SUNDAY SOLITUDE: PART IV
Originating to you live this time from the familial compound in Sun Lakes, Ariz. This is the third different time zone I've blogged from today. It's like a time-warp blog.
A few letters I've received in the past 24 hours that I'd like to share with you. Such as this one from Jonathan:
"Okay, in every measurable way, Weis is doing far worse than Willingham was when he got fired. Weis has had an extra year to work, had a better team to work with, has had more favorable publicity and recruiting atmosphere, has had more support from the school, and has played an easier schedule. And yet he's still doing worse. I don't see how you can't say that either Willingham's firing was unjustified, or Weis needs to go now."
It is true that should Notre Dame lose next Saturday at USC (the Irish are 29-point underdogs) that Charlie Weis will have a worse won-loss percentage in South Bend than both Bob Davie and Ty Willingham did when they were fired. My question is this: Why is Ty Willingham's performance in South Bend the litmus test for whether or not Weis should retain his job?
There are, I find, two camps into which the "Fire Weis" crowd fall: 1) Those who loathe Notre Dame and 2) Those who want Notre Dame to succeed and believe that Weis is not the answer.
Of the former camp, there is a further subdivision: 1) Those who will never be convinced that Willingham's firing was anything but racially motivated and 2) those who just have always hated Notre Dame for its "self-righteousness" and want to trap the Irish in their own supposed hypocrisy. And I suppose those two groups are not mutually exclusive.
Any decision that Notre Dame, or any other football program, makes on its head coach should concern itself with one principle: What is in the best interests of the university? Notre Dame should not fire Charlie Weis to appease the self-appointed pharisees who feast on schadenfreude, nor should they do so to allay concerns that Weis is getting preferential treatment as opposed to Willingham (I know this is an old argument, but I'll raise it again: Is Notre Dame more racist for firing Willingham than the 100 or so FBS schools who have never hired an African-American head football coach?)
Even if Ty Willingham were 11-0 this season instead of 0-11, it should have no bearing on Weis' job status. What matters is this: What is in the best interests of this university and its football program in the near future? Keeping Weis or firing Weis?
If you want to make an argument that Weis should be fired because the school is better off without him, make that one. Using Willingham's situation as your point of delineation, however, is irrelevant. You can argue that it isn't fair in your mind that Weis is being given more latitude than Willingham was, and I might agree with you. But an older child may argue that the youngest is receiving more attention than he ever did. What are the parents supposed to do? Stop giving the baby of the family as much attention? Circumstances change, but the role of the parents is always to do what's best for the family.
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Rothstein has Charlie Weis' reply to the question as to his big-picture future at Notre Dame verbatim on his blog. I feel for Weis in the sense that I'm sure he hates losing, as well, but that is a question that deserves a more succinct reply, no?
Will this team be better next year? Of course they will. Look at the number of starters that will be returning. The question that is not being answered, though, is this: Is this team as good as it should be right now? 41 yards on 28 carries against one of the nation's worst rushing defenses suggests that it is not.
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In what has become a recurring scene the past two seasons, the NBC broadcast ended with an on-field interview of the opposing coach who, as it turns out, likely earned your admiration. And fondness. Last year it was Paul Johnson of Navy and Mark Dantonio of Michigan State. This year it's been Dave Wannstedt of Pitt and Greg "G-Rob" Robinson of Syracuse.
Honestly, what Domer couldn't admire Robinson telling Alex Flanagan that he didn't want to talk while Notre Dame's students and players sang the "Alma Mater"? Or didn't find it somewhat humorous when his Orange player started the "G-Rob" chants?
You likely didn't hear the press conference, but Robinson shared a story that the first college football game he ever attended was Notre Dame at USC in 1960 and "I sure wasn't rooting for USC."
And that comment provides some insight for what happened at Notre Dame on Saturday, and three weeks earlier, and last November versus Navy. Maybe most of the players are too young to remember when Notre Dame was the vanguard of college football, but their coaches are not. Do you not imagine that men such as Robinson and Wannstedt, etc., tell their charges before the game that, no matter what their record is, and no matter what Notre Dame's record is, beating the Irish at Notre Dame Stadium is something you'll be able to cherish the rest of your lives?
It's been fascinating to watch Navy and Pitt and Syracuse storm midfield at the conclusion of their victories in South Bend. And I don't for a moment dismiss the fact that all three games were dramatic in and of themselves. I'm just wondering if I'd be witnessing similar jubilation if those victories had come at N.C. State or Purdue.
Beating Notre Dame in South Bend has become the equivalent to dating Sharon Stone.
