Hours after a press releaseconfirmed that Charlie Weiswould not return for a sixthyear as Notre Dame’s headcoach, director of athletics JackSwarbrick said at a press con-ference Monday “it’s time tomove forward.”“It is critical to this program

and to its place in this Univer-sity and college football that wecompete at the highest level,that we compete for NationalChampionships,” Swarbricksaid. “And as we go out nowand begin our search, that isour focus, in finding the rightindividual to lead Notre Dameback to place of prominence incollege football. The Universityis better when we do that, col-lege football is better when wedo that, and the student ath-letes who call this place homeare better when we do that.”Swarbrick said the decision

to fire Weis was ultimatelyhanded down after he made anofficial recommendation to Uni-versity President Fr. John Jenk-ins Sunday night, a day afterNotre Dame’s fourth consecu-tive defeat, a 45-38 loss atStanford, dropped the Irish to6-6. Swarbrick said Weis hadbeen informed of his recom-mendation on Saturday night,and that the entire teamlearned of the decision at ameeting Monday.Though Monday’s announce-

ment was not unexpected,Swarbrick said his final deci-sion was not an easy one tomake.

“For many of you who mayhave thought that was a fore-gone conclusion, I would say toyou that the decision washarder than you might havethought, principally because ofthe man it involved,” Swarbricksaid. “Those of us who had theopportunity to work closelywith Coach Weis or play forhim couldn’t help butdevelop a great affin-ity for him.“I hope we can find

somebody who lovesthis University asmuch as he did, does,and who cared asmuch about his stu-dent athletes as hedoes.”Swarbrick an-

nounced that until anew coach is hired, as-sistant head coachRob Ianello would as-sume the responsibil-ity for footballoperations. Ianelloserved as the wide re-ceivers coach and re-cruiting coordinatorand had previouslycoached at Wisconsin,Arizona and Alabama.“Rob is a skilled

coach and has alreadyplayed a central rolein coordinating our recruitingand I know will provide us withthe leadership we need goingforward between this period oftime and when we have a newcoach in place,” Swarbricksaid.Swarbrick did not offer a

timetable as to when he ex-pected to name Weis’ succes-sor, and he said he had not yet

begun to contact any potentialreplacements.“It'll have its own pace,”

Swarbrick said of the coachingsearch. “We’ll begin immedi-ately and move as expeditiouslyas we can. There is always thepossibility that Bowl commit-ments or other things play arole for some of the people

we're interested in, but we’ll gofull bore and close it as fast aswe possibly can.”Swarbrick said he has devel-

oped a list of criteria that willplay a large role in determiningwho will become Notre Dame’s29th head football coach. Hedid not offer specifics Monday,but he did say he would favorfor a proven college coach.

“I will say that it is importantto us to look first and foremostat people who have demon-strated an ability to build andsustain a Division I college foot-ball program,” Swarbrick said.Rampant media speculation

surrounding Weis’ job statusbegan following Notre Dame’s23-21 loss to Navy on Nov. 7.

The Irish defeat wasthe second in threeyears to the Midship-men, who had previ-ously lost 43 straightgames to Notre Damebefore breaking thestreak in 2007.The Irish never re-

covered, losing a hard-fought road game tohighly ranked Pitts-burgh, 27-22, the nextweek. Notre Damethen dropped its sec-ond straight SeniorDay game, 33-30 indouble overtime toConnecticut, on Nov.21, before heading toStanford for the sea-son finale.The season’s disap-

pointing ending cameafter a 6-2 start rekin-dled preseason predic-tions of a BCS berthfor the Irish. Swar-

brick said the sudden drop-offover the past four weeks playeda critical role in his decision.“As you look at the entire

course of the season, it led youto the conclusion that youcouldn’t have enough confi-dence that a jump up was im-minent, that you could knowwith sufficient certainty thatnext year’s results would be

significantly different,” Swar-brick said. “And so I think thatwas probably the tippingpoint.”Weis’ dismissal did not come

entirely as a surprise to theNotre Dame players, junior re-ceiver Golden Tate said Mon-day.“I knew that it was a possibil-

ity that he was leaving and Iknew it was a possibility hewas staying,” Tate said. “I tookthe approach of expecting theworst, but preparing for thebest. The administration madean educated decision and Ihave to support it. I’m in thisprogram and I’ve got to sup-port the decisions they makeand try to make this program abetter program.”Swarbrick had in recent

weeks denied a variety of re-ports suggesting Weis had beenterminated. Reports had sur-faced that Weis was fired be-fore the Connecticut game, andothers claimed he cleaned outhis office before the team’s tripto Stanford. None of those wereaccurate, Swarbrick reaffirmedMonday.“He made many contributions

to the University, importantthings which serve us in goodstead going forward,” Swar-brick said. “He demonstratedthat he can bring the very beststudent athletes to this campusand attract them to come hereto play football for Notre Dame,and he demonstrated that oncethey're here, they can have thefull success we expect fromstudent athletes.”

