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Charlie Weis (ex-Kansas HC, ex-Fla OC, Notre Dame legend, UnDecided Schematic Advantage)

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Weis Shows True Colors with QB Decision (Stewart Mandel Blog Entry on SI.com)
By now, you?ve probably heard a few hundred times how Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis is "arrogant." Not just from judgmental sports columnists like me, mind you, but from actual Irish players ("He seemed a little arrogant," former defensive end Justin Tuck said following Weis' first team meeting) and opposing coaches ("Weis is arrogant as hell," one such coach told The Sporting News last year).

In my first two-plus years of observing Weis, I failed to reach the same conclusion. Was the NFL-bred Weis a little different from most college coaches? Yes. A control freak? Absolutely. But it's not like I'd ever heard him say, "I'm a freaking awesome coach," or "These guys I face every week are amateurs." Following both of Notre Dame's blowout losses to Michigan and USC last year, the coach was appropriately humble and accepting of responsibility for the result.

But arrogance can take on many different forms, and over the course of this offseason, in managing to turn a seemingly mundane quarterback decision into a matter of national security, Weis has shown his true colors.

From the first day of training camp, Weis made it abundantly clear that none of us peons would be privy to the identity of his new starting quarterback - either junior Evan Sharpley, redshirt freshman Demetrius Jones or true freshman Jimmy Clausen -- prior to the first snap of Saturday's opener against Georgia Tech. Weis' reasoning? "I'm not really in the business of passing out free information [to the Irish's opponent]." That's interesting, considering numerous other coaches who seem to know what they're doing -- Oklahoma's Bob Stoops, Florida State's Bobby Bowden, Nebraska's Bill Callahan -- apparently did not see the same harm in publicly announcing similar decisions over the past week.

Here's the deal: Georgia Tech has had nearly eight months to prepare for this game. Does Weis really think Jackets defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta hasn't watched every available high-school tape (or, in Sharpley's case, those two collegiate pass attempts) of the three QBs by now? Furthermore, Tech just played the Irish last season, so it's not like Tenuta isn't familiar with Weis' offense (which is far more important to know than the identity of the QB himself). And while the athletic Jones does present a potential wrinkle with his running ability, I'm guessing the Jackets aren't unfamiliar with the concept -- considering their last game was in the Gator Bowl against West Virginia speedster Pat White.

It'd be one thing if Weis was still genuinely stumped as to who he might tap come Saturday, but last week the third-year coach said he's actually known "for a week or two," adding agitatedly, "Do you think I'm going to be so fickle that I won't know who the quarterback is going to be?" In the same breath, however, he said he hadn't yet bothered to tell the chosen quarterback himself.

Does he really think we're stupid enough to believe that? Arguably the biggest key to the success of a first-time starting quarterback is confidence, and there's no better way to build a guy's confidence than to let him know he's your man. Weis may be having fun playing cat-and-mouse with the media, but I seriously doubt he's keeping the actual players in suspense.

Besides, Weis has now given us plenty of reason to no longer believe much of anything that comes out of his mouth. As you may recall, the coach became very annoyed last spring when various news outlets reported that Clausen, ND's much-touted freshman phenom, was suffering from bone spurs in his throwing elbow and would eventually undergo a surgical procedure. Despite the fact the reporters in question had spoken with a fairly reliable source - Clausen's own father -- Weis was aghast. ''He's full-go, contrary to recent reports,'' Weis said of the freshman. ''Just so we clear that one up, the only one who will answer for the health of our players will be me.''

Last Friday, however, Clausen himself spoke for the first time, and, contrary to Weis' contradiction, said, "Following spring practice, I had a procedure on my elbow to arthroscopically remove a bone spur. It was a minor setback, and I've been rehabbing ever since." Weis did not necessarily lie about the injury -- he merely insulted the intelligence of anyone with a brain.

Give the coach credit for one thing, however: he's managed to create far more intrigue and attention surrounding his decision than should really be merited for an unranked, rebuilding team. That said, it's fairly obvious at this point that Sharpley, the most experienced of the bunch, will start on Saturday. Perhaps Jones and Clausen will see action as well, but no one really believes Weis, a pro-style guy to the core, is suddenly going to start running the shotgun-spread so Jones can burn people on the QB draw, and clearly Clausen (whose throwing velocity, practice observers have noted, has not been the same as the other two) is not yet healthy enough to go full-time.

Clausen will take over soon enough -- ND did not recruit the phenom to sit on the bench for two years. Whether that will come in week two, week four or week eight, we don't know. The only thing we know for certain is that we won?t know of Clausen's promotion ahead of time. Because obviously we, the untrained masses, cannot be trusted with such information.
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Stewart Mandel is pissed that Jabba the Weis is an ass
 
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Chicago Tribune 8/26

Irish eyes are smiling

The addition of ex-Julian star Corwin Brown to the Notre Dame coaching staff has paid immediate dividends as the Irish have landed three of the top four prospects in the Chicago area. Mt. Carmel's Filer (6-4, 220), St. Rita defensive lineman Darius Fleming (6-3, 245) and two-way Marian Central lineman Sean Cwynar (6-4, 285) all have pledged to sign with coach Charlie Weis. It has been a long time since Notre Dame landed so many top recruits from this area.
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Domers, on BP and elsewhere, have complained that Charlie Weis was an offensive genius who would revolutionize football once he had his own recruits on the field.

Well, Weis has just eight players that he did not recruit. He has had top ranked recruiting classes the last three years.

In the run-up to the meltdown of the Internet stock boom, they called announcement of new software that never arrived "vaporware".

If I were a recruit, I would be thinking very hard about my commitment to this great vaporware merchant.

Charlie Weis is not an offensive genius. He will not revolutionize college football. This year may very well be a losing season at Notre Dame and next year may not be any better.

Arrogance has its rewards. Weis is about to start experiencing what happens when you treat others like crap on the way up and the press stops blowing smoke up your rear.

Welcome to reality, Domers!
 
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Geez, I just looked at their schedule and I think the probability of a losing season is higher than a winning season. In fact, I think they could lose their first five games and certainly will get smacked in Happy Valley.

Man, the upcoming press conferences may be among the best comedy on TV this year. :slappy:
 
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