You’re a nice man, Charlie Brown … er, uh … Weis. And you’ll still be a nice man years from now as you reflect upon your 5 years under the Golden Dome. And of course you’ll be enjoying that large bank account that the rest of us alums have padded for you over this very forgettable Faustian-type era. But you tried and you cared, so thanks for that. In general, thanks for playing. But as they say during the gameshows when contestants are shown the door … “we have some nice parting gifts for the losers.” For you, Charlie, we’re bringing this torture to an end … it’s the torture that cuts in both directions. On one hand, you no longer have to try to do a job that you’re obviously ill-equipped to do. On the other hand, ND fans will no longer have to endure the torture of watching this greatly under-achieving football team. Later, dude.
The score of the Pitt game … a 27-22 loss … makes the game seem closer than it actually was. Golden Tate made it a ballgame with a great punt return with a little over 7 minutes remaining. Now I missed the first half due to other obligations, but when I settled into my easychair at the start of the second half and the Irish down by a 10-3 score, I’m thinking “OK, we’re in this.” Not. The second half was yet another microcosm of the failed season in the following ways:
- ND was driving to start the second half, but Michael Floyd droppped an EASY 3rd and 10 pass at the Pitt 28 four minutes into the 3rd. Right after that, frustrated ND fans saw a Pitt receiver make a great leaping catch for a 51 yard gain to set up a quick Pitt field goal. 13-3.
- On ND’s next possession, Clausen was under EXTREME pressure on 3rd down … from a 3 man rush. I repeat … from a 3 MAN RUSH!!! That’s our stellar “veteran offensive line” at work again. Immediately after that, the Irish get off a whopping 20 yard punt.
- On Pitt’s next possession, we witness a 50 yard run featuring 4 missed tackles. I wrote down at that point “Weis is toast”.
- After the Irish close it to 20-9 with a whole quarter left and we have to have a defensive stop, Pitt travels 80 yards in a mere 5 plays, including yet ANOTHER 50 yard run off tackle, for another TD. I believe Pitt’s first 3 possession in the second half yielded 17 points and about 200 yards of offense accumulated with only about 15 plays. I don’t think a sponge could be more porous.
- After Tate’s punt return and a rare Irish defensive stand, ND gets the ball back with about 3 mins left at about their 20 yard line. Plus 2 timeouts. With Clausen on our side, you’re thinking it’s time for another last second win, right? No way, Jose. That’s because on a 2nd and 1 play, one of our “veteran offensive linemen” was flagged for a personal foul illegal block which made it 2nd and 16 … and the end was near. Soon after, Clausen was totally harassed by the “incredible 4 man rush of Pitt” … our “veteran offensive line” cratered and Clausen’s feable heave was ruled a fumble. Game over.
Well, all I can say at this point is the following: I’ve been an avid college football and Notre Dame fan for about 35 years, give or take. From the “ND fan standpoint“, you know things are terribly wrong when:
- Your coach is outcoached (again) by Dave Wannstedt. ( Trust me on this … Wanny tried to coach the Bears, too). He’s not the brightest crayon in the box … but he’s brighter than ours!
- Stanford beat USC by 34 points! And that was their second win over a Top 10 team in two weeks!! Meanwhile, ND hasn’t beat a Top 10 team in over 5 years. And we haven’t beaten USC in over 8 or 9 years … I’m losing track! How bad is Stanford gonna beat ND in 2 weeks?!?!?! I can’t even believe I just asked that question … see how bad this is getting?!?!?!
- Michigan … yes, the Skunkbears … have just lost something like their 16 th game in a row and a) they beat us and b) I’m not getting that much satisfaction from their losses anymore cuz ND can’t win anymore. Now do you see how bad this is getting?!?!?!?
Well, it’s not official yet, but AD Jack Swarbrick must be speed-dialing a shortlist of coaching candidates. Will it be this guy?
Or this guy?
This guy?
Or maybe this guy?
Give me any one of them … as long as it’s not this guy:
Wait … where’d he go? He was just on the hot seat.
Whatever change Notre Dame makes with its head coach, here’s hoping the last five years have taught one lesson: South Bend is no place to go for a coach to cut his teeth as the head guy. Brian Kelly, Jon Gruden, Chris Petersen…any of those guys could work because they have head coaching experience at the D1 or NFL level. Weis has shown how much of a difference there is between a good coordinator and a good head coach.
Stanford rolling up 28 unanswered in the Coliseum has to be the hight light of the year. The Cardinal will probably graduate more student-athletes this year than USC will in two years, AND Stanford can ROCK them on the field. It is the return of Coach Fredo!!!!
Yes, Casey, when Stanford, of all teams, is obviously better than the Irish, then Notre Dame MUST make a change at the top. Charlie has had more years at ND than Harbaugh has had at Standford and CW has significantly better recruits coming in, yet Stanford is much closer to where we want to be. So when the Cardinal whup up on us in 2 weeks, maybe we ought to consider stealing Harbaugh away … kinda like ND hijacked Ara Parseghian from Northwestern after he beat them a couple times. But I wonder if Harbaugh would even want the job (Michigan guy)?
Anyway, I suspect Brian Kelly is #1B on the short list, with Urban Meyer #1A. I’ll be shocked if Meyer would take it though.
