BALTIMORE, Md. – The firestorm around Charlie Weis has settled down a bit for now. Not much, but a little bit.
As the surrogate play-caller against Navy, Weis and the Irish started slowly but found their stride in the second half and beat the Midshipmen 27-21. Considering it was the biggest survival test in four seasons for Weis at Notre Dame, it was significant.
The Navy game was more of a “must not lose” contest than a “must win” game, at least in terms of the future of Weis with this program.
Notre Dame pushed its winning streak to one game over Navy, and in the process, finally secured that elusive bowl eligibility. The most likely destination remains the Gator Bowl if the Irish can get to seven or eight wins. But with very few style points by Notre Dame in recent weeks, the Sun Bowl is coming more into the mix.
 |
|
With a salvaged win yesterday, Weis' Irish became bowl eligible.
|
The Sun Bowl folks were at the Navy game, passing out itineraries for their game that includes a tour of the Lucchese Boots Factory and a Kiwanis Bowling Tournament.
Not a knock on the Sun Bowl, but a trip to El Paso for a Dec. 31 bowl isn’t what folks had in mind after the 4-1 start, and all the positive vibes felt early in the season. Weis didn’t even bring up bowl eligibility to his players after the game.
But no matter what the destination and no matter what happens in the bowl game, the win over Navy was more important because it should assure Weis a chance to coach next year, which is the right decision. Weis should be brought back for a fifth season because he will have a full, four-year complement of recruits which he should be allowed to coach through his judgment year.
Anyway, the buyout package is too lucrative – some publications reported upward of $20 million – not to bring him back. And frankly, the list of big-name potential replacements seems awfully thin at the moment, so Notre Dame needs to dance with who it brung for at least one more year, with a zero-tolerance policy for more mediocrity.
With all the pieces in place next season, the youth, inexperience and numbers alibis are all used up and anything short of 10 wins and a BCS appearance will be unacceptable. One way or another, next season will end any debate and give us clear answers on Weis’ worth as a head coach, even if many have already made up their minds.
Weis can recruit. He’s standing toe-to-toe with the elite programs and winning his share of those battles. Each of the last three recruiting classes rated in the top 10.
But what Weis is getting out of those recruits remains a mystery and the reason many want to show him the door.
Coaching is more about developing than recruiting, and there is inconsistent evidence to indicate the players in this program are progressing at an acceptable rate.
We thought Robert Hughes was going to be a 1,000-yard rusher after the way he finished last season with consecutive 100-yard games. His season high is 79 yards this season.
Duval Kamara broke many of the receiving records as a freshman last season and has barely been noticed this year. Defensive tackle Ian Williams was a freshman All-American last season with 45 tackles in backup duty. He has 29 stops this season.
The progress of the older guys hasn’t been much better. Junior James Aldridge was an all-world recruit coming out of high school, but he has never truly hit his stride in the offense, save for a handful of games.
My intent is not to call the players out. It’s more about trying to find some answers to the lack of progress many of these top recruits are showing.
Sam Young has not become the force on an offensive line that is replete with high-school all-Americans. Armando Allen has yet to become the big-play threat he was advertised to be.
To be fair, Golden Tate has emerged at a meteoric clip this year, and senior safeties Kyle McCarthy and David Bruton have maximized their skills.
Be it through development, scheme or both, these shortcomings have to fall at the feet of the coaching staff. There is no excuse for a team full of Gatorade Players of the Year and high-school All-Americans to rank No. 53 in the Sagarin Ratings last week. That was seven spots behind Duke and 12 spots behind 1-AA James Madison.
BC coach Jeff Jagodzinski asked his players before the Notre Dame game how many were recruited by the Irish. No one raised his hand – but they were all good enough for the Eagles.
When Charlie Weis was an NFL coach, he didn’t have to develop talent. His job was to maximize the talent provided to him by putting the players in the right positions and in the right situations.
College is different. The years spent at this level are all about developing players and squeezing every ounce out of them. Lou Holtz was the master at recruiting great talent and getting the most out of it. Weis has not shown that ability yet and he will get only one more year to prove he’s up to it.
It seemed he was with Brady Quinn, Jeff Samardzija and Maurice Stovall, but that seems like decades ago.
Weis slid out of Navy with a nice win and temporarily quelled the complaints. But make no mistake, this is it. These hotshot recruits have to produce because payment for the borrowed time comes due next season.
And if the bill goes unpaid, somebody is going to inherit a team with a lot of great recruits, and maybe even more untapped potential.
.jpg)
| 