An Open letter to Charlie

[mick2]

Dear Charlie,

Everything i have read, heard, or seen about you this week has been pretty negative. The media, and unfortunately some fans and alumni act as if You have already lost and You are basically already fired.

They have already named your replacement, or should i say replacements and our coaching staff next year will look something like this.

John Gruden, Brian Kelly, Gary Patterson, urban meyer, nick saban, pat fitzgerald, jim harbaugh, and chris peterson.

Heck with a staff like that i am tempted to join them in their neverending quest to fire you.

But I am not one who follows the crowd just so i fit in. I have Defended you Charlie, even through times where you have gave me no reason to(syracuse & navy). But i can see what you are building, i can see the way your players respond to you. And I can see why firing you would not help anything.

Your Mission took a step back this past saturday against navy, but this saturday gives you the opportunity to take 2 huge steps forward.

I wish you luck, and always know that you at least have one loyal(maybe blindly) fan out there in me, call me crazy, call me stupid, call me whatever you want,(i might deserve it after this weekend) But I believe In Charlie!

GO IRISH!!!! BEAT PITT!!!!!!!!

 

[devolg]

Agreed

 

[no.1IrishFan]

Dear Charlie,

Everything i have read, heard, or seen about you this week has been pretty negative. The media, and unfortunately some fans and alumni act as if You have already lost and You are basically already fired.

They have already named your replacement, or should i say replacements and our coaching staff next year will look something like this.

John Gruden, Brian Kelly, Gary Patterson, urban meyer, nick saban, pat fitzgerald, jim harbaugh, and chris peterson.

Heck with a staff like that i am tempted to join them in their neverending quest to fire you.

But I am not one who follows the crowd just so i fit in. I have Defended you Charlie, even through times where you have gave me no reason to(syracuse & navy). But i can see what you are building, i can see the way your players respond to you. And I can see why firing you would not help anything.

Your Mission took a step back this past saturday against navy, but this saturday gives you the opportunity to take 2 huge steps forward.

I wish you luck, and always know that you at least have one loyal(maybe blindly) fan out there in me, call me crazy, call me stupid, call me whatever you want,(i might deserve it after this weekend) But I believe In Charlie!
GO IRISH!!!! BEAT PITT!!!!!!!!

I'm pretty sure almost all of us believed in Charlie and wanted him to do great things at ND. I really like CW and hate to see him fail but it is only because of my love for ND that I think it's time to look elsewhere. I think there is a misunderstanding in the reasoning behind some of us wanting a new coach. Some of us think that a new head coach would be able to utilze talent and progress the level of play from our athletes better. I have always pulled for CW to succeed at ND but one look at the stats prove that he is not the caliber of college coach that we are all seeking. I think it is even more evident with the amount of talent we currently have, if we did not have superioir talent to most of the teams we play I could excuse it.

 

[choo choo]

thanks mick

 

[wahoo]

I have supported CW until this year. The team is way to inconsistant and I am very disturbed by the lack of defense since CW took over the program. Charlie has developed an outstanding passing offense but it will take more than that for the Irish to rise to the top again.

 

[Master Guns]

Great Post Mick.

 

[alleycat9]

make sure that you mention the fact that half our team are [REDACTED], half cant tackle probably because they dont practice it (not that i know what they do or dont practice, but the results are those of a team that doesnt practice it)

also remind him how important discipline and toughness are... and motivation of kids.

yeah if he can do those basic things he may just may have a chance, but he is too smart to listen to you. after all he has rings.


i was the biggest of all charlie fans when he was hired here, i wanted him to be the coach of the jets whom he had recently coached for under parcells.... i knew he was going to turn things around in south bend... then he had that first season and i like just about everyone else was singing his praises... oh the tackling and that stuff will get coached and this will be an elite program again. but here i sit 5 years later and it is quite evident that the big things that it takes to be a winning football coach are not taking place.


edit what was redacted should have read - scared of contact- my apologies for the improper terminology.

