Given everything that's gone on, who Charlie is, and who is supporting cast members are, Charlie should be in the booth. I don't know if he will be, but he should be. Here are a few thoughts on why I think Chuck should go 'up top', and why I think it looks like he's going to:
1) The Knees - Charlie's legs are screwed. He's been dealing with nerve damage in his feet for a few years since the botched stomach surgery. He's been overweight for a long time, which puts pressure on the joints. And last season both knees got pretty much destroyed. While I was personally moved by his toughness in sticking it out on the sidelines last year through all that pain, his knees, and probably his body in general, need a break. The booth gives him a break during games, at the least.
2) He is OC - and the OC belongs upstairs. Charlie said as much after the Hawaii game where he called a great game and the Irish offense MOVED. You can see the field better up there, see the defenses, and notice the mistakes and the mis-matches more. To do the best job he can do as an OC, he should be upstairs. And after last year, that's hugely important.
3) He can do what he needs to do from the booth - if he needs to talk to Jimmy, get him on the phone. If he needs to talk to Armando, get him on the phone. Charlie Jr's new job should be running down guys for Chuck to talk to when the defense is on the field.
4) He has a Field General in Corwin Brown - with Brown's promotion to Associate Head Coach, he has the right guy in the right position to run the team from the sidelines during a game. Brown can fire guys up, Brown can get in the ref's face (this is my biggest concern - Brown hasn't had to be this guy, or the challenge guy, in the past and it'll take some adjustment), Brown can make personnel adjustments and he can manage the sideline. With Tenuta calling the plays, what other role could be as important for an Associate Head Coach/Co-Defensive Coordinator? If Brown doesn't do this job, then I'm not sure what he does on game day. Give guys tips on technique? He'd essentially be a glorified position coach at that point, and that's not what Brown is. He's the Associate Head Coach, and he's the perfect guy to run the team from the sideline.
Now, one thing that I think is hugely important is that Charlie not lose touch with the Defense and Special Teams. I hope he really does spend time with those guys, and doesn't lose touch with them. He HAS to be the Head Coach and OC, not just one or the other. The dinners with the players, the time spent in practice, the meetings, etc - he has to figure out a way to ensure that those don't just go away. Reduced? Of course. But not gone. Not nothin - he's the Head Coach, so he needs to figure out a way.
Charlie will also need to figure out a way to do the traditional things that Head Coaches do. He needs to give the pre-game speech (well, at least the warmup to Brown's Main Event). Then, he needs to lead the team onto the field, and THEN make his way up to the booth. This is only symbolic, but it's an important symbol. He also has to get down to the Locker Room for half time to connect with the players, talk through the second half adjustments, etc. Again, the 'rah rah' can be Brown, but Charlie needs to be there to run the meeting and lead. I don't care if he needs a golf cart and a few sets of elevators, he's gotta make it happen.
If he can do all these things, it's as close to perfect as you can get with this staff - you get Weis as OC and as Head Coach. You get Brown helping design the defense and coach the defense, but he runs the entire team and the sideline game day. And you get Tenuta as DC.
What do you think? Should Charlie be up in the booth or on the sideline?
By san diego irish February 17, 2009 - 3:12 pm
I don’t think it is a perfect solution–I like the HC on the field, especially because he is also the most experienced QB coach and needs to act as a calming influence on a young QB. But the phone helps, and with a 3 year starter the need for face time maybe isn’t as great. Also, the other offensive coaches aren’t exactly seasoned guys, with the exception of the Duch, but he’s new. I would feel better with an offensive Brown or Tenuta on the field keeping everyone focused. But I think that the offensive benefit of having CW in the booth will outweigh the drawbacks so I hope he does it for this make or break season and then either hires an OC or promotes Verducci and puts him in the box next year.
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By speakirish February 17, 2009 - 3:33 pm
The bottom line is that Charlie should be in the booth…he called the best game in the bowl since ’05. What works is not always the norm.
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By san diego irish February 17, 2009 - 3:49 pm
I know it’s conventional wisdom that he called his best game against Hawaii and the score definitely supports that idea. But it also seemed to me that they executed a whole lot better too against Hawaii and Clausen was on fire. When the offensive line starts opening holes early, the running backs get some early good gains, the play action starts working everything falls into place. The offense also looked pretty damn great at times against SDSU, Michigan, Purdue, Stanford, North Carolina, and Navy when Weis was on the field and not even calling plays so I’m not completely convinced that him in the booth is the end all be all. Having said all that, I still think he should give it a shot. He’s said himself that he can see the game better from up there, and if he believes that he should do it.
