The Ticket Chest

Notre Dame Fires Head Coach Charlie Weis – It’s About Time…

Monday, November 30th, 2009 | College Football, Notre Dame, Oklahoma Sooners, Sports | 1 Comment

The University of Notre Dame finally fired Head Coach Charlie Weis on Monday afternoon. The writing was on the wall – Notre Dame had lost 3 straight games heading into Notre Dame’s final game of the season at Stanford this past Saturday and Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick asked Weis to return to South Bend after the game instead of staying out in California to recruit like he has done the last 4 seasons. Weis should have taken the time to listen to good resources like former Head Coach Lou Holtz (shown above) instead of being the jerk that he was (see below).  Maybe then he would have figured out how to be a good head coach both on and off the field to his players and his university.  Weis’ performance clearly shows that he is not head coach material.

Weis just finished his 5th season as Notre Dame’s Head Coach (6-6 in 2009).  His 35-27 record (.565 winning percentage) was worst then each of Notre Dame’s previous head coaches – Bob Davie and Tyrone Willingham.  Weis had 6 years left on his contract, and it is believed that the University will have to pay Weis a contractual buyout somewhere in the $15-18 million range.

While Weis was a great recruiter – see Jimmy Clausem, Golden Tate, Michael Floyd, Robert Hughes, Armando Allen, just to name a few – he never seemed to be able to develop his highly touted recruits.  On the defensive side of the ball, Weis’ teams were even worse.  Notre Dame never lost a game by more than 7 points this year, but you never got the sense that the team knew how to close out games.  Except for blowouts against Nevada and Washington State, Notre Dame’s other 4 wins came by 3, 3, 7 and 4 points.  Not a big endorsement about a team on the rise.  These were all of Weis’ guys, and it was clear that Weis does not have what it takes to mold and nurture collegiate athletes as they grow at this stage of their football careers.

If Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate return in 2010 (both have been rumored to want to leave early for the NFL), the incoming coach will have a great bed of talent with which to work. There are plenty of great coaches out there – ND needs to reach out to Urban Meyer (Florida) and Bob Stoops (Oklahoma), even if both have publicly acknowledged that they have no interest in the Notre Dame job.  Come on, what else are they going to say.  But who knows, maybe you can woo one of them away – each have accomplished their goals at their schools now with national championships, so maybe it’s time they give it a whirl at a new school with lots of talent like Notre Dame.

While I place a lot of the blame for the Head Coaching debacle on Weis, the athletic department is also at fault.  Weis is not a nice guy, plain and simple.  Weis is arrogant and hates to admit when he is wrong.  Weis hates making adjustments to counteract the team is playing against on that given Saturday.  With all that in mind, why did the athletic department find it so necessary to give him an extension so early in his head coaching career at Notre Dame.  Hadn’t the school gotten into a jam like that with each of Davie and Willingham?  Now the school is on the hook to pay Weis a HUGE sum of money because of that contract extension.  Someone needs to be held accountable for that decision.

A quick look to the future – assuming Meyer and Stoops both say no – who is next on the horizon?  Cincinnati Head Coach Brian Kelly seems to be a nice fit.  Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh and TCU’s Gary Patterson have also been mentioned.  On the pro level – what about a John Gruden or Bill Cowher? Only time will tell – to avoid previous mistakes and public embarassments, Swarbrick on the Notre Dame brass need to get this done quickly and quietly to put a team in place right away so as not to lose out on the 2010 recruiting frenzy that is about to start right now.  Let’s hope they can avoid the mistakes of the past and bring in someone that wants to, and will, stay in South Bend for years and years to come…

Tags: Bill Cowher, Bob Davie, Bob Stoops, Brian Kelly, Charlie Weis, Jack Swarbrick, Jon Gruden, Lou Holtz, Tyrone Willingham, Urban Meyer