Posted on Fri, Dec. 17, 2004
Weis begins to scramble for talent
Irish coach working to secure recruits, assistants
By Todd D. Burlage
The Journal Gazette
Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis is wasting no time working toward his promises to quickly assemble a top-notch coaching staff and to hit the recruiting trail with a passion and aggression not seen in some time around South Bend.
Several published reports indicate Weis has his coaching cross hairs set on former Ole Miss head coach David Cutcliffe as his offensive coordinator and Virginia assistant Al Golden as his defensive coordinator.
They are two potential coaching candidates who national recruiting analyst Tom Lemming said would bring a wealth of knowledge to their duties and a needed energy to recruiting.
“I think he is going to put together a really aggressive recruiting staff, which will be the first one they have had since the mid-1980s,” Lemming said.
In a contentious move, Cutcliffe was fired as the head coach at Ole Miss on Dec. 1 after finishing 4-7 this season.
Before that, he led the Rebels to five consecutive winning seasons, including a Cotton Bowl berth with Eli Manning as the team’s quarterback in 2003.
Before coaching at Ole Miss, Cutcliffe established himself at Tennessee as one of the top offensive coordinators in the country by tutoring future pro quarterbacks Heath Shuler, Peyton Manning and Tee Martin.
If Cutcliffe comes to Notre Dame, he is expected to bring John Latina with him as offensive line coach. Latina was the offensive coordinator under Cutcliffe at Ole Miss, where Eli Manning and three other Rebels offensive players were selected in the NFL draft in 2003.
Latina was introduced as the offensive line coach at South Carolina last week, but he left that position Wednesday, two days after Weis was hired at Notre Dame.
The S.C. News Network reported that Latina is interested in Notre Dame in order to be reunited with Cutcliffe and former Ole Miss assistant Rich Bisaccia, who is also reportedly a candidate to be hired as a Notre Dame assistant.
Although Notre Dame is not commenting on the coaching staff search, South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier might have inadvertently shed some light on the situation.
“I can understand the opportunity John Latina is pursuing,” Spurrier said when asked about Latina’s leaving. “He is going to have a chance to be reunited with some coaches he has worked with before, and we wish him all the best.”
Weis indicated during his news conference that “camaraderie” would be an important consideration when building his staff. These three long-time friends and colleagues seem to fit the formula on the offensive side of the ball.
“Because if you don’t have a staff that has camaraderie, and everyone is going in a different direction, you don’t have much of a chance,” Weis said.
Golden was mentioned early as a possible candidate to become the new defensive coordinator at Notre Dame. The high-energy 35-year-old is regarded as one of the best recruiters in the country and one of the most coveted young coaches in the business.
“He’s a fantastic recruiter; diligent, personable, smart,” said Lemming, a recruiting analyst for USAprep.com and ESPN.com. “He is a big-time guy when it comes to recruiting.
“The thing Notre Dame needs to do is pay these guys what they deserve. They have always underpaid their assistants. They won’t be able to do that this time.”
Golden was reportedly offered a $40,000 raise this week to stay at Virginia, which would bring his annual salary to $220,000.
Virginia head coach Al Groh, who worked with Weis at South Carolina in college and the Giants, Patriots and Jets in the NFL, tried to dispel rumors of Golden’s possible departure, telling the Richmond Times-Dispatch on Wednesday that he expects his coaching staff to remain intact next season.
“Who’s to say that what everybody is saying is fact?” he said of the speculation.
Lemming said that Weis has been recruiting non-stop since he was named head coach Monday, making phone calls and trying to set up visits for the busy January recruiting period before national signing day Feb. 2.
Most of the phone calls were to recruits already orally committed to Notre Dame but who are wavering somewhat because the firing of former coach Tyrone Willingham, Lemming said.
Some other calls were placed to top undecided recruits. Dan Doering, the most sought-after offensive lineman in the country, was contacted by Weis this week. It might be a long shot in landing Doering, who is being recruited by nearly every top-10 team in the country.
“The kids are apprehensive,” Lemming said. “They don’t know much about (Weis) yet. I think they are just kind of taking a sit-back-and-wait attitude on it.”
David Bruton, a defensive back out of Miamisburg, Ohio, and a Notre Dame recruit, said it was “reassuring” to have Weis call him.
“It was just nice to hear from (Weis). It said a lot about him to take the time to call during a busy time,” said Bruton, who remains committed to Notre Dame but has entertained other offers since Willingham was fired. “We talked about what we both expected, and he offered his opinions on what he wanted from me. It was a good visit.”
At this point, only defensive back Brandon Harrison of Dayton has retracted his commitment to Notre Dame. Lawrence Wilson, a defensive end from Akron also retracted his oral commitment and is shopping around, but he is still considering Notre Dame.
Those departures drop the number of committed recruits for next season from 12 to 10.
