Neo
09-20-2007, 09:51 AM
Weis isn't looking too bright right now
Michael Rosenberg
Special to FOXSports.com
Notre Dame is on the hook for another $20-some-million to an offensive genius who can't pick up a first down, let alone a win. They are dead last in the country in total offense by a wide margin. They are staring 0-8 in the face.
Notre Dame, 0-8?
Notre Dame, with its own TV contract?
Notre Dame, with the richest history in college sports?
(I did an Amazon books search for "Notre Dame football," and got 1,743 results. Yeah, sure, a lot of those must be repeats. But that was more than I got for "Alabama football" and "Nebraska football" combined.)
Welcome to Charlie Weis' world. I don't live there — few media types do — but I picture Weis walking around his office, asking everybody, "Aren't I smart? I am, right? So this can't be me."
Weis is in major trouble at Notre Dame, and this goes beyond the 2007 season. Charlie Weis is a Me Guy. That doesn't mean he's a bad guy or a bad coach. I'm sure he loves his school. But from the moment he arrived in South Bend, his program has been all about him — his story, his head, his ability. Weis loves it that way. This is a man who looks at his reflection in his Super Bowl rings and grins.
Weis is supposed to be cut from the same mold as Bill Parcells, a Jersey guy with a big ego who builds championship teams. But Parcells would never have taken a new job and announced that his teams would have a "decided schematic advantage" against every opponent, as Weis did. If Parcells ever took a college job, he never would have told people how well his team would do once these other coaches got a load of these NFL plays, as Weis did.
Parcells would have talked about winning. And toughness. Everybody would know there was a new sheriff in town. But he never, ever, would have talked about how his schemes would be the difference.
Do you understand what Charlie Weis did?
He took credit for winning before he even won.
See, when you tell the world that your plays will win championships, you are saying that YOU will win championships.
Not your players.
Not talent.
You.
You and your big, macho, Einstein-esque brain.
Weis is having the kind of month that would embarrass Bob Davie. His team got blown out by Penn State, Georgia Tech and Michigan . His starting quarterback for the first game, Demetrius Jones, bailed on him and says Weis misled him over the summer by saying he had a fair shot to compete with a healthy Jimmy Clausen.
And then there is that little scandal brewing in Foxborough, Mass.
You might wonder what the Patriots' videotaping scandal has to do with Charlie Weis. Maybe nothing. But it's a safe bet that Jets coach Eric Mangini knew about the Pats' espionage from his time working under Bill Belichick from 2002-05. Weis was there for three of those four years.
Who benefits from knowing a team's defensive signals?
The offensive coordinator, of course.
Charlie Weis.
Now, maybe Belichick's franchise was squeaky clean back then. I don't know. But ask yourself this:
What if this scandal had broken in early December 2004, just after Tyrone Willingham was fired?
I don't think Charlie Weis would have had a chance in hell of getting the Notre Dame job. This is a school that supposedly declined to hire Rick Majerus as its basketball coach because he admitted cheating on exams as a kid. Notre Dame does not want to smell a scandal within six counties of South Bend.
Anyway, Weis is there now, and he isn't going anywhere. Notre Dame gave him a 10-year contract after he almost beat USC his first year. (I wonder ... what do you get for actually beating USC? Do they name the stadium after you?)
Weis's way worked for a while, because Weis does have a bright offensive mind, and his players were impressed by his Super Bowl rings and were thirsty for some wins. They also had Brady Quinn -- a talented, established, hard-working quarterback.
In Weis' first two years, Notre Dame made Bowl Championship Series games. The Fighting Irish got crushed in both, but that was mostly because Ohio State and Louisiana State had superior talent. Weis did an excellent job his first two years.
Now? Their offensive line is quite possibly the worst in the whole nation. Their quarterback, Jimmy Clausen, shows great promise, but like most freshmen, he holds the ball too long. Their linemen can't pass-block. Their receivers can't get open.
If they don't beat Michigan State at home Saturday, watch out below. Notre Dame then visits Purdue and UCLA and comes home for Boston College and USC. If the Fighting Irish lose to Michigan State, 0-8 is not just possible. It's likely.
Weis defenders say Tyrone Willingham deserves most of the blame for the depleted roster, because Willingham's recruiting nosedived.
OK, fine.
Does Willingham get credit for bringing in Brady Quinn?
Weis has brought in three recruiting classes. The first one was a transition class, but the last two were not. I think most Notre Dame fans understood the Fighting Irish would not be very good this year. But in your third year at Notre Dame, the team should at least be competitive.
I wonder if Weis will bring in talent and put too much of it on offense, to show that his schemes really do work.
I wonder if he will ever win at Notre Dame, the way he was supposed to win there.
I'm glad you love your Xs and Os, Charlie, but how about some Ws?
