Don't Fall for Weis' Pity Party

Charlie Weis is running out of place to hide. But he's too big to be hiding behind his son, isn't he?

Weis admitted that he considered leaving Notre Dame after last season, which might be seen as the narrowest of escapes considering that Notre Dame was considering leaving him first.

But the spotlight and the pressure are so great on the Irish football coach that Weis said he and his wife held their son, Charlie Jr., out of high school classes for three days after the Syracuse humiliation, figuring it was best for the kid. So you can see that as a story about how much we put onto our coaches, how tough things are for them, especially at Notre Dame. You could even feel bad for Weis.

I'm going to pass on that. Not to sound too cold about a father making a loving decision for his son, but really ...

Boo hoo.

In four years at Notre Dame, Weis has been all about himself, about his greatness. He's a big believer. He has been all about self-promotion, too, and now his newest promotion is to try to make you feel bad that his life is suffering from too much hype?

Please. Best wishes to Weis' son, but after watching Weis' antics these past four years, it is curious as to why he's telling this story to reporters at all. Maybe it's just a coach opening up, showing his soft side. But more likely, it seems like part of the con that has been Weis' tenure at Notre Dame.

So far, he has been the biggest, most colossal flop in college sports history, based on expectations. And if he doesn't manage at least nine victories this season when Notre Dame has as easy a schedule as could be arranged, then he's gone. He needs a signature win, too. He hasn't beaten any top teams yet.

His signature moment? A close loss to USC.

No one has entered a job with such high approval ratings. It was going to be a return to rightful greatness. Weis had such an overconfidence in himself that it wore off on Notre Dame fans, who wanted to feel that way again, too. Remember, Weis told his players upon his arrival that they would have a "decided schematic advantage'' over everyone else in the country.

And everyone believed.

Then, after a while, he gave up his play-calling duties -- what about the advantage? -- to a coordinator, saying he needed to be more of a leader on the sideline, more of a big-picture guy. That's what leaders do. He had learned that from a talk with his mentor, New England coach Bill Belichick. Weis had been his offensive coordinator.

So Weis went with that for a portion of a season, and then took the play-calling back.

Notre Dame fans have had to suffer for four years watching the most incredible learning curve. You don't put an intern into the most prestigious job in America.



Weis had never been a head coach. But less than a season into his first year, the con was so effective that the school feared he was going to leave. So the big lawyers who run the place got together and ponied up for a 10-year deal. The next year, with national championship expectations, Notre Dame looked disorganized against Michigan, and next thing you knew there were reports about at least two NFL teams trying to steal Weis away.

Really? Two? How did a reporter get that news? Turned out the reporter was from NFL.com, workplace of the guy who wrote Weis' book with him.

Did Weis plant that story to get more love from Notre Dame fans?

Con.

That's what's fishy about the story Weis told to the Chicago Tribune about holding his son home from school. It just seems like such a pathetic plea for love and sympathy. After the USC humiliation, Weis said he told his son to go to school.

But this isn't about fathering. It's about the con.

Everyone believed that whole schematic-advantage business. But instead, Weis has flip-flopped and made every possible rookie mistake. One year, he didn't have players hit in fall drills. Then, when the season started so badly, he decided that hitting in fall drills was a good thing. So he pushed the reset button and said he was starting camp again.

But it was midseason.

The idea was to develop toughness. But nothing developed.

Weis had success in his first couple years. And he has recruited masterfully from the first day. But college football is about player development and not much else. And under Weis, as the roster became more and more his, filled with great players, the team hasn't improved.

So this is going to be it for Weis. He is connected to his biggest recruit, quarterback Jimmy Clausen, who played well, finally, against Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl. Never has such a mediocre victory over a mediocre team in a mediocre bowl game meant so much to mighty Notre Dame.

Two years ago, the Irish were one of the worst teams in the country. Last year, mediocre. This year?

The man promised greatness. Don't feel sorry for him now.