Charlie Weis alienates Irish supporters

[Dos Equis]

Interesting article.  Pretty arrogant bugga. 

Charlie Weis alienates Irish supporters
Losses, criticism piling up for Irish's Weis
Teddy Greenstein | ON COLLEGES
1:02 AM CST, November 14, 2008

The guy who once boasted he "could get hoodlums and thugs and win tomorrow" strolled into Jeannette High School in the spring of 2007 to recruit superstar quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

Jeannette coach Ray Reitz knew a bit about Charlie Weis and his reputation. Still, he was stunned by what he describes as a level of conceit he never had seen from the dozens of college coaches he had visited with over the years.

Weis certainly made a lasting impression.

"Arrogant as hell," Reitz said.



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 Notre Dame in action Photos When Reitz told Weis that Pryor might attend a USC quarterbacks camp, he remembers Weis replying: "Why send him there? If he's with me for one day he'll be good, two days he'll be great and three days he'll be incredible."

Later, unprompted, Weis asked the Jeannette coaches if they wanted to take a picture of his Super Bowl ring. "I did it, just to be polite, and then gave [the picture] to one of the kids," Reitz recalled.

Everyone who comes into contact with Weis, it seems, has a story—and they're rarely complimentary.

Many former players and alums are down on him for what they perceive as his arrogance, but they're reluctant to speak for the record.

Why? As one prominent alum explained it, "A lot of things at Notre Dame hinge on your being a friend of the university."

Alumni are fearful that if they speak out against Weis, they might lose their football tickets or their parking spots, or hinder their kids' chances for admission to the school.

Yet they paint a picture consistent with a coach who referred to himself as "an obnoxious, sarcastic guy from New Jersey" in a "60 Minutes" profile that aired in 2006.

In the story, Weis screamed at a referee for a "bull----" call and yelled at one of his coaches to get the "[expletive]" off the field.

If Weis were arrogant, foul-mouthed and winning, few Notre Dame alums would grumble.

But his record is 27-19. Gerry Faust went 25-20-1 through 46 games against tougher opponents.

"And at least he was a good guy," one alum noted.

Notre Dame is a special place, with a mix of football tradition and academic excellence matched perhaps only by Michigan and USC.

But Weis is not a special coach and certainly hasn't seemed worthy of walking in the footsteps of Rockne, Leahy, Parseghian and Holtz.

The sooner Notre Dame admits its colossal mistake and sends Weis back to New Jersey, the better.

Weis is incredibly lucky. In his first season, using Tyrone Willingham's players, he parlayed a hot start—plus real or contrived interest from NFL teams—into a contract extension through 2015.

Months earlier Weis had said he "didn't come here to take a job in the NFL in three years." But Irish officials, desperate after the George O'Leary and Willingham flops, threw at least $30 million and six more seasons his way.

Although some believe that fat contract is serving as Weis' shield, a source with Notre Dame ties insists a costly buyout would play no role in whether the school keeps him.

Other coaches should be so fortunate. Kansas State pulled the plug on Ron Prince after only 21/2 seasons, and Prince's Wildcats beat then-No. 4 Texas in 2006.

What is Weis' signature win? There isn't one. His program peaked in 2005, when the Notre Dame Stadium clock hit triple zeros with the Irish leading USC 31-28. But seven seconds remained and Reggie Bush pushed Matt Leinart into the end zone on the next play.

Notre Dame beat a bunch of mediocre teams in 2006, arguably had its worst season in history last year and its five wins in 2008 are against teams that are a combined 12-37.

First-year athletic director Jack Swarbrick said this week that he sees "progress." Really?

Weis' supporters point to his extensive charity work with his daughter's foundation and his supposedly stellar recruiting.

Rivals.com ranked his 2006 class eighth nationally. The 28-man class does not have one great player. Seven are no longer on the roster, including last season's original starting quarterback, Demetrius Jones. An eighth, tight end Will Yeatman, has been shelved by legal issues.

What has Weis accomplished? He earned three Super Bowl rings—maybe he will let you take a picture of them—with the Patriots, but New England's success from 2000-06 is forever clouded by "Spygate."

How did Bill Belichick's tactic of videotaping defensive coaches' signals help Weis call plays and make second-half adjustments? We don't know because Weis won't say.

How have the Patriots fared without Weis? In 2007 they arguably had the most dominant regular season in NFL history.

When Weis visited Pryor's school in 2007, Reitz recalled, he said that if Pryor couldn't cut it at quarterback, "we'll use him on the outside."

No other school introduced the idea that Pryor might play receiver.

"Here's the best part," Reitz recalled. "He says to Terrelle: 'Call me tomorrow at 6. I'll be watching where Brady Quinn gets drafted.' "

Pryor never called. He chose Ohio State.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/chi-14-greenstein-charlie-weis-nnov14,0,7497934.column

[Colossus_500]

Sweet! 

I always thought Weis was arrogant.  Good for Terrell Pryor. 

Just wish Pryor had chosen Penn State over Ohio State!  Kid is going to be a phenom.

[body88]

Never saw this side of Weis when he was in NE.......interesting.

[UPINTHEMGUTS]

He looks like a fat lump of shit on the sideline. Fucking bitch tits and everything. Plus he's hobbled. looks like he has gout.

He's just a lovely picture of health.

[body88]

He looks like a fat lump of shit on the sideline. Fucking bitch tits and everything. Plus he's hobbled. looks like he has gout.

He's just a lovely picture of health.

Haha, he is a fat fuck isn't he?!  Weis sued the md's who did his gb surgery when he was here in NE.  He was a hell of a play caller tho!

