Write the Check Jack
By John Kelly
Football Reporters Online
Senior Writer-Midwest/Northeast Correspondent

Mr. Swarbrick, remove the checkbook from your dapper business suit and get it over with. Put that shiny ballpoint pen and University letterhead to use. Cut Charlie his check, list some replacements, and move forward.
Since 1996 Notre Dame football is no longer relevant. The Irish have garnered more tabloids than National Titles the last 15 years.

When Weis took over he claimed that his previous predecessors made excuses. However, he was only half right.
Bob Davie and Ty Willingham said the University no longer could recruit elite athletes because of academic rigors.
In 5 years Weis has disproven some excuses but not all of them. He brought in three top ten recruiting classes. His third was number one in the country. Skill players are loaded throughout the roster.

Weis recruited with the big boys and beat them out for blue chip talent. Manti Teo and Michael Floyd turned down powerhouses USC and Ohio State for an education and eventual football glory.

However, other demons have never seemed to cease from South Bend. An arduous schedule during the Davie and Willingham tenure saw better results than the watered down ones of last two years.

Davie opened his final season with a Nebraska team that played for the national title. Willingham closed his tenure beating two top ten teams Tennessee and Michigan. The Wolverines went to the Rose Bowl that year as well.

Weis is 1-10 versus ranked teams, 0-5 versus USC, 3-10 in November, and now 0-3 the last two years versus the lowly Big East. He opened his last two seasons with WAC teams and pounded another to eradicate a 7 game bowl-losing streak.
Weis has not had to play the SEC and Big 12 powers like his past predecessors and couldn’t get improved results with players twice as good.

The last two Senior Days have been disgraceful. Tears normally reserved for a final goodbye were wasted on inexcusable losses. After 4 years Senior Days were designed for a proper send off. Instead those seniors were pelted with snowballs and booed during their own Alma mater and 1812.

Weis never had a quality defense during his tenure in South Bend. The defense has been exposed repeatedly game after game. This year it has finally gotten out of control. Weis tried two new coordinators and brought in defensive genius Jon Tenuta.
Yet, all recruiting cycles never registered elite defensive ends or linebackers capable of running a dominant defense.
Every Quarterback has looked like Johnny Unitas versus this defense and they clearly lack the defensive skill or coaching to stop anybody. When Navy runs 40 yards up the middle consistently with a fullback then you are that bad.
Weis’s staff countered that by calling the Midshipmen classy and dirty.

Notre Dame has been the same story since Weis arrived. Yet, these deficiencies have reared their ugly head the last two years. The Irish put up gaudy offensive stats and 30 points in a lot of their contests and cannot come out on top.
Like in 2001 and 2004 the spotlight is on the Notre Dame AD.

When adversity stared former AD Kevin White in the face he panicked. George O’Leary resigned and Ty Willingham was unjustly cast as the next head coach. Charlie Weis debuted better than expected and name came NFL rumored fudges a ridiculous contract extension.

Its all on you Jackie boy and this move will make or break your alma mater. Again you intend to wait until the end of the year instead of acting now.

Didn’t your past predecessor make the same mistake? Don’t you remember him whiffing twice on his top candidates?
Mr. Swarbrick past history has always produced a sour outcome and this situation won’t be any different. Apply the ink on the page and inscribe the necessary zeros.

If you dare reach for anything make sure it’s your checkbook Jack. Not for another potential disastrous hire.
This time lets get it right.

FAT, ARROGANT, AND RUDE IS NO WAY TO GO THROUGH COACHING SIR

John Kelly
Football Reporters Online
Senior Writer
Midwest/Northeast Correspondent

Charlie Weis, John Tenuta, and Corwin Brown have you seen your midterm grades? In 2009 I’ve seen them.
Mr. Brown, great cornerback recruits, making every Quarterback look like a Heisman winner, and tight ends, torching an experienced secondary. Including one that plays intramurals at Annapolis? One C, two D’s, and an F congratulations you’re at the top of the pledge class.
Mr. Tenuta, 115 yard versus Nevada, game saving interceptions, 600 yards versus USC, and 348 yards on the ground against Navy. One C and three F’s what a great example you’ve set amongst outstanding credentials.
Mr. Weis a 34-31 loss to Michigan, a 34-27 loss to USC, and being defeated by service academies two of the last three years. Your grade point average is 0.2.
Fat, Arrogant, and Rude is no way to handle your self amongst the best fans in the country.
As a coaching unit combined, the last three years your GPA is 0.0. I want to repeat this to all your other assistants what I am about to tell you right now.

You’re expelled!!! ‘
Dismissed!!!
I want you to vacate the campus at the end of December.
I have also informed other desperate teams that you’re all now eligible for alternate employment.
After clearing the stadium last Saturday Notre Dame Nation resembled Dean Wormer. No doubt if these men could be tied up in a room surely fans would recite the classic movie line over and over.

