Note: The following is long. It is rambling. It is catharsis. It is closure. It was meant to be analytical, but it is ranting. But hey, we still don’t know anything real about the head coaching search, and you’re just waiting for Christmas vacation to start, and there’s no money in the budget to start a new project so you might as well read, digest, and then join in in the comments.

In the pre-Christmas rush of a massive liquor store in Chicago’s Lincoln Park in 2004, I was walking around listlessly, trying to decide if I’d purchase yet more beer for myself, or a nice bottle of wine as a gift for someone else when a guy who fit the profile of a lucky SOB who got to attend Notre Dame during one of the “glory years” noticed the ND insignia on my jacket and said, “What do you think of Clements? For the ND job, I mean.” I just shook my head and said, confidently, “Charlie Weis.” And then let that Christmas season liquor store crowd sweep me away before he could try and recount the marvelous things he’d seen Clements do in Notre Dame Stadium when he was a student. 5 years later, given the options, I still feel pretty good about my pick. I just didn’t know that a follow-up question was to be asked – “And then?”

Having been born in New England, I knew who Charlie Weis was before most ND fans. I knew because I’m obsessive, and if there’s ever a chance in hell that I might take note of a ND alum in a relatively high-profile position, then I take note. I knew that Weis’ reputation was that of a gruff guy with a great mind for offensive football and an incredible knack to keep the other guy guessing. And I even knew he had close ties to a guy named Joe Montana. But until “Notre Dame Coaching Search 2004” had hit the disaster level of the coaching carousel, I really didn’t think Weis would be the head coach at Notre Dame. But then there we were, watching Urban Meyer arrive at Florida after having been christened by the media and the ever-obliging Notre Dame administration as “the guy” who could finally fix whatever was broken at Notre Dame, debating the merits of Tom Clements and Charlie Weis. You think the Notre Dame football program is facing limited options today? Recall what it all looked like before Charlie Weis.

Remember now, back in 2004, many of us were still debating if a “pro style offense” with all that passing, could work in the South Bend climate. I know. It seems like ages ago. Way back before Weis’ offenses annihilated ND’s offensive record books, and Weis put 1 QB into the first round of the NFL draft and positioned another to possibly be the very 1st QB picked in 2010. Way back before Golden Tate became “Oh My God Golden Tate.” Way back before The Shark became The Shark, Maurice Stovall stopped being a bust, and Mike Floyd signed on to terrify opposing defenses. Remember, way back then, at least a fair number of ND fans and talking heads openly wondered if ND could ever field a competent passing attack.

Remember too how, way back in 2004, practically the entire world argued that Notre Dame could not compete for the top high school talent in the nation. Remember how it was argued that nobody would ever be able to pry 5-star kids out of the talent-rich fields of Florida and California just to play in north-central Indiana. Remember how simply finishing in the top-10 in recruiting was considered a coup, and how every mounting loss to Southern Cal was accompanied with a rationalizing look at “there 5 star-studded roster” versus “our 2s and 3s.” Remember that it was argued that whatever ethereal notions make Notre Dame special would never be appreciated by top recruits. Remember that Justin Hoskins was considered a “hope.”

In all, it may well be that Weis was the right guy at the right time. We just didn’t know what time it was. I once sat in an exit interview in which I explained to the HR exec and the CEO of the company that I was leaving because the benefits derived by my interactions with that company, though wonderful for a time, had reached their peak, and neither I nor the company could continue to improve until we parted ways. That company went bankrupt and was absorbed by the competition, but I still think the idea was about right. Football programs, like companies, live beyond their employees, but the work the previous employees did within those companies/programs have real ramifications for future stewards. No doubt, Weis’ performance against his ultimate goals proved to failing, but he’s laid a lot of track for the next guy to get where Weis wanted to go.