[Dos Equis]

I heard someone say that when he took over ND he said they would have a coaching advantage in every game.  Anyone hear that? 

[heretostay13]

He's an untalented version Belichick. All the attitude, arrogance, ans stand-offish nature without the ability.

[Earl1972]

arrogant?  weis is just selling himself and his program

he must do a pretty good job of it since both scout and rivals ranked his recruting class number 1 in the nation last year

E

[body88]

arrogant?  weis is just selling himself and his program

he must do a pretty good job of it since both scout and rivals ranked his recruting class number 1 in the nation last year

E

Then why has all that talent not translated to a dominant team?

[polychronopolous]

What is the big deal about Notre Dame? They haven't done anything for 15 plus years.....

At least with Miami, even though they get down at times, you know that will come back every few years and bring a bad ass football team to the field, I just don't think the top recruits in the nation care that much about ND anymore...

[heretostay13]

arrogant?  weis is just selling himself and his program

he must do a pretty good job of it since both scout and rivals ranked his recruting class number 1 in the nation last year

E

True, the arrogance I suppose does translate to paper-based things (rankings, recruiting, etc.) but it doesn't translate into anything worthwhile unless there's a W in the column. Don't get me wrong, there's going to be a transition period (which is occurring right now) between the players (who are still young) who Weis wants in his system and the ones he has. I'm a traditionalist that likes to see the mainstay programs stay at the top (with the occasional underdog popping up and ruining things) and like it when Notre Dame is competitive, college football is just better when that happens. But there's no merit so far. Everything in this man's career at Notre Dame has been based off a 9-3 season which somehow the highlight became the loss to USC. And by the way, Rivals ranked Alabama number 1 in their team recruiting rankings last year, but then again we're not here to go over specifics are we? 

[UPINTHEMGUTS]

Then why has all that talent not translated to a dominant team?

Because talent alone doesn't always turn around a college program. It's what's between the ears that matters the most. Great athletes who truly understand the game of football are what get it done.

[body88]

Because talent alone doesn't always turn around a college program. It's what's between the ears that matters the most. Great athletes who truly understand the game of football are what get it done.

It's more than that.  You can have all the talent in the world, but if you have a bad coach ( whom the players don't want to play for), nothing gets done. I think Weiss is one of those guys who is an awesome coordinator, but a bad hc.

[Earl1972]

Then why has all that talent not translated to a dominant team?

because they are true freshman, jimmy clausen is a true sophomore and has better sophomore numbers than brady quinn

regardless how they turn out, his supposed arrogance didn't stop him from recruiting what the two biggest recruiting sites felt was the best class in the nation

E

[Earl1972]

And by the way, Rivals ranked Alabama number 1 in their team recruiting rankings last year, but then again we're not here to go over specifics are we? 

wrong many of alabama's recruits didn't qualify, notre dame ended up with the top class and why the hell would you want to see the same teams each year?

and when we don't know the "specific" we don't want to go over them

i'm not saying weis is a great coach, all i'm saying is this arrogance that people are bitching about isn't stopping him from building a team

he might not be capable of teaching them how to play football but he has the pieces in place

and before anybody says the recruiting websites are bullshit you should know that schools like LSU, USC, Texas, and florida have had #1 ranked classes this decade and all have won natl titles

E

[iron_dawg]

He's an untalented version Belichick. All the attitude, arrogance, ans stand-offish nature without the ability.

took the words right out of my mouth

[heretostay13]

wrong many of alabama's recruits didn't qualify, notre dame ended up with the top class and why the hell would you want to see the same teams each year?

and when we don't know the "specific" we don't want to go over them

i'm not saying weis is a great coach, all i'm saying is this arrogance that people are bitching about isn't stopping him from building a team

he might not be capable of teaching them how to play football but he has the pieces in place

and before anybody says the recruiting websites are bullshit you should know that schools like LSU, USC, Texas, and florida have had #1 ranked classes this decade and all have won natl titles

E

I'm just going by the rankings. Bama is ranked #1 in both Rivals and Scout still. Granted some didn't qualify, but I was just going by what was listed. Sorry if I took your words verbatim. Like I said, I'm a traditionalist. Does that mean I want to see the same teams every year succeed? Not exactly. What it means is that I don't expect Boise St. or Utah to become perennial powerhouses. Do I like it when they're at the top? Yeah, it's interesting. It's drama. It takes the monotony out of it all, but everything seems off when the likes of Notre Dame, Nebraska, Miami, etc. aren't battling it out in the top 10, let alone the top 25 these days.

[heretostay13]

and before anybody says the recruiting websites are bullshit you should know that schools like LSU, USC, Texas, and florida have had #1 ranked classes this decade and all have won natl titles

This isn't necessarily a direct correlation. Many of these top recruiting classes came in the year that the team won the national title and had nothing to do with winning it. Granted, there are a few exceptions that occurred within the last decade that prove your point as well.

[Earl1972]

This isn't necessarily a direct correlation. Many of these top recruiting classes came in the year that the team won the national title and had nothing to do with winning it. Granted, there are a few exceptions that occurred within the last decade that prove your point as well.

i know espn.com had texas with the number one class in 2002, vince young was in that class, lsu had the number 1 class in 2003

reggie bush and lendale white were in the 2003 class that rivals had #2 and i think their classes for the nest 3 years or so were ranked #1

look at the top 10 rankings in recruiting, every big name school recruits well, wvu is the only team i can think of that has finished in the top 10 a few times without having a top class

sure there will be a boise state or utah that overachieves on occaison, there is an exception to every rule

if you want to compete with usc and florida, you have to recruit well every year and charlie weis is doing that

E