Notre Dame’s fan base has become Dean Wormer and Director Jack Swarbrick has become Robert Hoover. ND Nation wants their charter revoked while Jack Swarbrick can grant them one more semester.

These next 3 games are the final stand of the Weis’s tenure. The firing parade can be crashed with a convincing win over Pittsburgh. Weis’s staff is more than capable of pulling off a Delta Tal Ki and winning out with two ranked teams remaining.
Like the spirit of Delta, Weis knows he is capable of pulling this off. With Jimmy Clausen, Golden Tate, Michael Floyd, and excellent offensive play calling there is a fighting chance.
How could you count them out?

Will Golden Tate or Brian Smith deliver the famous John Blutoski speech? Or are Weis’s days finally numbered along with his sick coaching buddies?
We will know Saturday night.
It wasn’t over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor. It will be over if the Panthers bomb the Irish.

Is Charlie Weis Coaching his bets Football Yet?

By The Gambler [J.Gamble]-contributing writer Football Reporters Online
 
Notre Dame’s come-from-behind 24-21 win over Purdue on Saturday was monumental for the Irish. Not that the opponent was of the ilk of a USC or Michigan. But Charlie Weiss finally showed up. He put his professional resume and arrogance aside and made a shrewd, game-changing move. The big guy earned that fat check this week.
 
The usually pass-happy coach used a combination of arms and legs, to complement the rare use of his heart and head, single-handedly saving ND’s season and possibly his job.  
 
Down 7-3 in the second quarter, Weis pulled the gunslinger Jimmy Clausen, who was suffering from turf toe and mixed in backup quarterback Dayne Crist in different formations, including the Wildcat.
 
Cristi served to be a poor man’s Tim Tebow for the Fighting Irish. He immediately injected a struggling ground game with some needed power, athleticism and energy, resulting in 136 second-quarter rushing yards. Weis deaded his overused passing attack and got back to Notre Dame Football, pounding the Irish to a 17-7 lead deep into the third quarter.
 
Weis brilliantly utilized the abilities of both quarterbacks, bringing Clausen in for some late heroics – a fourth-and-goal 2-yard bullet to Kyle Randolph with 25 seconds left -- to seal it.  
 
Weis finally humbled himself. He finally put bravado aside and did what he needed to do to win.
 
When he first came to South Bend as a highly touted ex-NFL coordinator, everyone kissed his tush because he was a disciple of the great Bill Belichick. Weis was the savior. He was going to return Notre Dame to prominence, after Tyron Willingham didn’t win enough.  And George O’Leary lied.
 
Weis went 19-6 his first two years. He architected the most prolific aerial attack in Irish history and rode a last second loss to USC and Matt Leinart to a new 10-year contract. It's well known that Weis is no social butterfly. He didn’t do the politically correct thing when he hit campus. He wasn’t handing out lollipops and name cards. He didn’t cozy up to ND alumni. He didn’t shake hands and attend the black suit fundraisers. It was tolerated, however, because Weis was winning.
 
But after an abysmal 3-9 season in 07’ followed by a subpar 7-6 in o8’, his act was wearing thin. Blaming the season on losing Brady Quinn to the NFL, didn’t sit well with some either. Bottom line was Weis was the leader of the first nine-loss season in Irish history. Like a bad nightmare. The Gerry Faust days reincarnated.
 
Naturally, as Weiss began to lose game after embarrassing game, his abrasive demeanor became a problem for some ND supporters, who quietly and publicly called for his dismissal. 
 
When Weiss was tabbed head honcho in 05’, the universal agreement was that at the very least he could coach players at the highest levels, was an offensive guru and had a championship pedigree. How he handled being the top dog was the unknown factor. The over-zealousness of his play calling and his inability or unwillingness [even worse] to make in-game adjustments has already tarnished what could be a perfect record for the 3-1 Irish. If Weiss even considered burning clock and running the ball down the stretch against Michigan -- instead of arrogantly thinking Clausen was Drew Brees in the dome – his team would be undefeated.
 
Weiss had visions of creating Air Notre Dame. But he doesn’t recruit speed like LSU and his defenses are not as athletic as Alabama. I was wondering when he was going to realize this and play to the strengths of his team. Mix it up a bit. On Saturday, Weiss finally made the adjustments great coaches make to put their teams in the best position to win.  
 
The significance of it probably flew under the radar of most. But it was the most important game of Weis’ head coaching career. It also convinced me that he does have what it takes to make Notre Dame a juggernaut again. Having talented players can be fixed through recruiting. Strategies and schemes can be tweaked from week to week. The one thing Notre Dame couldn’t fix was Weis’ ego. Seems he’s got that in check too. 


