The End Of An Ogre

Well this is how it all ends...with a whimper. The once flatulent bluster of Charlie Weis heads out of town to the sounds of silence. No press conference and no final words to the city of South Bend or to the University that overpaid him so well.

It's a far cry from his introduction over 5 years ago as the expected savior of the Notre Dame football program. I'm sure many remember Weis---in all his bluster---laying down the gauntlet and saying "6-5 isn't good enough." And for two seasons it seemed that he might actually be the guy to turn the Fighting Irish around. After consecutive BCS bowl appearances (although they were soundly beat in both), Weis entered his 3rd season with a 19-6 record and a whole mess of top 100 recruits. That's when the bottom fell out.

The 2007 version of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish suffered through the worst season in the school's history finishing 3-9. The crazy part is, they actually seemed worse than that. They couldn't block or tackle, they were completely disorganized on both sides of the ball, and star quarterback recruit Jimmy Claussen took one of the worst beatings in the history of beatings. Coming from the New England Patriots, where as offensive coordinator Weis lead one of the NFL's most potent scoring machines, made the paltry output of the ND offense absolutely stunning. They were shut out twice and only scored 80 points in their first 8 games. To top it off, they also lost to Navy for the first time in over 40 years.

It was supposed to get better after that, and I suppose it did...a little. In 2008 ND went 7-6 and won the Hawaii bowl (their only post season victory in the Weis era). But they followed that modest success by going 6-6 in 2009. 6-6, despite having four consecutive top ten rated recruiting classes and a soft schedule. On a better team Jimmy Claussen and Golden Tate would have been Heisman Trophy candidates. Both had fantastic seasons but were done in by a leaky defense and an inability to win close games.

So after 3 years of mediocrity or worse, Notre Dame fired Weis on November 30, 2009. How did it all go so wrong?

Well, maybe selecting a man who had never been a head coach above the High School level might have been a mistake (Gerry Faust anyone?). Hell, Weis hadn't even been on a college sideline since 1989 at the University of South Carolina where he was an assistant.

Some would argue that the poor recruiting of his predecessor, Tyrone Willingham was a contributing factor. However, its worth noting that Weis' two best seasons were with Willingham's junior and senior recruits. Not to mention that all the players on Weis' last two teams were recruited by him and him alone.

I would say, however, that Notre Dame's biggest mistake was not in hiring Weis, but in giving him a ten year extension after losing to USC in the seventh game of his first season. Never has anyone been given more credit for losing a game in the history of college sports. Certainly, the game was a classic and ND was the clear underdog against the powerful Trojans. But they still lost didn't they? It boggles the mind that then athletic director, Kevin White would tack a decade on to the back of a six year contract for a coach who's record stood at 5-2 after losing a home game! How White kept his job for so long is a complete mystery. During Weis' first season the University was still paying Bob Davie (whom White extended, then fired the very next year), George O'Leary (of the resume scandal), and Willingham (who had two years left on his deal), along with their newly minted coach. Its also worth remembering that in Willingham's first year the Irish won their first 8 games and he didn't even get to coach a fourth season at ND. Now, the University will also be paying off Weis for years to come thanks to White's not so steady hand.

So now Weis is gone and you couldn't find a single soul (outside of some of his players) who will miss him. Its not just that he lost 27 games in 5 years (although that's plenty for the alumni and fans), it's also because you would be hard pressed to find anyone in the community who had any personal contact with him that would say anything nice about the now former coach. I know several people who have had interactions with him and could not believe how they were treated by Weis. I'd love to be more specific, but the fear of a law suit from the very litigious (see his malpractice suit over his gastric bypass surgery) football coach gives me pause.

But I will share with you what I believe will be my most lasting memory of Coach Weis. In the fourth quarter of their 2009 heartbreaking loss against UCONN, Weis lifted his water bottle to his lips and took a sloppy swig leaving H2O running down a chin that he didn't bother to wipe. There he was, a coach who couldn't hit his own face or be troubled to clean up the mess. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out, Shrek.

Sumo-Pop
December 5, 2009