Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Is Charlie Weis overrated?
02/21/06
Charlie Weis became head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football program last year amidst much fanfare. This was largely due to the fact that in 15 years as an assistant coach in the NFL, Weis had been part of four Super Bowl championships and had helped develop the careers of such superstars as Tom Brady, Deion Branch, Keyshawn Johnson, and Curtis Martin. When the '78 ND grad agreed to return to his alma mater, Irish players, fans, and alumni could only hope that he would bring the same kind of success to South Bend.
They didn't have to wait long for Weis to deliver results. A convincing 42-21 victory over #23 Pitt in the season opener followed a week later by a 17-10 triumph against bitter-rival Michigan (then ranked #3) had the Irish faithful talking about possible bowl bids way back in September. After Notre Dame cruised to a win against #22 Purdue a couple of weeks later, many sports analysts picked the Irish to upset #1 USC in their October 15 meeting. Even though the Trojans were able to escape South Bend with their perfect record intact thanks to a last-second touchdown, Weis' status as Notre Dame's newest savior was sealed.
At the same time, however, Weis' critics started becoming more and more vocal, especially when the university gave the coach a 10-year contract extension less than two months into the season. Comparisons to predecessor Ty Willingham inevitably arose, and the attacks began. Willingham got off to an 8-0 start in his first season at Notre Dame; Weis was 7-2. Weis was winning with players that Willingham helped recruit (including Brady Quinn) or develop. The combined record of the seven teams Notre Dame had beaten at that point was a sub-par 17-24. In other words, Weis was overrated.
Weis' supporters point to the fact that Quinn never got going in Willingham's offense. In 2004 under Willingham, Quinn threw for 2586 yards and 17 touchdowns. In 2005 with Weis, Quinn threw for an incredible 3919 yards and 32 touchdowns, putting him at number three in the nation in both categories. The critics countered that this could be due as much to the natural course of Quinn's development and maturity as an upperclassman than anything special that Weis did. They pointed to a similar jump in statistical output from Texas' Vince Young, who threw for 1849 yards and 12 touchdowns in '04 as a sophomore, then came back and threw for 3036 yards and 26 touchdowns in '05 as a junior.
So what's the correct assessment of Weis? Well, just as it's not fair to credit the new coach with every single statistical improvement shown by the team and players, it's not fair to deny him the credit by passing those improvements off as the expected consequences of player maturity.
In addition, the total measure of a coach's value to the team is not to be found in records and stats alone. Coaches bring a certain amount of "intangibles" to the table, just as players do. In Weis' case, it's the intangibles that separate him from his colleagues and make him deserving of all the accolades he has received. Weis has had the respect of his players from Day One, and that's not something that every coach can lay claim to. It's because of Weis that Quinn will return to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for his senior season, thereby giving the Irish a realistic shot at the National Championship. It's because of Weis that 10 of the top 150 high school prospects in the country will be playing ball at Notre Dame next season. It's because of Weis that the Notre Dame football program will be in the national spotlight for the entire 2006 season.
Taking all of this into consideration, it seems that the use of the term "overrated" is not justified in Weis' case.
