I have done my best to stay quiet regarding Charlie Weis and my beloved Irish. I will give you my opinion up front and then explain why. Charlie Weis should STAY at the University of Notre Dame. I know, your surprised. Pick up your jaw and listen.
Before I start, I am picking the Irish to go to Stanford and win this weekend. Watch out Palo Alto, here come the Irish. It is time to wake up the echoes.
Reason 1: Good at recruiting. The belt has brought in great classes with freshman contributing each and every year. Something we haven’t had in a long time. With that said, we have to get them to perform well enough to NOT go 6-6.
Reason 2: Charlie is a GREAT face of the program. Clean, gives back to the community, runs a charity for his daughter. All pointing at Charlie being a great person and mentor for the kids he is coaching.
Reason 3: Rebuilding is not an option. If Charlie leaves so will Clausen and Tate, leaving us with Dane Crist to play QB (who by the way has a torn ACL right now that was suffered in the WSU game) and we are losing 34 players off the roster to graduation.
Reason 4: Who is going to replace Charlie? Urban Meyer? Chuckie? Brian Kelly? Candidates
Reason 5: This is one I will take some shit for, and that is ok. I have come to terms with my athletics obsession for a university where only the top percentile of academic and athletic individuals are allowed in. Notre Dame is NOT a football factory. We are not Florida, Texas, USC, Alabama, etc. “We are ND” and need to remember that. Our team is built of the highest percentage of graduating athletes (football and school wide). It is quite the idea that we can’t accept fast thugs and hooligans and are still able to compete at the level we do.
Reason 6: If Weis stays…*gulp* we have the opportunity to compete for the national championship NEXT year. Call me a slappy that is fine. If Weis stays so does Clausen and Tate. Along with Rudolph and Floyd. Those are four players that are at the top of their position. The defense can’t get much worse, so if it gets a little better and look back at this year we beat SC, Navy, UConn and probably even Pitt. At least 3 of those 4.
I would like to see the offseason go like this.
1. Keep Weis
2. Assuming Weis is fired, turn down a bowl game and immediately start looking for a coach. Coaches we want in order (yes I do realize this is a wish list):
1. Urban Meyer
2. Bob Stoops
3. Butch Davis
4. Jim Harbaugh
5. Brian Kelly/Pat Fitzgerald
3. Top 5 recruiting class.
1. This is going to be tough if Weis is fired. Kids will scatter because they were coming here for Weis, you just have to hope that you get a top 3 coach from above and he brings his blue chips with him. Especially Stoops and Meyer.
4. Clausen and Tate stay at ND for one more year.
1. This should probably be number two, since it is obvious that this hinges on Weis.