 

[WabashFalcon]

make sure that you mention the fact that half our team are [REDACTED], half cant tackle probably because they dont practice it (not that i know what they do or dont practice, but the results are those of a team that doesnt practice it)

also remind him how important discipline and toughness are... and motivation of kids.

yeah if he can do those basic things he may just may have a chance, but he is too smart to listen to you. after all he has rings.


i was the biggest of all charlie fans when he was hired here, i wanted him to be the coach of the jets whom he had recently coached for under parcells.... i knew he was going to turn things around in south bend... then he had that first season and i like just about everyone else was singing his praises... oh the tackling and that stuff will get coached and this will be an elite program again. but here i sit 5 years later and it is quite evident that the big things that it takes to be a winning football coach are not taking place.

I'm sick of your over the top negative bitching. I'm really close to calling for the banhammer of God to rain down.

 

[03euroSVT]

Great Post Mick

 

[Skuch22]

Nice post man ur not the only fan supporting Charlie Hopefully they win these last 3 games and shut people up about this fire Charlie BS
Beat Pitt

 

[GO IRISH!!!]

Great freakin' post Mick!

 

[tankjeep]

nice post mick. go irish beat pitt!

 

[South Bender]

I think it should just be stated to all those who want Charlie gone... where does it end? We ditched the Davie Experiment and Project Willingham and survived a colossal embarassment with the O'Leary scandal in between. Weis has brought in an attitude and whether or not you want to admit it, he is building something here. I can feel it, like I could never feel it with Ty, or Davie, or in Holtz's final couple of years. I would be willing to bet anyone that the Irish, with the talent pipeline that Charlie has installed, will be in a position to compete with anyone for years to come. We just need to believe.

Go Irish

 

[SteelerNation]

Dear Chuck,

Get the bags packed, son because your stay in South Bend is about to come to an end. And you can take your one win over a team who finished the season ranked in 5 years as a catalyst for your new job.

Signed,

90% of Notre Dame fans.

 

[tankjeep]

dear chuck,

ignore steelernation cuz he doesn't know when tim brown actually played for the irish and he beats up on small deer (with great legs).

signed,
the tank

 

[bliv711]

Here would be MY open letter to Charlie:
Dear Charlie,
Thank you for your time here at Notre Dame. I’m saddened that the relationship must end this way, but it is business after all.
Before you go, I have several questions for you. First off, I am a retired and disabled military officer. If my soldiers screwed up, I held them accountable like a twitch in my dick. If I screwed up, I let my soldiers know…otherwise the trust factor was gone. The biggest thing was if my soldier’s lost a battle because of a lack of training or because of my orders, then it was on me. I hope you can learn…the old cliché’ applies here…the Captain must go down with his ship.
Charlie, why did you go for it on 4th and 10, early in the first quarter against a team that has played us very tough for the past several years? Whether intentional or not, you showed the defense you had no confidence in them. That set the tone for the rest of the game. I believe the offense has known all season you had faith in them. Some say that having the right frame of mind in football is half the battle. The sound strategy would have been to punt the ball, hoping to pin Navy deep in its territory…then wiping that dumbfounded look off your face long enough to go fire that defensive unit up with a smack of some helmets. These kids need that…look at Pete Carroll…I think one of his keys to success is just that…he interacts will all players in an emotional way. With that added emotion, the defense would have stopped Navy deep in its territory and been fired up after that.
Do you feel bad that you brought all this talent to South Bend…have been given two years more than your predecessor, yet still have the same winning percentage (if you lose to Pitt) as him? Shoot, your predecessor had an average of the 18th strongest schedule during his tenure…yours is not even in the top 40 (according to Sagarin). Are you doing this talent any favors? Don’t you feel responsible for the lack of development of this talent? Is it FAIR to bring this level of talent in under the guise you will set many of them up for the NFL only for you to crap the bed with them time after time?
Does it upset you that with the high level of talent, and your amazing coaching prowess, that you let teams like Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Boston College hang around and at times win? Yeah, you took USC to the final play…good for you…you should have………..that is the ONLY team on our schedule in the same league talent wise. You remind me a TON of Bill Callahan…back to a coordinator position for you.
Your argument that you took ND to two BCS games is tired by now. LSU and Ohio State exposed your coaching during those games. ND was there because ND=money…not because the BCS officials felt ND even had the slightest chance in those games. It’s just business Chuck.
If my soldiers were losing faith or worse yet losing battles because of me, I would have done the honorable thing and gone to my superiors for a replacement. You should do the right thing and resign. Don’t lie and say it’s a health issue…just resign. Yes, losing a coach can set a program back a few years, but in this case, although the pain will be felt next season, it will also get the program on track over the long run with the right hire. Not trying to throw a zinger, but Charlie, I see NO progress from last year. Although I always cheer for the Irish as an alum, I see a 7-5 record at best, and would not be surprised to see a 6-6…UConn has a running game……
Thanks and good luck.

