ESPN REPORT: The Notre Dame Fighting Irish Head Coach is Being Fired Due to….
SOUTH BEND, INDIA — Charlie Weis showed up at Notre Dame brandishing his Super Bowl ring and boasting about his ability to outwit rivals. He departs from the most esteemed collegiate football program without even matching the stats of the two players who were let go before him.
At a press conference on campus, athletic director Jack Swarbrick revealed the decision to let Weis go on Monday and stated that the university had not gotten in touch with any possible candidates.
The process of finding a new coach will start right away and be completed “as fast as we possibly can,” according to Swarbrick.
Weis’s dismissal appeared imminent as Notre Dame (6-6) concluded the season on a four-game losing run, despite the athletic director’s insistence to the contrary.
There was a significant disconnect between the coach’s loud persona and personal manner, Swarbrick added. “For many of you who may have thought that was a foregone conclusion, I would say to you that the decision was harder than you might have thought, principally because of the man it involved.” He added that on Monday, Weis had given him a call to check on the AD.
With six years remaining on his contract, Swarbrick suggested to Notre Dame president Rev. John Jenkins on Sunday night that Weis be fired. Among coaches who spent at least three years at the institution, Weis finishes with the third-worst record in five seasons, having gone 35-27.
“He’ll add some Super Bowl rings to the ones he already has as a successful coordinator in the NFL and we will miss him,” Swarbrick stated. But now is the time for us to go on. It is imperative that we compete at the top level for our program, as well as for its standing in the institution and college football landscape, so let’s get started. that we fight for titles at the national level.”
The decision to terminate Weis, according to Swarbrick, was more of a “evolution,” with Weis knowing where the decision was going. Following Saturday’s season-ending defeat at Stanford, Swarbrick informed Weis of the advice he intended to provide Jenkins, and during the return flight, they continued their conversation.
“So there wasn’t a point in time so much as it was a conversation throughout the evening,” Swarbrick explained.
Until a new coach is appointed, Swarbrick stated, assistant head coach Rob Ianello—who also serves as Notre Dame’s recruiting coordinator—will be in charge of football operations. Ianello has been a member of Notre Dame’s staff for the last five seasons.
Since the team’s return from Stanford, Weis has not met with them, but he has communicated with a few players.
Weis has hinted that he would attend the team banquet on Friday night, according to star receiver Golden Tate. Weis might attend, according to university spokesperson John Heisler, who also stated he would be welcomed.
Center Eric Olsen expressed his shock at Weis’s termination.
“It’s tough for me with my personal relationship with Coach Weis,” he stated. “But I know he’s going to be fine.”
Regarding whether the junior should declare for the NFL draft, Tate stated that he, his family, and Weis will have a meeting on Friday. Tate reported that Weis will speak with quarterback Jimmy Clausen on Friday as well.
After the termination was made public on Monday, Olsen claimed he texted Weis, to which Weis replied.
Olsen recalled, “He was like, ‘Don’t worry about it. “It’s a tough thing to swallow.”
Although Swarbrick has stated he wants to speak with the players before determining if Notre Dame will advance to a minor postseason game, the Fighting Irish are qualified to participate in a bowl game.
After a 6-2 start to the season, Notre Dame’s winless November started with Navy’s second upset in three years. Next followed defeats in double overtime against Connecticut and Pittsburgh on South Bend’s senior day. By the time Stanford defeated the Irish, there was much conjecture as to Weis’s potential replacement.
Two of the top players listed, Bob Stoops of Oklahoma and Urban Meyer of Florida, have already declared their intention to remain in their current positions. During a Monday conference call, Stoops stated: “I can’t be at two places at once because I’m going to Oklahoma next year.”
It has also been mentioned that Jim Harbaugh of Stanford, Gary Patterson of TCU, and Brian Kelly of Cincinnati are.
According to sources who spoke with ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, Weis has informed individuals in South Bend that he has had offers to serve as offensive coordinator for about six NFL teams for the upcoming season.
Todd Haley, the coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, maintained on Monday that Weis has not been approached by the organization about joining the staff. Weis and Haley were coworkers with the New York Jets as assistants. When Weis was the offensive coordinator in New England, the Patriots’ vice president of player personnel was Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli.
Contrary to claims that the Chiefs had already approached Weis about a position, Haley stated that the coaching staff changes for the Chiefs (3-8) will not occur until after the season.
“I can say with clear conscience there’s been no contact,” Haley stated. Placing this team in the greatest possible position to achieve every day and every week is the main priority in this building. Concerning personnel, that would be a responsibility I would have to decide upon.”
Upon joining the NFL champion New England Patriots, Weis was an assured offensive coordinator. His two seasons of consecutive BCS bowl appearances in his first two seasons elevated Irish hopes.
However, Notre Dame has lost 16 of its last 21 games, which is a record for the Irish over a three-year period.
Compared to his two fired predecessors, Bob Davie and Tyrone Willingham, Weis has a worse record. Now, Notre Dame is searching for its fifth head coach of the past ten years.
Midway through his debut season, Weis was handed a new 10-year contract. This came just after a nail-biting game between Notre Dame and top-ranked USC that concluded with a 34-31 loss.
Reggie Bush and the powerful Trojans gave the Notre Dame supporters hope that they had found a coach who could take the program back to its former glory, despite the fact that the Irish lost despite playing very evenly with Matt Leinart. More than any other institution, the Fighting Irish have won eight AP national crowns; however, none since 1988.
Still, the USC defeat ended up being the high point of the Weis administration. For the legions of Fighting Irish fans throughout the country, Weis’ final three seasons in South Bend were particularly agonizing because his career had started off so brightly.
When Jeff Samardzija, Brady Quinn, and other important players left in 2007, the Irish were winless for the first time in school history. Just three years after Weis declared at his inaugural news conference that “we have the greatest advantage” when it comes to X’s and O’s, they ended 3-9 and ranked worst in the NCAA in total offense.
When the Irish began to lose, Weis’s Jersey mentality became annoying to Notre Dame supporters, who had applauded his brashness while he was winning. Many even called him conceited.
In a recurrence of his remarks upon taking the position, the now-former coach stated the day following the Connecticut defeat that he would find it difficult to defend his firing on the grounds that “6-5 is not good enough.”