One of the more under appreciated aspects of Charlie Weis’ hiring was the bravado with which he took on the job. Yes, he’s being shredded by his own words now. 6-5 is, in fact, not good enough. And apparently decided schematic advantages are all in the eyes of the beholder. But Weis was the refreshing, opposite reaction to the Davie/Willingham force of inaudible “expectation leveling.” Watching Weis toss aside so many long-held notions about ND football like rag dolls was not only good fun at the time, but a great shock to a flat lining system. Those who actively cheer against ND may have hated it, but it was exactly the sort of thing Notre Dame’s fans, students, alumni, and players needed to wake up themselves if not the echoes. Finally! Finally someone was willing to stop finding reasons that ND will not win and, instead, come right out and say that ND will win.

And win they did, at first. Weis’ debut in Pittsburgh, for the season opener in 2005, was a revelation. Suddenly, Notre Dame had an offense. Suddenly that offense could compile 500 yards and 42 points and operate in ways Irish fans had never seen. Suddenly the Irish looked fast, strong, and athletic. And suddenly, the Irish could beat teams. Not just win games, but beat opponents. In fact, Weis’ Irish gave 6 of the 2005 opponents their worst margins of loss all season. Gone were the “smoke and mirrors” of the 2002 wins during the last season that made Irish fans dream of sugar plums and national championship crystal. Weis’ 2005 offense was a machine of take-what-they-give-you terror for opponents.

And let’s not forget the 2005 Southern Cal game. The near-defeat of God’s team, were God ESPN, and spelled with a little ‘g,’ represented proof to more than a few that Charlie knew what he was doing in this college game, that his way would be the way that eventually slays the Southern Cal dragon, and that greatness and the basking in shared glory were very near for Irish fans. In hindsight, the contract extension that soon followed Charlie to his bank was foolish, but in the short hours following the momentum whiplash we all thought we were experiencing at the time, it was tough to look behind ourselves and question anything. No doubt some did, but most of us were just glad Weis wasn’t a Giant.

And while there were kinks in the plot-line of 2005, there was enough in the story to convince some marketing analysts somewhere that they’d better get ahead of the curve and publish a book about this ND head coach and this return to glory. Surely the 2006 Irish, another year older though no deeper in depth, would not only continue on their straight line from Willinham to winning, but would also manage to slay the current giants of the college football world, even if they might miss Maurice Stovall a little. Okay. A lot. Okay, in almost immeasurable fashion.

Turned out Rhema McKnight, despite also playing receiver for the Irish, did not remind us of a taller, faster, stronger Ed McCaffrey in the way Maurice Stovall did. Turned out the 40 yard pass over everyone but McKnight was not as feasible as the play where Quinn threw in the general direction of the football field upon which Stovall was running. Also turned out some of the senior guys on the OL who had played not just for Willingham, but even for Davie, were going to be missed, and it turns out you couldn’t just reload when you didn’t have a ton of ammo. The 2006 team wasn’t, to be kind, as potent or full of potential as the 2005 Irish, and so, despite winning 1 more game than the ballyhooed 2005 squad, left at least a few fans thinking, “that’s it?”

Of course, by the time Spring Ball 07 began, we’d all forgotten Brady Quinn and company anyway, right? On to Jesus Jimmy Clausen! On to destiny! On to shared glory! “QB competition?” Ha! Sure, coach. Sure. It’s still wide open. Wink, nudge. Oh look, isn’t it sweet of Weis to keep Demetrius Jones on the roster!

Oh crap.

Perhaps, by game 4 of 2007, we should have realized a few things about Weis that would prove fatal to his regime as head coach of Notre Dame. For one, the guy maybe doesn’t have the best decision making skills when it comes to trusting people. Maybe he’s not so great at identifying a guy who’ll go all dear-in-headlights in his first career start and then all MIA in his first career benching. And perhaps he’s also not so good at not trusting himself, showing a bit too much faith in his ability to push the square pegs through the round holes via the clever use of angles. And perhaps he’s too loyal to players who aren’t really producing/saving his job and coaches who aren’t really producing/saving his job.

But that’s okay. We still had faith in Weis (by then it was real faith too, full of mystery and unknowns), even at 0-3, 0-4, 0-5… Um, coach? Could ya… Aha! Thanks! A big win over an overrated team playing QB with an extra from the Disney movie Halfback of Notre Dame! Think we’ve got a shot at Southern Cal now?