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The Notre Dame football team might truly benefit by watching a tape of the 1986 Notre Dame-USC football game on the eve of their contest next week. The Irish entered that contest 4-6 and had not beaten a quality opponent all season (wins versus Purdue, Navy, Air Force and a death-penalty ravaged SMU squad). The Irish traveled to L.A. on Thanksgiving weekend for their final game of the season with nothing on the line but pride. It was the end of Lou Holtz's debut season in South Bend, a year filled with hard-luck losses to Top 15 foes. USC was ranked 17th entering the game.
At the start of the 4th quarter, USC led, I believe, by the score of 37-15. A loss would mean that over the four seasons from 1983-86 that the Irish had put together a record of 23-23. But, as you might have guessed, they battled back and won on a last-second field goal.
There's another reason that I mention this game besides the obvious USC Thanksgiving weekend connection and the upset factor. Here is that reason. That Irish team had a lot of great players who simply had yet to compete as a great team.
The quarterback, Steve Beuerlein, would play 17 years in the NFL. The punt returner who set up the game-winning field goal, Tim Brown, would the following year win the Heisman Trophy and go on to a Hall of Fame NFL career. The field goal kicker? He kicked three field goals and four extra points JUST A FEW HOURS AGO for the NFL's best team and defending Super Bowl champions, the New York Giants. TODAY! That would be the pride of Dillon Hall, John Carney, of course.
Frank Stams. Andy Heck. Wes Pritchett. Mark Green. All future NFL players. All starters on that 5-6 team.
The lesson for the current Irish: This is your time. This is your legacy that you are creating in the present. If you were to ask Beuerlein or Brown or Carney, in retrospect, they would tell you that there's no reason they shouldn't have had a better record in their time at Notre Dame. I'm not sure they had much less talent than the '88 national championship team did.
USC may seem the overwhelming favorite, and they do have more experience defensively. But a lot of the dudes in the gold helmets are going to have NFL agents someday (just not, unlike some of their counterparts, until they play their final collegiate snap). They have the talent. They just need to believe in themselves.
What this program, what this Notre Dame teams needs as much as anything, is a confidence-building victory. And one is staring them right in the face six days from now. But no one is about to give it to them. They're going to have to earn it.
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"But no one is about to give it to them. They're going to have to earn it."
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Knowingly or not John, you've just revealed the core of the problem at Notre Dame. For too long Notre Dame HAS been given accolades and rewards without actually having to earn them. It's been the better part of 2 decades since they were a truly elite football team. But they have been given outlandish TV contracts, awarded undeserved bowl game appearances, etc. etc. etc. Stop handing this team things it hasn't earned.
Matt,
Completely concur. For example, Paula Faris is far too talented and charming for the Vonage Pre- and Post-game shows. I have one word for my bosses regarding Paula: network.
But to your point, two years ago I criticized the Irish for accepting the Sugar Bowl bid. And while I understand the practice benefits for a young team by accepting a bowl bid this season, Notre Dame might return a few fans to the fold by declining a bowl this holiday season. By simply saying, "We didn't earn it."
What this school's priests, its administration and its coaching staff apparently have forgotten is that the Irish squads of Rockne won so many hearts by being the plucky underdogs ("What tho' the odds be great or small" and all that rot). They were once the loveable outcasts but now have morphed into the imperious overlord.
And I believe that the dude whose image is on the side of the library might find some cruel irony in all that, don't you?
There are two major differences between Charlie Weis and Ty Willingham. During recruiting periods while he was at Notre Dame, TW could be found more often on a golf course than at a stud recruit's living room. By comparison, Weis basically does two things in his life, coach football, which includes traveling during recruiting periods, and whatever his wife tells him to do when he's not coaching. Weis has a serious work ethic. TW chases par more often than he chases recruits
One other major difference: TW starting interviewing for a new job weeks before ND fired him. To the best of my knowledge, Weis isn't looking to leave ND anytime soon.
While I certainly have developed some doubts about CW and his staff, at least he is fully dedicated to his job and is doing everything he can to win. Who can say that about TW? I doubt that anyone associated with the University of Washington would.
Enough already with the comparisons between Weiss and Willingham. The only important thing is what Weiss has shown us as to his ability to coach Notre Dame football. It's apparent from what he has shown so far that the job will not get done. His teams will continue to be mediocre no matter if he has one more year as head coach or six.
Here is a link to comments credited to Lou Holtz.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/notredame/chi-25-mitchellnov25,0,2979365.column
That Domer team had a head coach, this one does not.