Audible

Coach Weis's Tuesday press conference was the most grim I can remember. You can view the media session at und.com, in the video tab, on the main page.

Typically the media focuses the questions on specific issues relating to Irish health, the upcoming opponent, or the gameplan offensively or defensively for the coming game. This session was much different. The most pointed question was (I summarize), 'What do you say to people who are not sure if you are right man for the job (as ND Coach)?'. Charlie replied (again I summarize, but make no doubts that this is accurate), 'Its about where your program is going, where will it be. I am confident in where we are going and I am confident that the program will get to where we all want it to be'.

Another question to Charlie was really a rhetorical one - something along the lines of, 'Coach, Notre Dame fans are very impatient; do you think some ND fans are overly impatient and overly upset right now?' Charlie responded with a very honest response: "I'd be perturbed too if I were them. I wouldn't be very happy with the way the Pittsburgh game ended, and I wouldn't be too excited about how the offense and special teams played (against Boston College). If you look at last week's game against Boston College and the previous week's game against Pittsburgh, you sit there and say, We're sitting there (5-4), why aren't we better than that?".

But in perhaps the biggest, most important news that came from the press conference, is that Charlie Weis is going to get back involved and start gameplanning and calling plays for the offense. If you remember, he gave up playcalling in the spring to his offensive coordinator, Mike Haywood. Charlie sees the offense as the major problem, and plans to get more directly involved in the process.


I see a much less confident and less cocky Charlie Weis today. That saddens me a bit, because part of the initial allure of Charlie was this confidence in his abilities. I think it has clear that he has realized that college football is more about motivation and recruiting than schematic advantages and gameplans, like the NFL.

Let me make this clear - I have not given up on Charlie. His recruiting has been fantastic, and is continuing to be in the nation's elite. And I think him returning to playcalling is the right move, provided that he ends up being somewhere in the middle on the spectrum of pure playcaller (like in 2005-2007) and pure headcoach (through 9 games this season). Playcalling and gameplanning has always been the "core competency" of Charlie Weis - put simply, it's what he does best. But being a headcoach requires leadership and responsibility over all facets of a football program - not just playcalling - but everything from punt formations to study hall.

So in short, we need Charlie to call plays AND be the head coach. And do them both well, while not letting up on recruiting one bit. Whether or not he can adjust and do all three - very quickly, as in, this week quickly - will determine how long he remains head coach.