 

[HereComeTheIrish]

Well said, Mick!!! Reps to you.

 

[kmoose]

but Charlie, I see NO progress from last year.

I'm curious about something, here. Are you that blinded by your hatred for the guy, or are you just blind?

 

[sportallyr]

Mick, great post.

I, for one, would keep my letter short and sweet.

Charlie, you absolutely must win 2 of these final 3 games. 8-4 buys you another year. 7-5 gets you canned. Be prepared and have the kids ready...these will be 3 difficult games. Go Irish!!!

Sport

 

[jmurphy75]

Love the post Mick, way to keep it positive!

 

[NDinL.A.]

Dear Chuck,

Get the bags packed, son because your stay in South Bend is about to come to an end. And you can take your one win over a team who finished the season ranked in 5 years as a catalyst for your new job.

Signed,

90% of Notre Dame fans.

That's simply not true. Yes, there is a large portion of ND fans who want CW fired (and they do have good points to argue), but it's not 90%. Waaaayyyyy less. Nice try though.

Listen to both sides of the argument, and both sides have really good points. My take? Wait until the season plays out, then let's start talking about who's getting fired and who's replacing who, etc. All we are doing is hurting the program and the players within with all this speculation. Tonight will say a lot about Charlie, the players, and the program...

 

[DCirishfan]

Dear Charlie:

I will be rooting like hell for you to win tonight. That said you have brought a fair amount of shame and sadness to my sports life and life in general. Your constant unprepared and underachieving teams can't be described at times as anything less than disgraceful. I really don't care how high Rivals rates your recruiting classes losing the way you have lost to the teams you have lost to have made you an unwelcome person in my book. The ridicule faithful ND fans like my self who rock the shamrock no matter what the outcome makes me very angry. At times I thought I might turn the corner on you as I hoped your tenure could be salvaged. Then you lose to a service academy or Syracuse or play a national game where you get 1 first down or lose by 40 pts in a BCS game, etc.

It sucks to feel this way, and I hope more than everything that there is some way that you can get our boys to rise up and beat down Mark Mays overrated team tonight. I would so much like to have my mind changed and be proven to be premature in my conclusion. BEAT PITT IN FRONT OF THE NATION

ERIN GO BRAGHLESS
GO IRISH!

 

[DCirishfan]

That's simply not true. Yes, there is a large portion of ND fans who want CW fired (and they do have good points to argue), but it's not 90%. Waaaayyyyy less. Nice try though.

Listen to both sides of the argument, and both sides have really good points. My take? Wait until the season plays out, then let's start talking about who's getting fired and who's replacing who, etc. All we are doing is hurting the program and the players within with all this speculation. Tonight will say a lot about Charlie, the players, and the program...

I agree with 90 % being too hight ( maybe ) but seriously it's really hard to look at a tenure that includes two losses to navy and 3 losses to service academies in 3 years and still feel that the jury is out, just saying................

 

[ShamrockOnHelmet]

Yes, there is a large portion of ND fans who want CW fired (and they do have good points to argue), but it's not 90%. Waaaayyyyy less.

Yeah, but its more than 50. And that speaks volumes.

 

[enrico514]

That's simply not true. Yes, there is a large portion of ND fans who want CW fired (and they do have good points to argue), but it's not 90%. Waaaayyyyy less. Nice try though.

Listen to both sides of the argument, and both sides have really good points. My take? Wait until the season plays out, then let's start talking about who's getting fired and who's replacing who, etc. All we are doing is hurting the program and the players within with all this speculation. Tonight will say a lot about Charlie, the players, and the program...

Couldn't agree with you more.

 

[NDisme]

when u gunna man up steeler... Tim Brown, im never letting that one go you fool!

Dear Chuck,

Get the bags packed, son because your stay in South Bend is about to come to an end. And you can take your one win over a team who finished the season ranked in 5 years as a catalyst for your new job.