FOX Sports on MSN - COLLEGE FOOTBALL - Weis isn't looking too bright right now (http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/7243060?MSNHPHCP>1=10437)
Michael Rosenberg
Special to FOXSports.com
Notre Dame is on the hook for another $20-some-million to an offensive genius who can't pick up a first down, let alone a win. They are dead last in the country in total offense by a wide margin. They are staring 0-8 in the face.
Notre Dame, 0-8?
Notre Dame, with its own TV contract?
Notre Dame, with the richest history in college sports?
(I did an Amazon books search for "Notre Dame football," and got 1,743 results. Yeah, sure, a lot of those must be repeats. But that was more than I got for "Alabama football" and "Nebraska football" combined.)
Welcome to Charlie Weis' world. I don't live there — few media types do — but I picture Weis walking around his office, asking everybody, "Aren't I smart? I am, right? So this can't be me."
Weis is in major trouble at Notre Dame, and this goes beyond the 2007 season. Charlie Weis is a Me Guy. That doesn't mean he's a bad guy or a bad coach. I'm sure he loves his school. But from the moment he arrived in South Bend, his program has been all about him — his story, his head, his ability. Weis loves it that way. This is a man who looks at his reflection in his Super Bowl rings and grins.
Weis is supposed to be cut from the same mold as Bill Parcells, a Jersey guy with a big ego who builds championship teams. But Parcells would never have taken a new job and announced that his teams would have a "decided schematic advantage" against every opponent, as Weis did. If Parcells ever took a college job, he never would have told people how well his team would do once these other coaches got a load of these NFL plays, as Weis did.
Parcells would have talked about winning. And toughness. Everybody would know there was a new sheriff in town. But he never, ever, would have talked about how his schemes would be the difference.
Do you understand what Charlie Weis did?
He took credit for winning before he even won.
See, when you tell the world that your plays will win championships, you are saying that YOU will win championships.
Not your players.
Not talent.
You.
You and your big, macho, Einstein-esque brain.
Weis is having the kind of month that would embarrass Bob Davie. His team got blown out by Penn State, Georgia Tech and Michigan . His starting quarterback for the first game, Demetrius Jones, bailed on him and says Weis misled him over the summer by saying he had a fair shot to compete with a healthy Jimmy Clausen.
And then there is that little scandal brewing in Foxborough, Mass.
You might wonder what the Patriots' videotaping scandal has to do with Charlie Weis. Maybe nothing. But it's a safe bet that Jets coach Eric Mangini knew about the Pats' espionage from his time working under Bill Belichick from 2002-05. Weis was there for three of those four years.
Who benefits from knowing a team's defensive signals?
The offensive coordinator, of course.
Charlie Weis.
Now, maybe Belichick's franchise was squeaky clean back then. I don't know. But ask yourself this:
What if this scandal had broken in early December 2004, just after Tyrone Willingham was fired?
I don't think Charlie Weis would have had a chance in hell of getting the Notre Dame job. This is a school that supposedly declined to hire Rick Majerus as its basketball coach because he admitted cheating on exams as a kid. Notre Dame does not want to smell a scandal within six counties of South Bend.
Anyway, Weis is there now, and he isn't going anywhere. Notre Dame gave him a 10-year contract after he almost beat USC his first year. (I wonder ... what do you get for actually beating USC? Do they name the stadium after you?)
Weis's way worked for a while, because Weis does have a bright offensive mind, and his players were impressed by his Super Bowl rings and were thirsty for some wins. They also had Brady Quinn -- a talented, established, hard-working quarterback.
In Weis' first two years, Notre Dame made Bowl Championship Series games. The Fighting Irish got crushed in both, but that was mostly because Ohio State and Louisiana State had superior talent. Weis did an excellent job his first two years.
Now? Their offensive line is quite possibly the worst in the whole nation. Their quarterback, Jimmy Clausen, shows great promise, but like most freshmen, he holds the ball too long. Their linemen can't pass-block. Their receivers can't get open.
If they don't beat Michigan State at home Saturday, watch out below. Notre Dame then visits Purdue and UCLA and comes home for Boston College and USC. If the Fighting Irish lose to Michigan State, 0-8 is not just possible. It's likely.
Weis defenders say Tyrone Willingham deserves most of the blame for the depleted roster, because Willingham's recruiting nosedived.
OK, fine.
Does Willingham get credit for bringing in Brady Quinn?
Weis has brought in three recruiting classes. The first one was a transition class, but the last two were not. I think most Notre Dame fans understood the Fighting Irish would not be very good this year. But in your third year at Notre Dame, the team should at least be competitive.
I wonder if Weis will bring in talent and put too much of it on offense, to show that his schemes really do work.
I wonder if he will ever win at Notre Dame, the way he was supposed to win there.
I'm glad you love your Xs and Os, Charlie, but how about some Ws?
FOX Sports on MSN - COLLEGE FOOTBALL - Weis isn't looking too bright right now (http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/7243060?MSNHPHCP>1=10437)