Browns welcome Brady Quinn home
By TOM WITHERS
AP Sports Writer

AP PHOTO/TONY DEJAK
Cleveland Browns' Brady Quinn , right, arrives along with his girlfriend, Lindy Slinger, at the Cleveland Browns facility, Sunday, April 29, 2007, in Berea, Ohio.
BEREA, Ohio — Brady Quinn stepped out from behind the black limousine's tinted windows into brilliant Sunday sunshine. He wore blue jeans, a zippered windbreaker and a Browns baseball cap. He was dressed casually, if not for the occasion.

"I think he was just worn out from wearing that suit all day yesterday," said tackle Joe Thomas, Quinn's new teammate.

One day after his stunning slide in the first round became the biggest story of the NFL draft, Quinn began a new chapter in his storied football career.

Passed over by 20 other teams, Quinn was introduced at a news conference by the Browns, the team he dreamed of playing for as a kid and the one who passed over him to take Thomas at No. 3 before trading up to select Notre Dame's golden-armed quarterback.

Quinn spent four agonizing hours Saturday waiting in the wings at Radio City Music Hall for his name to be called. With national TV cameras trained on him sitting backstage, he smiled and tried to make the best of an awkward situation as team after team chose other players.

Booed at first, the draftniks on hand in New York began to sympathize with Quinn as the clock painfully ticked on.

"It's the Notre Dame quarterback thing, love 'em or hate 'em," Quinn said.

The biggest day of his life quickly became a nightmare for the 22-year-old, who ran around his backyard as a boy pretending he was Browns iconic QB Bernie Kosar slinging touchdown passes in front of an imaginary Dawg Pound.

But just when it couldn't get bleaker, the Browns saved Quinn. They gave Dallas a second-round pick this year and first-round pick in 2008 to move up and take Quinn with the 22nd pick.

Now, it's Quinn's turn to save the Browns, who have been mostly luckless losers in the eight years since their expansion return.



He's ready for the challenge.
"I'm accustomed to coming into a new situation and changing the attitudes and the way people think," he said. "I want to change the way people feel in the fourth quarter when there are two minutes left and we have the ball at the 20. I think it's a big thing that people don't understand.

"You have to keep believing. It's never OK to lose."

Quinn's free fall through the first round may have damaged more than his reputation. It likely cost him more than $25 million in guaranteed money, a fact he dismissed as easily as sidestepping a blitzing linebacker.

"If you are successful in the NFL, you're going to make money," he said. "It's not a big deal. I'm not a guy who comes from a lot of money. I'm a blue-collar, hardworking kid and for me it's a dream to be drafted in the first round."

Quinn came to Sunday's affair not thinking he needed to dress up. But when he saw Thomas, who skipped a draft-day trip to New York to go fishing, in a pinstriped suit, Quinn broke out a sport coat, slacks and tie.

His decision to change delayed the news conference.

"We thought it would be his girlfriend getting ready," joked general manager Phil Savage. "We made you wait yesterday, and you made us wait today."

Quinn will be looked upon as a savior in Cleveland, expected to carry the Browns back to greatness.

He's used to the heavy lifting. As Notre Dame's starting QB for four years, every move he made was scrutinized by the school's worldwide fan base. There may be no tougher job in college football - other than coaching the Fighting Irish - than quarterbacking them.

Quinn feels his pressure-packed collegiate career will serve him well.

"Notre Dame prepared me as best as it could have," he said. "When you look at the aspects of playing nationally televised games and the competition week in and week out. I was dealing with the media from Day 1. Obviously, there were times in my career where we started losing and that's when you feel the heat.

"I've been through the fire and adversity, and that's a positive for me."

Another plus was playing under coach Charlie Weis, who before going to Notre Dame helped develop Tom Brady into a Pro Bowl quarterback and Super Bowl champion as New England's offensive coordinator.

Although the Browns are months away from possibly naming Quinn their starter, Weis believes it's a foregone conclusion.

"I don't think this guy has to go to a program and be groomed for a year," Weis said. "If there was ever a quarterback who was ready to go for the last two years, it's him. He's got hammered in the last two years by me so he can take it by anybody."

Not long after being picked by the Browns, Quinn was whisked to Cleveland in one of owner Randy Lerner's private jets. He arrived at the team's headquarters late Saturday night, weary from a long, emotional day.

But when he walked through the front doors for the first time as a Brown, all the anxiety and embarrassment he may have felt in New York were replaced by a soothing calm. Quinn knew he was home.

"It felt amazing," he said. "In the draft, after I got passed by the Browns, I didn't think they were going to come back and get me.

"Once I got here, it felt real."