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Charlie Weis at Notre Dame
He Was Lame But Somehow Lasted 5 Years
Yet another loss for Notre Dame against USC.
Commentary by PubClub Columnist "The Bartender"
So Carlie Weis was finally fired as head football coach at Notre Dame.
The only quesion I have is: What took so long?
His lack of coaching acumen in the college game was apparent with his first bowl game. If not then, then it was confirmed the next year with blowout losses to the only two quality teams on the schedule – USC and then LSU in the Sugar Bowl.
Still, he landed top recruits, projected an aura of invincibility and somehow managed to wake up the echos (even if for some it was just to scream or throw snowballs).
He couldn't coach a lick. Not in the college game. Could get players but can't develop them into performers. Could not figure out that the college game is built on emotion and momentum, not schemes. Refused to realize he's in over his head, until the very end at least.
And while that – and his .500 record at coach – may not have been great for Notre Dame fans it was perfect for all of us who dislike the Golden Domers.
Seeing the Irish win just three games in 2007 and struggle in 2008 – including a near-loss to pathetic San Diego State and a defeat to one of the worst teams in the NCAA, Syracuse – was pure pleasure. The 2009 season, which started with such lofty expectations (for some fools, including Lou Holtz who predicted the Irish would be playing for a national championship) was a dud.
Watching Weis squirm when the pressure builds up was entertainment to the max. Him crying on the field after losing in the seniors' final game at Notre Dame Stadium after losing to Connecticut – UConn! –was TV at its best. American Idol has nothing on this drama.
That's why him being fired was the long-overdue right move for Notre Dame but the wrong move for anti-Irish fans. I wasn't fooled by this year's preseason predictions. Here's what I wrote back in August: In 2009 Notre Dame will fumble and stumble it's way through this year, winning seven, perhaps eight games, and only that many because of a Mountain West type of schedule.
Because of a ridiculous contract – offered after the Irish actually lost a game, which has to be a first in college football history – it's expensive to make this coaching change. What made Weis so ideal for us anti-Domers is that he talked such a good game and signed top recruiting classes and duped many Irish faithful into believing success was just around the corner.
It never was, of course, because Weis can't coach at the collegiate level. Notre Dame is unique when it comes to coaches because us anti-Domers want someone who offers just enough promise to keep the job but does not win enough to be a thorn in the side of teams who actually deserve the elite rankings. This is why Weis was the ideal man to be Notre Dame's coach.
Weis came to the school with a "holier than thou" attitude, saying Notre Dame would win because the players would have a "decided schematic advantage" over their opponents. Why? Because in his uneducated mind – reinforced by opinions from some elementary minds in the media – those who coach in the NFL are far superior to their colleagues in college.
That's a tempting fumble to pounce on right now but I'll save it for another column. At least Charlie did one thing positive – he proved them all wrong, that pro coaches are NOT better than college coaches.
Charlie was so perfect that his arrogance actually created the perfect storm of sorts for us anti-Domers – we've got Notre Dame to root against because, well, it's Notre Dame and it has a coach who is not the least bit likeable. We would enjoy seeing him fail at North Dakota State. Akron. Idaho. Anywhere. And especially at Notre Dame.
He gets undeserved credit for his "accomplishments" his first two years. Yeah, with players Tyrone Wilingham brought in and developed. Weis' first year the Irish beat #2 Michigan. But that Michigan team was an early-season sheep in Wolverines' clothing – it finished 7-5. There was the close call against USC which got Notre Dame into this 10-year mess in which there is no good escape, and two consecutive BCS bowls.
But let's closely examine the facts: The wins those seasons came against Pitt, Army, Navy, Syracuse (at least the Irish could beat them then), Purdue, etc. The BCS bowls? Blown out in both – 34-20 to Ohio State and 41-14 to LSU. In each, Notre Dame was not the least bit competitive and did not deserve to be there in the first place. The 47-21 loss to Michigan and 44-24 blowout against USC in Weis' second year proved the team was far from as good as its 10-3 record indicated.
After those two years of good records, Notre Dame struggled to win the close games even against what should be "automatic wins, "putting to test the "cockroach theory" on which the school has thrived for years. That is to say that no matter how far down Notre Dame may seem to be in a game, a team cannot let up because through divine intervention, another team's monumental screwups (just ask anyone from Michigan State) or some bad official's call, the Irish come back and win.
Just like a cockroach, Notre Dame will come back to life when you think it is dead. So you've got to smash it and smash it and smash it until the game is finished.
But in 2007, '08 and '09, it was the Irish who were squashed late, most famously by Syracuse (though a "divine intervention" Hail Mary nearly pulled a leprechaun out of the hat). And twice by Navy. At Notre Dame Stadium.
Where does Notre Dame go from here? Well, 6-6 would be nice.
The Bartender spent many fall Saturdays of his youth selling sodas
in Neyland Stadium and attended the University of Alabama, so he's been
around college football his entire life. He is anti-Notre Dame becuase the Irish have taken four national titles away from the Crimson Tide, including two as a result of biased poll voting. He can be reached at bartender@pubclub.com
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