Wouldn’t Harbaugh be more inclined to return to Ann Arbor?
Charlie Unweis quotes:
When he took the job: “We will not be outcoached.” Wally hit the nail on the head; he is ALWAYS outcoached!
After Navy loss: “I will never, ever change.” Therein lies the problem!
In today’s Chicago Trib: “As a college coach, Weis is a very good NFL coordinator.” They want him to take over Cutler for Da’ Bears. Take him…PLEASE!
Casey’s point is well-taken. In ND’s history, only one coach has won a national championship without having first proven himself at the D1 level elsewhere; Knute Rockne! Did Gruden have head coach experience at D1 level? Meyer may be more interested than one might expect. If he wins his third national title in 4 years, he may look at ND as a challenge he can’t pass up, a return to grounds he once stomped as a receivers coach. We can only hope! I did not recognize pictures, but is Pat Fitzgerald among them? We have had good luck raiding Northwestern. We have NOT had good luck raiding Stanford. In the car Friday night I listened to sports talk radio (I seldom do that, even in the car). The talk was not if Unweis would leave, but rather who would replace him. The two hottest prospects; Meyer and Harbaugh!
Yes, there’s Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern … a guy who wanted to play at ND but we somehow failed to offer the All-American a scholarship. He also graduated from my high school. I’m not yet quite sold on Fitzy as a good fit for ND RIGHT NOW … at least not as sold as I am on Harbaugh or Kelly.
I wouldn’t say ND “raided” Stanford for Ty Losingham. He was like their 5th choice and there were other dynamics involved with that decision.
If looking for a former pro coach, I prefer Bill Cowher over Jon Gruden. Love the intensity and passion of both, but Gruden is a bit rough around the edges for ND’s taste, I think.
Maybe Boob Stoops is tiring of Oklahoma? And if you want Urban Meyer, then you better root for Florida to win it all again this year. I think that’ll make him more likely to look for new challenges. After 3 NC’s at UF, the prospect of being the one to return ND to glory could be quite enticing, esp after seeing all the failures over the past 13 or so seasons. You don’t want to replace a legend like Holtz, but it’s hard not to look good following the 3 Stooges.
Now is anybody doing a better job than TCU’s Gary Patterson???? That team is FOR REAL. I sure hope they sneak into the national title game … i think they’ll win.
Harbaugh and Michigan had a bit of a falling out a few years back. If I remember almost correctly, Harbaugh pointed out that when he was there, the academic standards and governance for football players was a joke or something like that. Ya got to appreciate that type of honesty … ESPECIALLY WHEN IT MAKES MICHIGAN LOOK LIKE CRAP!!!! Ha!
Personally I don’t think you see either Gruden or Cowher go near the college ranks. Too many NFL jobs are going to open up (Chicago, Cleveland, Oakland (annual), Washington, Buffalo and potentially Dallas – slide waiting to happen) for either one of those guys to pick up the pom-poms.
Watching Saturday’s game – I was very disappointed in the play of the “veteran” offensive line. Way too many mistakes from a line that is supposed to be experienced. The chop block in the last drive was killer and not a something I would have expected from a Notre Dame student/athlete. At some point you have go beyond the coach and say, ” maybe these kids are just not that good”.
Weis will be back in the NFL next year.
Let me clarify as I hate trying to post something at work.. For Gruden and Cowher – Both them, including Mike Shanahan are going to be in great demand next year as more then a few NFL jobs will be open after this season.
That way, I don’t see either of them even sniffing the college ranks next year. Both guys are way to intense and I just don’t see either of them fitting that mold of a college coach – where there is so many other tangibles outside of coaching Xs and Os. Can you see Bill Cowher at his first pep rally ? Better get ponchos for everyone in the first 3 rows.
Voices in my head.. gotta go.
I think I’m in the same place, Smitty. I believe the Irish prefer to get their next coach from the college ranks … primarily because of the distinct differences in the job description … NFL vs College. The recruiting demand is not for everyone … and in general dealing with 17-22 years old kids who aren’t really getting paid 😉 vs the 23+ year old men who are, is also quite different.
It’ll be interesting to see what transpires in Palo Alto over the next 3-4 years. Will Harbaugh stay? Will Stanford actually be PAC 10 top 3 material consistently … or is this a flash in the pan? I hope they are here to stay … cuz that would be a message to everyone who says ND cannot get back on or near the top of the heap. Here’s an interesting comparison of the recruiting class rankings for the past 4 years for ND, Stanford and Pitt (data from Scout.com):
2006 (Sr) 2007 (Jr) 2008 (So) 2009 (Fr) Avg
Notre Dame 5 11 2 23 9
Stanford 38 43 43 15 35
Pitt 11 8 25 31 19
ND clearly gets better incoming talent than Pitt and Stanford … “incoming” is the key word. But look at the product on the field right now. It’s obvious that ND’s coaches CAN’T COACH… they can recruit, but they can’t coach. And I’m actually not sure they have any special recruiting talent … the school’s advantages — tradition, exposure/TV, academics, facilities, etc — make it pretty easy in most cases. Only Ty Losingham screwed that up … and that’s cuz he never left the golf course.