Why Charlie Should Stay

[Dfense wins games]

First, I am arguing the keeping of Charlie. I do not want to comment on what happened to Tyrone, but I will say ND is in better hands based on recruting alone. Second, my argument won't go anywhere if I cant get you to believe that Charlie Weis has done great things with what he has had to work with. Part of the problem is lack of talent (or even speed, size, game IQ) He entered a new school, a first-time head coach, an "offensive genius" as some claim. [NE hasn't had much of a drop off after Weis left, so maybe he wasn't the coach some thought he may be.] However, he is doing better than Tyrone did and ND is in a better situation with Weis at the helm. If ND were to fire him, ND would start "snowballing" out of control. (Tho, they may have started after hearing word that the student section threw a few at the team).

Here is a break down of the past 7 recruiting seasons. Rivals.com is my source, so some of this information may be different based on different recruiting points. I add up the total 5, 4 and 3 stars to get an idea on how good a job they did. I will also take a look at how that "class" did 4 years down the road. Granted, some graduate early while some are redshirted so it is not exactly the "whole class" yet it is still a good predictor. I personally believe Rivals.com does a stellar job at ranking thousands of players in the country. I also use it so I can compare recruiting classes between Tyrone and Charlie.

2002 Tyrone's First Season
4(12) + 3(4) = 60 stars
Notible recruits include Fasano, Landri, McKnight.
Senior season 9-3

2003 Tyrone's Second Season
5 + 4(6)+3(13)= 68 stars
Notible recruits include Quinn, Zbi, Abiamiri, Ndukwe, Samardzija
Senior season 10-3

2004 Tyrones' Third Season
4(2) + 3(8) = 32 stars
Notible recruits include Crum, Lambert, Walker(DNP senior season)
Senior season 3-9

2005 Charlie's First Season
4(2) +3(11)= 41 stars
Notible recruits include Sharpley and Grimes
Senior season 6-5 (Before USC (#5 seed) and no bowl game appearance)

2006 Charlie's Second Season
5(2)+ 4(10) + 3(15)= 95 stars
Notible recruits include Aldridge, Young, McNeil
Senior season -

2007 Charlie's Third Season
5+ 4(12)+3(12)= 89 stars
Notible recruits include Clausen, Allen, Kamara, Tate
Senior season -

2008 Charlie's Fourth Season
5(3)+4(16)+3(4)= 95 stars
Notible recruits include Floyd, Crist, Rudolph, Gray
Senior season -



In Charlie's first season, he had roughly 160 "stars" to work with. Next season(06-08 recruits), he will have 281! That is 5 more 5-stars, 18 more 4-stars and 6 more 3 stars! That doesn't include...

2009 Charlie's (hopefully) Fifth Season
1 5-star, 9 4-star and 5 more 3-star players that will look to add to the success at ND. Notibles include Cierre Wood, the lone 5-star recruit.



Other important keys to being a head coach is surrounding yourself with knowledgeable assit. coaches, developing talent, and most importantly (to most fans, esp. ND alum) winning! ND should let Charlie finish out his contract. "Patience is a virtue" Maybe they didn't have much patience with Ty, which sent "us" into a downward spiral. If ND wants to climb out of that hole, they have to give Charlie a chance.

If you don't want to believe me, earlier today, Jeff Smarj was interviewed and thoroughly believed Weis is the man for the job!

[abpk2903]

IMO, ND has made their bed now they have to lay in it. Since Holtz they have had a quick trigger finger on coaches. Well, if they continue firing coaches in their first 5 years they will never be able to dig themselves back to the national prestige they once were. That entire program is in shambles not just the coaching situation. They need to find a stable coach that can stay over a decade to build this program back up. Before they fire, Weis they need to ask themselves a few things:

1. Are we willing to start the rebuilding process over and be willing to take lumps in the road such as a 3-4-5 win season and have the patience to allow the next coach to get his system in place.

2. Is there currently a canidate out there that would be willing to come to ND that is better than what we currently have.

3. Is the problem here only the head coach (IMO there seems to be some sort of a cancer at ND that is not the head coach but im not sure what it is).

4. What is the direction we want to head as a program. i.e. Recruiting, good ball coach, company guy

5. What can we do as individuals to provide whoever the coach is with the tools to build a successful program. Does that mean:
-ridding the NBC contract (IMO bad for program)
-join a conference
-decline bowl bids when we know there is not a snowball in winning the game
-boosters donating money keeping their nose out of the program and allowing administrators to run the program the right way.

6. If we do make a change will we be willing to allow the next coach to run the program his way and stay committed to him for a decade whether we are winning or not.


Just a few thoughts. In my opinion ND has to keep Weis even though he may not be the best for the program right now.

This problem is not just Charlie Weis but many, many other factors.

[frostlion]

Interesting article from Collegefootballnews.com on Notre Dame's "next head coach"

I'm not sure Urban would leave Florida though...

http://cfn.scout.com/2/816036.html

[ham55]

Urban Meyer would sell his soul to the devil. So why wouldn't he go to Notre Dame?

[Dfense wins games]

ND lacks senior leadership. If they finish off UNC, Pitt, and Syracuse, they are sitting at 9-3, not 6-6 (heck, add Floyd to the mix and they blow out Navy and Syr.). Sure some coaching errors occured, but ND is about 40 yards away from losing to NAVY and sitting at 5-7! The recruits as well as experience will make ND a much more dangerous team next fall. Plus, firing your head coach will only create more unneeded instability. Keep Charlie, keep bringing in recruits, ND WILL BE atleast 9-3 next season. Jimmy Clausen has been making many dumb errors, yet he is doing better than Brady Quinn did his Soph season!