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By The Biscuit February 17, 2009 - 5:12 pm
i don’t think it’s clear-cut, and there are definitely cons to his being in the booth, but it seems like it’s the right call given the situation. i’d really like him to be on the sideline, but he just can’t put his ass in 2 places at the same time (as my mom liked to say when i was growing up)
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By Jim February 17, 2009 - 7:00 pm
There are a lot of threads that have a basic premise that Weis should let Brown give the motivational speeches. I find it interesting that Alford mentioned the highly successful Larry Kehres never raised his voice. Highly emotional speeches last about one series. I played college ball (subdiv.) and my HC never raised his voice. But he got his point across. And we won our division 7 consecutive times.The game is played with emotion but that comes from an on-going basis. Confidence with the ebb and flow of the game, player leadership and a head coach that has his pulse on the team. I remember one game wheer we were beat. I mean dead beat. Jim F. (the HC) came over to me and whispered in my ear “I need one more stop. 3 plays. If you give me 3 more plays I’ll promise you the most memorable 2 hour ride home. See, no one including your teammates believe we can stop these guys again. But if you do, you will prove everyone wrong and you will not only enjoy it for that 2hr ride, you will remember for the rest of your life that you can succeed when everyone says no”. I got in that huddle, repeated the same thing and we stopped them. I still remember that whisper.
So what’s the point? The HC needs to roam the sidelines, get the pulse of the team and have face to face interaction.
And for the record, I am not convinced that Weis can not motivate players. I know he is the OC as well, but so is Spurrier and he is on the sidelines.
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By tjak February 17, 2009 - 7:45 pm
I believe that whatever gets us a National Championship is what needs to be done. In an ideal world you want your HC on the sideline, but the Biscuit does a good job of articulating how Coach Weis can be in the booth and be present to his players. Adaptions must be made in all walks of life to ensure success and this is just another example of this reality. It would be cool to have the HC high-fiving everyone on the sideline after a big play; but if this is what it takes to destroy our oppostion, then I am all for it. Some have said that this is not done very often in the NCAA. Well Notre Dame has always been willing to try new things and to dare to be different; this could be yet another example of the Fighting Irish courage.
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By trey February 17, 2009 - 11:47 pm
When I started reading this article beginning with the title I couldn’t believe you, Biscuit. However, after reading a little bit and thinking about it, I started to agree with your opinion just a little bit. I still would much rather have my HC on the sidline where he belongs, but from a logistical standpoint, I think he’d make a killing up there. But correct me if I’m wrong, he was OC for the Pats from the sidelines, right? So apparently, he’s mastered that as well. I still side with him on the sidelines, but I wouldn’t be too opposed to him upstairs as much as I was before.
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By The Biscuit February 18, 2009 - 10:42 am
Jim, did your coach take you all boozing on that 2 hour ride home or what?
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By trey February 18, 2009 - 12:06 pm
Actually, it kinda worried me that he was whispering “If you make me happy, you’ll enjoy the 2-hour ride home.” Im not SAYING, im just saying.
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By Ska February 18, 2009 - 6:33 pm
Charlie Jr. should not be on the field. This is about ND football and not feeling guilty about spending enough time with your son (we realize that Charlie is a family man). There are plenty of ND/SMC students that will/can do much better than a High School student.
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By san diego irish February 18, 2009 - 7:05 pm
For all the abuse the kid probably takes all week when the team is losing, which lets face it, has been a lot lately, the least Charlie can do is let him stand on the sidelines and wear a headset. He’s more than earned that privilege.
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By MeanGuy February 18, 2009 - 7:47 pm
Who gives a rat’s *%#$ if Jr is on the sidelines? I want the Irish to win and I don’t care if Osama Bin Laden is on the damn sidelines. If my Dad was the ND Coach, you and he and everyone else would have to beat me to death to keep me off the sidelines. What a stupid thing to worry about. And one last thing, if my son wanted to be onthe sideline by my side, he would be.
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By www.southbendblarney.com February 19, 2009 - 3:48 pm
Whatever it takes to win. Charlie (and every coach) needs to adapt. My only question is: If you rely on Corwin for motivation, what happens when he leaves? Will Charlie just have to hire an “fiery” coach every few years to complement him? (Assuming he survives.)
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By Jim February 23, 2009 - 6:04 pm
I read your comment to me biscuit. Kind of thought you were better than that. I was trying to explain from a players view, that motivation isn’t a matter of highly emotional yelling and animation. Sorry you did not understand the perspective of a collegiate football player.
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By The Biscuit February 23, 2009 - 8:40 pm
Jim, it was a joke brother.
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By domer.mq February 23, 2009 - 9:04 pm
Jim,
You just have to remember, 99.999999% of everything we say on this site is a joke or a poke at one another. We really mean no offense.
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By The Biscuit February 24, 2009 - 10:32 am
Yeah, my joke was that if my HS coach whispered in my ear that with a stop he’d take the whole team down to Hooters for beers the next town over and we would party it up, I’d have been motivated like crazy. See? I was making fun of how booze motivates me…not you my man.
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By Her Loyal Sons » Press Conference Highlights March 20, 2009 - 3:47 pm
[...] my advice (I see how it is Chuck), Charlie is staying on the sidelines this year. At least to start. [...]
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