Hey, maybe we’re too loyal too. Weis is one of us; A geek who graduated from Notre Dame with a super-duper opinion of himself. That means something. Add that up with 2 BCS appearances and 19 wins in his first 2 seasons, and that means we don’t just go ditching him for the new hotness unless the new hotness is really, really, I mean really hot. Never mind the 2007 win column equaled the number of quarterbacks attempted by Weis.

Worst offense ever? Worst record ever? Michigan fans getting their licks in about worst coach ever because they don’t see what’s coming around the corner? Check. Obviously fired offensive line coach? Ummm… Weis didn’t want that disaster to be blamed on anybody. Anybody but himself. So he took the other obvious action: He turned over play-calling duties to a guy who’d never done it before. No word on if he also gave everyone at the football banquet a participation trophy.

No matter. On to a new year, where the boys would become men because the main players were 20 instead of 19. And we heard they were even trying something new in practice: hitting. And did you see the miracle of a recruiting class despite the shortage of wins in ’08? How could we not think that all would be well?

And everything was great right up until the first game of the season, where it took a miracle comeback against San Diego State, a program so bad that they practically fired their head coach in August, to win 21-13. Understandable though. That idiot Kevin White arranged it so the Irish wouldn’t start their season until Advent, allowing all teams, even SDSU, a leg up on the Irish from the get-go. Still, at about half-time of the first game, we fully expected Weis to take back playcalling duties. Maybe Weis just didn’t want Lee Corso to tell him he told him so. Can ya blame him?

But my God was there promise in 2008. One of the best pass efficiency defenses in the country coupled with what we could all see coming in Tate, Floyd, and Clausen made it seem like the days of our guys making big plays while their guys couldn’t was just months away. And it was obvious why the Irish couldn’t seem to finish games. They were still all so young. Poor little guys were just winded was all. And besides, Weis took back play-calling duties, got Haywood a head coaching gig, and over Christmas had some sort of incredible revelation about how to get college kids to play out of their minds – just in time for a trip to Hawaii. That loss to Syracuse? Ephemera. The bludgeoning at the hands of Southern Cal? Well, can you imagine how hard it must be to get your team ready to go after having just lost to Syracuse?

And so by the start of his 5th season, not a soul among the ND fanbase wondered if this was his last shot. The talent was on the roster, the gimmes were on the schedule, and the stated benchmarks for performance were on the lips of every pundit from Connecticut to Malibu. Of course, none of us could agree on what the benchmarks were. 8 wins? Nobody was sure what would happen if Weis only managed 8 wins. 9 wins? Well, most agreed that Weis might survive depending on the makeup of the 9. 10 or more? Sure, everyone could imagine Weis keeping his job with 10 wins against this schedule. But 6 wins? Who the hell was seriously considering 6 wins? To only accumulate 6 wins, you’d have to suffer 6 losses. And to do that you’d have to lose to Southern Cal, Pitt, Michigan, Michigan State, and then who? Maybe Stanford? But then who else? There’s nobody left! Why, to lose 6, you’d have to lose to Navy! You can’t lose to Navy!

In the end, Weis is pretty much everything we’d heard he was. He’s an excellent offensive coordinator. He’s a “Jersey Guy” with the ‘tude to match. He’s a family man, a guy who cares about his players, and a Notre Dame man. But what he was wasn’t was what he needed to be. He couldn’t manage to be the leader that a staff full of “name” assistants needed. He couldn’t inspire his teams to play a full game on a consistent basis. He couldn’t recruit a defensive tackle, and he couldn’t win more often than Davie or Willingham. He couldn’t ever clue into the idea that you should go into each game looking to just clobber the inferior talent on the other roster, opting instead to make a game of what should have been a formality. And he just never adjusted to a league that include 118 teams where any given Saturday anything could happen except when the odds were just too far against it. That doesn’t make him a bad guy, but it does make him a former head coach of Notre Dame.

I don’t know who the next head coach of Notre Dame will be. Nobody does at this moment. Still, whatever happens in the future with the next head coach, Weis will deserve some of the credit or the blame. Without Weis, the program moves on, but it moves on, at least initially, upon the course that Weis has set before he left the helm.

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Matt Q. (DMQ)

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