Signed,

90% of Notre Dame fans.

 

[Skuch22]

R u guys serious that steelernation didn't know when Tim Brown played?!

 

[mick2]

R u guys serious that steelernation didn't know when Tim Brown played?!

that should warrant an automatic ban. quite possibly the best player in ND modern history and you dont know when he played? that my friends tells me you do not know much.

this steelernation guy seems like a front runnin troll

 

[enrico514]

Here would be MY open letter to Charlie:
Dear Charlie,
Thank you for your time here at Notre Dame. I’m saddened that the relationship must end this way, but it is business after all.
Before you go, I have several questions for you. First off, I am a retired and disabled military officer. If my soldiers screwed up, I held them accountable like a twitch in my dick. If I screwed up, I let my soldiers know…otherwise the trust factor was gone. The biggest thing was if my soldier’s lost a battle because of a lack of training or because of my orders, then it was on me. I hope you can learn…the old cliché’ applies here…the Captain must go down with his ship.
Charlie, why did you go for it on 4th and 10, early in the first quarter against a team that has played us very tough for the past several years? Whether intentional or not, you showed the defense you had no confidence in them. That set the tone for the rest of the game. I believe the offense has known all season you had faith in them. Some say that having the right frame of mind in football is half the battle. The sound strategy would have been to punt the ball, hoping to pin Navy deep in its territory…then wiping that dumbfounded look off your face long enough to go fire that defensive unit up with a smack of some helmets. These kids need that…look at Pete Carroll…I think one of his keys to success is just that…he interacts will all players in an emotional way. With that added emotion, the defense would have stopped Navy deep in its territory and been fired up after that.
Do you feel bad that you brought all this talent to South Bend…have been given two years more than your predecessor, yet still have the same winning percentage (if you lose to Pitt) as him? Shoot, your predecessor had an average of the 18th strongest schedule during his tenure…yours is not even in the top 40 (according to Sagarin). Are you doing this talent any favors? Don’t you feel responsible for the lack of development of this talent? Is it FAIR to bring this level of talent in under the guise you will set many of them up for the NFL only for you to crap the bed with them time after time?
Does it upset you that with the high level of talent, and your amazing coaching prowess, that you let teams like Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Boston College hang around and at times win? Yeah, you took USC to the final play…good for you…you should have………..that is the ONLY team on our schedule in the same league talent wise. You remind me a TON of Bill Callahan…back to a coordinator position for you.
Your argument that you took ND to two BCS games is tired by now. LSU and Ohio State exposed your coaching during those games. ND was there because ND=money…not because the BCS officials felt ND even had the slightest chance in those games. It’s just business Chuck.
If my soldiers were losing faith or worse yet losing battles because of me, I would have done the honorable thing and gone to my superiors for a replacement. You should do the right thing and resign. Don’t lie and say it’s a health issue…just resign. Yes, losing a coach can set a program back a few years, but in this case, although the pain will be felt next season, it will also get the program on track over the long run with the right hire. Not trying to throw a zinger, but Charlie, I see NO progress from last year. Although I always cheer for the Irish as an alum, I see a 7-5 record at best, and would not be surprised to see a 6-6…UConn has a running game……
Thanks and good luck.

Like you I've questioned his play calling and decisions on more than one occasion. Then again I've done the same for most Hall of Fame caliber coaches on the collegiate and pro level. But I have to ask you... do you realize OSU and LSU went on to win the NC the season after we played them in BCS Bowl games??? As for Pete Carroll. Yeah, he does have to a cool personality but the key to his success has been the talent at USC. Actually, as a coach, even with his as you put it emotional interactions, he has lost more than one game that he shouldn't have and he's had a number of victories that were tighter than they should have been. ND, in the last couple of years hasn't had the talent in most likely had when you were there. You are SIGNIFICANTLY mistaking when you think we should have been within one play of beating USC and you are ignoring the fact that Michigan arguably has more talent than ND. I'd also like to point out that both MSU and Purdue have had higher ranked classes than ND in the recent past. That brings me to my favorite golf pro. I would never compared CW to Ty. Wether or not CW ends up being a bad/good/great coach, he will leave this program in significantly better shape than he found it when his tenure started.

 

[TDHeysus]

Dont listen to the hate CW, there are still ppl out there who has your back

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