By Ben Ford
bford@etruth.com
NOTRE DAME — Notre Dame fired football coach Charlie Weis on Monday, ending a five-year tenure marked by improved recruiting and explosive offensive performances that were too often overshadowed by inconsistent defensive play and embarrassing losses.
“We have great expectations for our football program, and we have not been able to meet those expectations,” athletic director Jack Swarbrick said in a statement released by the university. “As an alumnus, Charlie understands those goals and expectations better than most, and he’s as disappointed as anyone that we have not achieved the desired results.”
A press conference with Swarbrick was scheduled for 6 p.m. Weis will not speak to the media today, director of football media relations Brian Hardin said.
Rob Ianello, Notre Dame’s assistant head coach for offense, wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator, who will take over football operations until a new coach is hired.
Most speculation on Weis’ replacement has focused on Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops and Cincinnati’s Brian Kelly, though Stoops said Monday he intends to stay at Oklahoma. TCU’s Gary Patterson, Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh, Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson and Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz have also been mentioned as possible candidates.
Notre Dame lost 45-38 at Stanford on Saturday night, completing a late-season collapse that sealed Weis’ fate. The Irish were 6-2 and ranked 19th when the month began, but then lost at home to Navy, at Pittsburgh and in double overtime to Connecticut on Senior Day at Notre Dame Stadium before finishing up at Stanford.
At 6-6, the Irish are bowl-eligible, but it’s not clear whether they will play in a postseason game. Swarbrick met with the team’s leadership committee this afternoon to gauge the team’s interest in playing in a bowl, but Notre Dame senior associated athletic director John Heisler said, “Part of this is us, from our end, trying to get a sense of what the options are and do a little bit of a financial analysis.”
Weis, a 1978 Notre Dame graduate, arrived from the New England Patriots five years ago with three Super Bowl rings and plenty of bluster, and he backed it up initially, winning 19 of his first 23 games — a school record for wins by a coach in his first two seasons. He won the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award in 2005 and led the Irish to as high as second in the Associated Press poll at the start of the 2006 season. Notre Dame played in Bowl Championship Series games in each of Weis’ first two seasons, but lost handily in both games.
The freshman-and-sophomore-dominated 2007 team went 3-9 — one of the worst seasons in school history — and Notre Dame never again came close to reaching the BCS, despite having more talent than many of its opponents. The Irish stumbled down the stretch last season and finished 7-6.
Weis, who was 3-10 in November over the last three seasons, has a 35-27 record, a worse winning percentage than predecessors Tyrone Willingham and Bob Davie, who were fired after three and five seasons, respectively. Weis also went 0-5 against longtime rival USC, coming closest to a victory in his first season, when the top-ranked Trojans won 34-31 on a last-second touchdown run.
Mostly on the strength of that performance — and perhaps in response to rumors that Weis was being courted by NFL teams — Notre Dame extended Weis’ original six-year contract through 2015, making him one of the highest-paid coaches in the nation.
“We’re confident that we’ve got the best coach in America ensconced at his alma mater for the remainder of his career,” then-athletic director Kevin White said when the extension was announced.
Weis certainly earned his money as an offensive play-caller and recruiter.
With eventual first-round draft pick Brady Quinn at quarterback, the 2005 and ’06 teams were the two most prolific passing teams in school history to that point, and Weis’ first team averaged 36.7 points per game, eighth-best in major-college football. In 2007, Notre Dame had the worst offense in the nation, but this year’s team ranked 10th.
Meanwhile, Weis proved that Notre Dame could still attract top recruits, assembling three consecutive top-10 classes and beating out programs nationwide for prep standouts like quarterback Jimmy Clausen and wide receivers Michael Floyd and Golden Tate.
Most of the blue-chip players Weis recruited were on the offensive side of the ball, though. Hawaiian linebacker Manti Te’o was the only five-star defensive recruit to sign with Notre Dame, and Weis and his coaching staff, which included respected defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta the last two seasons, could never put together an elite defense to match the offense.
Notre Dame’s highest national ranking in total defense was 39th in 2007 and ’08 — when the offense was rebuilding. This season, with the offense clicking, the Irish defense ranked 87th. At the end of Saturday’s loss to Stanford, Weis instructed his defense to allow the Cardinal to score what proved to be the game-winning touchdown so Notre Dame’s offense could have a chance to win the game.
There was no shortage of memorable games in the Weis era, from the 16-point comeback victory in the pouring rain at Michigan State in 2006 to the improbable win over UCLA in ’06 on a 45-yard pass from Quinn to Jeff Samardzija with 27 seconds remaining to the 10 games this season that were decided by seven points or less.
But Weis’ teams were shut out three times, lost by 30 points or more four times and went 1-13 against teams that finished in the top 25. They also made a habit in recent seasons of losing games they should have won easily, including two to Navy, one to Syracuse and this year’s loss to UConn.
Weis was always gracious — in victory and defeat — and worked tirelessly to take Notre Dame to the top. His players liked him, achieved in the classroom and, for the most part, stayed out of trouble off the field.
Weis’ firing was “sad to see,” said former Irish wide receiver David Grimes, who was working out at the Guglielmino Athletics Complex when the news broke Monday. “That was my coach when I came in and now he’s gone. It’s sad to see, to see all the scrutiny he’s under. Nobody deserves that. But it is Notre Dame.”
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3:30 p.m. - Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick said on the University of Notre Dame Web site that Charlie Weis wasn't able to meet expectations.
Swarbrick recommended to President John Jenkins Sunday night that Weis be fired. The Rev. Jenkins accepted the recommendation.
To read the entire statement, go to www.und.com.
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3:05 pm — It's official According to The Elkhart Truth's Ben Ford, Notre Dame football coach has been fired.
Rob Ianello, ND's wide receivers coach, will take over all football operations until a new coach is in place.
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SOUTH BEND - A person familiar with the decision says Notre Dame has fired coach Charlie Weis, according to the Associated Press.
The move comes after a string of disappointing seasons that was capped by four agonizing losses, including the regular-season finale on Saturday night at Stanford.
The person confirmed the firing to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the official announcement had yet to be made.
The New York Daily News first reported the firing. ESPN is also reporting it.
A brash offensive coordinator with the NFL champion New England Patriots when he was hired five years ago, Weis raised Irish expectations with back-to-back appearances in BCS bowl games in his first two seasons.
Since then, one of the nation’s most storied football programs has gone 16-21.
Notre Dame players began arriving for an afternoon team meeting which will include a vote on whether the players want to play in a bowl game after their 6-6 season.
Athletic director Jack Swarbrick has said he will consider the players’ wishes in deciding on a bowl trip.