Notre Dame

I've been meaning to comment on Notre Dame for some time now. When Charlie Weis first got the job as head coach for the Fighting Irish - I wrote that Weis would be a success but I also wrote that he'd have to accomplish 3 things to get that success. Weis is probably failing at the 3rd criteria I listed:

3. The third thing Weis has to do may be the most difficult. He has to develop a media friendly personality.

Who knows - maybe Weis is a natural media darling. Unfortunately, it is impossible to tell from his time in New England because head coach Bill Belichick always kept his assistants under media blackout. If Weis has problems with the media - he better start working on improving his communication skills now because if truth be told - Ty Willingham's brusque way with the media probably sealed his fate.

Yes Notre Dame has been a complete failure on offense this season. They rank dead last in total offense among the 119 Division 1-A teams. Powerhouses like Eastern Michigan, Rice and Temple have all averaged more than double the total yards per game than Notre Dame has managed. As Mike Huguenin of Rivals.com has noted - "The Irish offense is rancid."

Notre Dame won't be good this year and much of the problems with the offense can be solved by Charlie Weis just acknowledging this and going with a basic offense that allows Jimmy Clausen and the other young players on the offense a chance to learn on the job without trying to do to much in terms of trick plays and complicated schemes. Right now Charlie Weis has been making the offensive woes worse by trying to be too cute with his playcalling and game planning.

Much of the offensive problems could be solved and will be solved as the young players mature but the problems Weis has exhibited in dealing with the media could prove to be his fatal flaw.

Notre Dame has had 2 straight seasons with final rankings in the top 15. Those two seasons of glory in the sun should have allowed Weis to stockpile lots of goodwill that could be used during the trying times they are now experiencing. Why is it that some people have trouble being nice when on top?

As Jeff Carroll pointed out - Weis' problem is hubris. Saying things like Michigan State would never beat one of his teams is a good example. Al Sweragen said that the easiest way to make God laugh is to announce your plans. Michigan State beat Notre Dame 31-14 last Saturday. God wasn't the only one laughing. Notre Dame has become a joke. However, instead of good natured ribbing the laughter is almost mean-spirited. People are enjoying the plight of the Irish and Charlie Weis getting his comeuppance.

Weis is the first Notre Dame grad to coach the football team since Hugh Devore and Weis is also be the first Fighting Irish coach to lose 5 straight games since Hugh Devore too.