Tag: Charlie Weis

The day after: Lasting thoughts on Notre Dame’s loss to USC

What stood out in your mind?

It was a good effort but not quite enough for Notre Dame to get an upset on the road against USC. The game was closer than the score, even if the Irish failed to get the game within one score late in the game. There were positive and negatives and here are my thoughts that have lingered in my mind since the game finished last night.

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Happy 15th anniversary, college football fans and Mike Gundy

What is your favorite football coach rant of all-time?

15 years ago today wasn’t a particularly memorable day if you’re a Notre Dame fan as the 2007 Fighting Irish squad was beat up by Michigan State 31-14 and fell to 0-4 for the first time in program history.  That team was bad, it got worse before it got better, and ultimately finished 3-9.

On that day however it wasn’t [autotag]Charlie Weis[/autotag] who went on a legendary postgame rant that still gets played on countless sports radio shows to this day.  It was instead a young head coach by the name of [autotag]Mike Gundy[/autotag] who met the media following a shootout victory over Big 12 rival Texas Tech.

The rest as they say is history.

I’m not sure how many of us thought Gundy, who improved to just 13-15 as Oklahoma State’s head coach on this day, would still be leading the Cowboys by the time he was 55, but having led Oklahoma State to 16-straight bowl games and a Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame a year ago, it certainly doesn’t appear that he’ll be slowing down anytime soon.

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Notre Dame football 2022: Fighting Irish Wire staff game-by-game predictions

What record does Notre Dame put up in Marcus Freeman’s first year?

Notre Dame enters a rare time in its modern football history where the Irish are playing for a new head coach despite the previous one not being relieved of his duties. [autotag]Charlie Weis[/autotag], [autotag]Tyrone Willingham[/autotag], and [autotag]Bob Davie[/autotag] were all forced out while [autotag]Lou Holtz[/autotag] didn’t exactly have the prettiest of exits.  

What comes with that however isn’t a sense of rebuild but more of a reload.  How does Notre Dame take the incredibly strong standing it accomplished under [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and grow that into a team with a legitimate shot at winning a national championship under [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag]?

The first year isn’t an easy one for Freeman as Notre Dame has trips to Ohio State and USC on the docket, while a neutral site game in Las Vegas against BYU won’t be easy and welcoming a pre-season top-five Clemson team to South Bend highlights the home slate.

So what is a fair expectation for this squad?  And where do you expect the Irish to be playing come bowl season?

Here is how the Fighting Irish staff sees the season going – game by game. 9jin8k ujynhbthuihgu 7hygtfr

Notre Dame legends: Brady Quinn through the years

One of the greatest to ever wear blue and gold. Or green.

Very few players in the long history of Notre Dame football have been as talented and as beloved as former quarterback [autotag]Brady Quinn[/autotag].  Taken from the heart of Buckeyes territory, Quinn led Notre Dame to consecutive BCS appearances in 2005 and 2006 while being a Heisman Trophy finalist both seasons.

Under [autotag]Charlie Weis[/autotag] those two years Quinn saw his production explode as his career totals for passing yards and touchdowns as well as his single season highs of passing yards and touchdown passes remain program records to this day.

Quinn bounced around the NFL for parts of eight seasons before getting into sports media and recently took over a role in which he helps guide Notre Dame’s name and image likeness efforts.  Is it too crazy to think the Notre Dame record holder could one day be Notre Dame’s athletic director?

Take a quick look back below at Brady Quinn through the years, starting with his memorable four years at Notre Dame, through his various NFL stops, and ultimately in his media career.

Marcus Freeman bringing back a Notre Dame game day tradition

Happy to see this returning to game day?

When [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] took over as Notre Dame’s head coach he changed a few things on how game day went to on campus.  For one, players no longer attended mass before the game and walked across campus to the stadium, instead they attended mass the evening before and had all of their energies focused on the game on hand come Saturday.

It should be noted that players did a walk on game day, just that it was done a little differently through the library (Touchdown Jesus) to the stadium.

[autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] met the media for his weekly spring practice availability on Saturday and let it be known that the tradition of attending mass and doing the walk through campus is making a return, something he was actually surprised wasn’t taking place when he arrived this past year.

For those who enjoy college football traditions (myself included here) its met with happiness.  Now does it give Notre Dame a better chance of winning a given game is another question, one that a player who played under both the Charlie Weis and Brian Kelly regimes offered his answer to Saturday night.

