to rebuild a program. The team’s future is going to be fine. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Honestly, I think it would be very hard to find another coach that would be able to fir really well with the players at Notre Dame right now. We have a pass first offense and that would make anybody other than a west coach or a system coach have a difficult time gettinng any results immediately.
Honestly, the only guy that I can think of to replace Weis is Mike Leach and there’s no way he’s going to leave Texas Tech after how their season is going so far.
Nice article. I like how a few of you mentioned “hightened expectations” because of some of the flashes of brilliance shown this year. That is exactly true. We have made leaps and bounds since last year, albeit not in many aspects. We have the ability to make plays that we absolutely did NOT last year. I’d have to say we digressed on the defensive line, but probably due to the talent level up there. Exactly what happened to Ian Williams? The D-Line problem is a problem with not having top talent up front, plain and simple. Our O-Line, however, has really not made enough of an improvement in my mind. We lost 1 starter (correct me if I’m wrong there) from last year on the line. They still, however, get the stupid holding penalties, and false starts that they had last year. The blocking schemes are poorly set up. This is a coaching problem. I think anytime you have guys over 6’3 300 pounds, and they can tie their own shoes without falling over, a good coach SHOULD be able to teach them good technique. Obviously, I’m not a fan of keeping Latina. Also noteworthy, I’m not sure Mike Haywood is getting the job done with the running backs. None of them have truly established themselves. How many 30+ runs have we seen in the past FOUR seasons? I’d be willing to bet less than six. Either our guys have poor vision, or they are not being taught to see cutback lanes. I know I’m not the only couch quarterback out there yelling OOOOOOOOOO CUT THAT BACK ARMANDO!!! Not saying he needs to be fired, but something needs to happen.
Our problems really lie with all of our problems lie up front. DLine is under developed, OLine is under coached. My high school team went 0-20 my senior year, and much of that was because our QB couldn’t take a 3 step drop without getting sacked. Our skill guys are there, we just need to make progress with the lines.
Last point. We will have a quarterback coming in next year who has been starting since his freshman year (with #’s better than Brady’s, with the exception of INT’s this year); we have two game-breaking wide receivers, with good 3rd and fourth guys; we have three running backs coming back with experience, and one younger one who could push for PT (not to mention the two new recruits coming in); we should have 4 seniors on the O-line; we will have two really good corners (walls mcneil); we’ll have the speed we need at LB with mocrum gone (and I pray that we start to see this “playmaking” ability from Brian Smith)…. What I’m getting at is this looks somewhat similar to the 2005 situation where Weis “inherited” an experienced team with the chance to blow up. It’s nearly the same, except he’ll have a LOT more depth to deal with. Next year I think many of you will have your feet in your mouths (not literally, I hope). Weis is a smart guy, he’ll make the adjustments that need to be made.
I was guessing that this is 7-5 or 8-4 team and I figured in a loss to BC, as much as I am pained to say it.
But, what I didn’t expect was the absolutely beat down on Saturday night. That is what I don’t find acceptable. I can live with a loss if I see productivity and improvement – the first time this season I didn’t see it at all and that is on the coaches to get the team ready after a heartbreaker last week. The TO’s had no impact on the game in my mind unlike the UNC game b/c ND wasn’t going to score anyway.
Lastly, Clausen needs to take care of the ball better and stop forcing throws. It is better to throw it out of bounds than force the ball into double coverage which he has been doing the last couple of weeks. Of course, having an actually functioning running game would stop the 6 and 7 man coverages.
Also, anyone that thinks Weis is safe is likely right but I agree a lose this weekend and all bets are off.
This shouldn’t have been a 3-9 team. Weis blew games last year – did you watch the Navy game?
His BCS teams were not very good and were embarrassed by top talent.
Weis’ resume was built on cheating in New England. He is a fraud. He made a lot of promises that he can’t keep – “nasty”, “schematic advantade”, “5-7 you are what you are”. Well Charlie is a .587 coach making $4 million a year. I call that a thief!
You can’t count on another botched search. Kevin White is gone.
We owe it to the players that chose ND over USC and others to give them the best possible chance of winning and making it to the pros.
Weis was outcoached in three games (UNC, Pitt, BC). He had more talent than any one of them and blew leads to two of them – and just blew in the last one.
As for the MSU game – I didn’t think ND would lose to them anymore, because that is what Charlie told us!
@ BrownRice
I would agree that the class he inherited wasnt spectacular. But we still had the talent on the team to beat NAVY. I am not willing to accept the fact that our 3-9 season was entirely due to a lack of talent. But i do believe that a bowl game win would attone for the past two seasons and get the program moving along.
The coaching on this football team has been substandard the last two years. I watch games and realize the whole is less than the sum of the parts. The problem with being mediocre is the excuses that separate the middle of the pack from the top. At this point I think we’re wishing we could be the middle of the pack. Shame on those whole make excuses for poor play.
Thank you. amen
Thank you for coming out with a strong commentary on why Charlie is right for ND.
I agree with you 100%. It would be absolutely wrong to give him the boot. I believe he will turn the program around, though some changes in the coaching staff may be coming.
Some of the people who respond with derogatory comments about CW don’t even represent the standards for which ND is about.
I hope we can win our last two games, win a bowl game (I don’t care which bowl), and have another top 5-7 recruiting class.
That will give the naysayers something to think about during the coming winter.
