A sign of things to come? ND nixes Weis’ recruiting trip
Posted by Anthony Stalter (11/25/2009 @ 10:07 am)
Charlie Weis has been informed that his West Coast recruiting trip has been canceled and that he’ll return to South Bend following the Irish’s game with Stanford on Saturday.
From FOX Sports.com:
Athletic director Jack Swarbrick said Tuesday during a taping of his radio show for WLS Radio 890 in Chicago, which normally airs on Saturday, that Weis will fly back with the team.
Weis had said Sunday he planned to stay on the West Coast recruiting, just as he had last year when he and Swarbrick met to discuss his future after the regular-season finale at USC.
A message seeking comment was left for Swarbrick on his cell phone Tuesday evening by The Associated Press. Swarbrick’s comments became public after Weis’ weekly news conference on Tuesday.
Weis wasn’t in a reflective mood at what could be the final weekly news conference at his alma mater. Two days after saying he couldn’t argue if Notre Dame officials decided to fire him with a 6-5 record, Weis set the tone with his opening comment: “I have a news flash. We have a football game this Saturday evening against Stanford, so let’s see if we can’t talk about that,” he said.
The writing is on the wall: Weis is done in South Bend regardless of how the team does this week at Stanford.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Is Notre Dame still an elite coaching job?
Posted by Anthony Stalter (11/23/2009 @ 1:00 pm)
Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports thinks so:
Anyone who thinks Notre Dame isn’t still an elite job doesn’t know anything about how college football works. By beating USC, Florida and Texas for more than his fair share of coveted prospects the last few years, Weis dispelled the theory that top talent no longer want to play at a tradition-rich, academically strong school that’s on national television every week.
He had enough players to go 10-2 this year. He just couldn’t coach them.
Weis’ recruiting work is why this is actually a better job today than five years ago.
I don’t think there’s any question that Notre Dame is still an elite job. The program is always in the national spotlight and a head coach could become one of the kings of college football if he wins in South Bend.
But the problem is that the job has become a black hole for failure and the microscope that head coaches are constantly under while coaching at Notre Dame can certainly wear on someone. (Although maybe that was only true for Weis given the way Tyrone Willingham was ushered out before him.)
Wetzel references Cincinnati’s Brian Kelly as the perfect replacement for Weis. Given how Kelly has won everyone he’s gone, that certainly wouldn’t be a bad fit – especially if Jimmy Clausen (who could put up even better numbers in Kelly’s offense) sticks around another season. Plus, considering the way Kelly had no qualms about leaving Central Michigan in the lurch to join Cincinnati, I’m sure he’d have no issues about pulling the ripcord on the Bearcats in order to coach in South Bend.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Posted in: College Football
Tags: 2009 College Football Week 13, Brian Kelly, Brian Kelly Notre Dame rumors, Charlie Weis, Charlie Weis to be fired, Cincinnati Brian Kelly Notre Dame, Fire Charlie Weis, Notre Dame, Notre Dame Charlie Weis, Notre Dame coaching rumors, Notre Dame to fire Charlie Weis
Charlie Weis to return to Notre Dame next season
Posted by Anthony Stalter (12/03/2008 @ 12:30 pm)
Well that didn’t take long:
Charlie Weis will return for a fifth year as Notre Dame’s football coach despite posting his second straight disappointing season.
A person familiar with the decision said the university will make the official announcement later Wednesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the information had not been authorized for release.
Weis has seven years left on a 10-year contract signed midway through his first season.
Athletic director Jack Swarbrick said following Notre Dame’s 38-3 loss to USC on Saturday that he would evaluate Weis’ performance. Both men were out of town Wednesday.
The decision to keep Weis was first reported by several media outlets Tuesday night.
Weis will have another shot at trying to return Notre Dame to prominence after posting back-to-back seasons of 3-9 and 6-6. The 15 losses are the most by Notre Dame in a two-year span.
I wrote on Tuesday how I thought Weis would return for at least one more season because quarterback Jimmy Clausen would be a junior and thus, he would have two full years of starting experience in Weis’s offense.
But make no mistake – next year is it for Weis. If he can’t turn around Notre Dame’s sinking ship than there won’t be anything to debate – he’ll be shown the door.
Will Notre Dame dump Charlie Weis?
Posted by Anthony Stalter (12/02/2008 @ 11:00 am)
One of the main debates in college football for the foreseeable future is whether or not Notre Dame will fire head coach Charlie Weis and start fresh in 2009.
Weis’ buyout was once reportedly $10 million, but recent estimates have claimed it to be closer to the $4 or $5 million mark. Either way, that’s an insane, insane amount of money for any college — let alone one with the financial necessities of a private school — to be paying just to be rid of a football coach. There’s a chance some anonymous donor could pony up the cash, but … well, it’s $5 million.
People aren’t exactly lined around the block for the chance to pay Weis $5 million to go away.
Perhaps Notre Dame is stuck with Weis. Maybe Weis’ the size of Weis’ buyout — by the way, who knew old Charlie had such financial foresight? — will keep him safe.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame’s president sent out an email on Monday stressing that faculty, students and staff have to cut costs in light of the stress the sour economy is putting on the university. If this season turns out to be the low point of Weis’ tenure at Note Dame, the coach appears to have timed it well.
Weis has gone 9-15 over the last two seasons, including 6-6 this year. But I think ND will give him at least one more season and the only reason is Jimmy Clausen. (Okay well, not the only reason. Four million might have something to do with it, too.)
Weis’ star recruit will be a junior next year and would have two full seasons as a starter under his belt. If Weis can’t produce a winning record with a third-year starter at quarterback (not to mention a highly recruited third-year starter at quarterback), than he’ll likely be gone next year.
Comment fodder: What’s your prediction – was this Weis’s last year in South Bend?
Tribune writer rips Charlie Weis
Posted by Anthony Stalter (11/11/2008 @ 11:30 am)
Mike Downey of the Chicago Tribune ripped Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis in one of his recent articles.
In 2007 and 2008 alone, here is what the Frightening Irish of Charlie Weis have done:
•Lost 13 of their last 21games. •Been shut out three times.
•Took the worst beating in a season opener in 120 years of Notre Dame football.
•Had a nine-loss season for the first time.
•Were defeated by Navy, which it had sunk 43 times in a row.
Accordingly, there are some who believe that Saturday’s game in Baltimore against the Midshipmen could be sink-or-swim time for ND’s coach. One more unfathomable defeat could turn out to be the last straw—No More Mr. Weis Guy.
How desperate is this situation? SOS. Weis is dropping hints that he will become more actively involved in the Irish’s X’s and O’s, particularly in the wake of a pathetic play-calling effort at Boston College that resulted in another big fat “0″ on the scoreboard.
Pick your poison:
Of his five successes this season, four have come against San Diego State (1-9), Washington (0-9), Michigan (3-7) and Purdue (3-7). The only three opponents Weis defeated last season were lowly Duke, four-win Stanford and a UCLA team that was missing its two top quarterbacks.
The Irish are just 1-16 against ranked opponents under Weis. That’s brutal. And I know Weis and ND used the win over Michigan this year as a stepping stone for good things to come, but with how bad the Wolverines are this season, that win looks more trivial by the week.
