Is Charlie Weis Coaching his best Football Yet?

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.