You obviously don’t care if ND wins or loses do you? “It’s ok guys, if we win, we get ice cream, if we lose…yay!! we still go out for ice cream!!!” No NO NO NO NO HELL NO. Not at ND baby, uh uh. Losing is never acceptable, not for competitors.
“I understand our talent is young and will continue to grow, but good programs overcome graduating classes.”
This is absolutely true, but Weis didn’t inherit a “good program”. He has, however gone a long way toward rebuilding it.
I wanted this team to go 8-4 this year, and I am disappointed that it looks like they will at best 7-5. I think we need to keep things in perspective, though. If you gave Weis a pass for going 3-9 last year, the logic had to be that the program was thin on upper class talent due to poor recruiting by Willingham and poor PR associated with his firing.
This year’s team is much improved from last year – how much improvement did we honestly expect? Brady Quinn wasn’t exactly lighting the world on fire as a Sophomore…
Firing Weis would shake the stability that is beginning to return to ND football.
@ Jamie
“it easy to blame the coaches , how about this one for a change get on the players who are producing”
Well guess who’s job it is to get the players to perform or bench them?
1.)I sincerely want Weis to succeed at Notre Dame…
i agree with you on this one.
2.)Weis can still right this ship….i agree with you on this one.
3.) Weis is still bringing in top rated talent….i agree with you on this one. But i question whether we are targeting the talent we need the most (OL/DL).
4.) If not Weis than who?…This one i stray a bit. ND has the money to throw at any coach out there. We have to consider the fact that problem we had with the coach hunt may have resided with the former AD. We wont know for sure, but it is something we have to consider.
@Drew
I would agree that my expectations at the beginning of the season were 6-7 wins on the year. But after seeing the flashes of brillance the team has shown, i believe everyone expectations have risen.
After the 3-9 year you couldnt find notre dame mentioned anywhere on ESPN, SI, and others (relative to past seasons). Now that the country has seen some of the talent, its becoming relevant that they arent winning games.
I understand our talent is young and will continue to grow, but good programs overcome graduating classes.
I completely agree as well. Obviously these last two losses were not fun to watch. But realistic expectations had this team at 8-4 or 7-5. And that’s probably where we will end up.
We lost to Pitt because of one player in LeShaun McCoy.
We lost to UNC and BC because of turnovers. Those are not coaching issues, but a product of having mostly undergrads playing. It is no an excuse but a fact.
Talk of dumping Charlie should not start unless Clausen’s senior year. If we are 7-5 in that year, then it may be time to move on. I don’t think that will happen.
Lou that is bullshit, it’s all coaching and it all starts at the top. Get your players conditioned, you sure as hell teach the fundamentals, blocking and tackling. Weis was a piss poor coach and that’s all there is to it. good riddance. ND football isn’t a damned charitable organization where we cheer on the wrong guy while paying him millions of dollars because we may “like” his personality.
Did everybody who’s a weis hater forget this team was a 3 – 9 team. what do people honestly expect. 10-2 if you did you know nothing about college football. let’s see what happens when nd has clausen and allen and tate in ther senior years before we start taking the easy route of firing instead of being patience. it easy to blame the coaches , how about this one for a change get on the players who are producing
Two words: Senior Leardership
Yes the play calling could be better, but I’ve seen teams where the coach can call anything he wants and the senior players make it work. It won’t be long before this team is loaded with experienced seniors.Then that sence of urgency will kick in
ND does not need a revolving door at the helm. If you cannot see the progress and talent in the first and second year players than you are not looking closely enough.
You are so right. the junior class was rated highly becuase of pure number of kids. Two highly rated quarterback, a tight end, and offensive lineman who all left because they did not play enough. Perhaps our best player in the class is home in Penssylvania and I hope will be back nest year. (Walls) Our sophmore class is solid and we are only playing 1/3 of our freshmen class this year that has shown a lot of talent. We are getting better but both the offense and defensive lines have to get better. If people will look at the two deep for next year, we will be better. It is tough to be patient but for those who do not know the story, a guy name
Frank Beamer was 2-8-1 and many people wnat him fired and things turned out ok for Virginia Tech.
I agree with this article 100%
I figured before the season that this team is only at the point to where they should win 6 or 7 games – and they look to be doing just that.
i’m not and here’s why and i sincerely hope i’m wrong–point counter;
1-I sincerely want Weis to succeed at Notre Dame
weis is a nice guy and loves nd etc. a lot of us are and don’t make millions either. whether he ‘gets’ nd or not, the powers that pull the strings make sure whoever the coach is abides by the proper standards. i don’t care so much about a ‘real’ alum as i do about winning. do u really feel differently?
2-Weis can still right this ship
on the other hand plenty of evidence that he may not. overall record’s not better than the other previous coaches you didn’t like so much. same problems crop up over and over again: play calling, lack of adjustments, lack of running game, lack of motivation, losing to lesser talent over and over again, never beating winning teams, etc
3-Weis is still bringing in top rated talent
that’s why i stayed with him so long without even blinking. but what good is talent without development and winning? plus, we even have prob’s there at the lines particularly defense.
4-If not Weis than who?
This is a poor argument. if we have a sure loser, how could we possibly go wrong by trying someone new? and you do not know for a fact that “there simply isn’t anyone out there right now that would jump at the Notre Dame job who wouldbe an obvious improvement from Weis.” bring someone in and we’ll find out