Toma played at Notre Dame from 2009-2012 (was the hero in surviving a scare from Purdue in the 2012 home opener) and is certainly more qualified to offer an opinion on how it effects the preparation and ultimately the outcome of a game more than I ever could.

Personally I’m a fan of the move like I said above but am left a bit more curious what others who have made that walk would say about it after reading Toma’s thoughts.

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Charlie Weis, Jr. joining Lane Kiffin’s staff at Ole Miss

Want to feel old?

Former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis used to be seen on gameday with his son Charlie Jr. in a head seat on the sideline.  That football upbringing led the younger Weis to a career in college football where he’s served on Alabama’s staff and most recently as the offensive coordinator at South Florida.

Young Charlie, who is obviously all grown up now, is now taking a very big-boy job.  He’s headed to the SEC to call the offense for Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss.

Ole Miss is set to play Baylor in the Sugar Bowl on the evening of New Year’s Day.  Weis will join the Ole Miss staff after that.

Related:

Notre Dame’s all-time winningest football coaches

Charlie Weis, Jr.’s Notre Dame reunion with South Florida 

Notre Dame-USC Rivalry: Biggest Villains

Who is your answer and why?

Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Over the last week or so I’ve exchanged several emails, messages, and had multiple conversations with Matt Zemek of Trojans Wire about not just Notre Dame and USC for 2021, but the historic side of the rivalry as well.  From now until Saturday night’s kickoff I’ll share our thoughts on some questions we came up with for each other in regards to the rivalry.

Related: Notre Dame-USC: fun facts about epic rivalry

Who is the biggest villain on the other side of the rivalry and why?

Next: I answered from a Notre Dame perspective while Matt did so from the USC side of things…

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

Charlie Weis Remembers David Patten

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and loved ones of David Patten.

There is sad news in the football world as former NFL star and three-time Super Bowl champion David Patten died in a motorcycle accident on Thursday.

After playing his college ball at Western Carolina, Patten played 12 seasons in the NFL for the Giants, Browns, Patriots, Washington, and the Saints.  It was in New England where he won all three Super Bowls and is most remembered by NFL fans.

Former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis was the offensive coordinator on those three Patriots squads and took a moment to remember Patten on Friday morning.

Patten returned to college at Western Carolina in 2013 to finish his degree and to be an assistant coach on their football staff.  His son, Daquan, is a senior wide receiver for the Catamounts now.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of the family and friends of David Patten.

Related:

40 Notre Dame players make NFL rosters for 2021 season

Charlie Weis becomes a grandfather

Congratulations to the Weis family for their addition

Former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis became a grandfather on Wednesday morning.

Weis’s son, Charlie Jr., and his wife Jennifer became parents early Wednesday morning as Boston Maverick Weis was born weighing eight pounds and ten ounces.

Weis put it perfectly in a tweet announcing the news, saying:

“Not until you have your first kid do you understand the joy. Congrats are in order!” – Charlie Weis

Charlie Weis, Jr. has come a long way since patrolling the Notre Dame sideline with his father as the younger Weis is currently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at South Florida and coached against the Irish last fall.

Congratulations to the Weis family on the addition to their family.

Notre Dame alphabet book jumped gun on Charlie Weis

The problem with books about ongoing activities is they can become dated quickly.

The problem with books about ongoing activities is they can become dated quickly. I recently encountered one such book at my local library called “A is for Ara: The ABCs of Notre Dame Football” by Sean Callahan. The book was first printed in March 2007, so it’s no surprise that Charlie Weis is the “W” entry here. However, the explanation of Weis began with this sentence that became both hilarious and depressing in hindsight:

Charlies Weis became the head coach of Notre Dame in 2005 and quickly restored excellence on the field.

In fairness, the book is not totally wrong. The Irish went 19-6 and earned trips to the Fiesta Bowl and Sugar Bowl in the two seasons Weis was coach before the book was published. But we all know how quickly things fell apart in 2007, when the Irish slipped to 3-9. Weis never recovered from that tailspin as the Irish finished only one game above .500 over the following two seasons combined, which played a role in the decision to let Weis go after the 2009 season.

Weis may have “restored” excellence right after the forgettable Bob Davie and Tyrone Willingham eras, but he didn’t maintain it. While Brian Kelly has had a few lean years, he’s upheld Notre Dame’s rich tradition of winning much better, even with no national championship to show for it. Of course, when writing a book clearly meant for kids, you have to write about the present based on the information you have, and Weis was seen as a savior at the time of the book’s writing. Funny how quickly legacies can be altered.