IAN GAVLICK/The Observer

At left, then-Irish coach Charlie Weis leaves the field after Saturday’s loss at Stanford. At right, Notre Dame director of athletics Jack Swarbrick speaks Monday.

Weis out after five seasons

INSIDE TODAY’S PAPER Irish Insider analysis pullout � Christmas music page 12 � Women’s soccer heads to semifinals page 24 � Viewpoint page 10

“As you look at the entirecourse of the season, it ledyou to the conclusion thatyou couldn’t have enoughconfidence that a jump upwas imminent, that you

could know with sufficientcertainty that next year’s

results would be significantly different.”

Jack Swarbrickdirector of athletics

By MATT GAMBERSports Editor

Contact Matt Gamber at mgamber@nd.edu

The worst-kept secret inSouth Bend is finally out of thebag.Around 3 p.m. Monday, Notre

Dame students received an e-mail confirming that CharlieWeis will not return as headfootball coach next season.While the announcement may

not havecome as asurprise, itwas a jarringreminderthat, for thethird time ina row, NotreDame hadfailed tofind theright coachto returnthe Irish totheir placeat the top of the college footballworld.By now, everyone knows the

damning statistics about Char-lie Weis’ tenure at Notre Dame.He presided over the worstthree-year stretch in Irish his-tory, guiding the team to a 16-21 record since 2007. Losses toSyracuse, Connecticut, AirForce and Navy — twice —rank as some of the most inde-fensible in Notre Dame history.The 2007 season will un-

doubtedly be remembered asthe tipping point in Weis’ term.From a mismanaged preseasonquarterback derby to the firstloss to Navy in 44 years, theseason set a slew of record lowsfor the Notre Dame footballprogram. The optimism thatsurrounded the BCS berths ofthe previous two seasons wasreplaced with a now-infamous3-9 record.Still, the Irish won their last

two games of 2007 and — asWeis himself would often say —the arrow was pointing up.But Notre Dame struggled to

play up to its potential in bothof the past two seasons. Sure,there were high points: A rain-soaked win over Michigan in2008, dominating performancesover Hawaii and Nevada andcoming oh-so-close to finallybeating USC this October.The systemic deficiencies,

though, were present through-out. During Weis’ entire tenure,and especially over the pastthree years, the Irish have suf-fered from a lack of emphasison the defensive side of theball, an ineffective and poorly-developed rushing attack and ageneral lack of fundamentalfootball skills. The Weis era willlikely be remembered formissed tackles, poor line playand wasted opportunity.In the end, Charlie Weis’

greatest shortcoming was sim-ply that he couldn’t be some-thing he was not: a college

football head coach. Comingfrom an X’s and O’s NFL men-tality, Weis never fully under-stood that college footballgames are ultimately won andlost in the trenches.While Golden Tate and Jimmy

Clausen have flourished inWeis’ pass-first system, playerslike Armando Allen and SamYoung just haven’t quiteseemed to live up to their po-tential.Amid all the rubble, however,

there is hope.Whoever the next coach is —

and there will be plenty ofspeculation over the next fewdays — he will inherit a teamthat is ready to contend for aBCS berth. Not in two years, notdown the road, but right away.Even if Clausen and Tate

don’t come back next season,the talent is there for the Irishto be an elite football program.Dayne Crist will be a more thancapable starting quarterbackonce he recovers from ACL sur-gery, and with the flashes Allenhas shown, a focus on the run-ning game could elevate him tosuperstar status.At the same time, the new

head coach will be able to uti-lize recruiting pipelines thatonly recently reemerged. Withclasses consistently ranked atthe top of recruiting servicerankings, Weis dispelled anymyths that Notre Dame couldno longer haul in talent withthe big boys. Players likeClausen, Michael Floyd andManti Te’o would be starswherever they went to school.More important than any-

thing, though, is that NotreDame gets this hire right. Withno other major college coachingjobs available, there’s no ex-cuse for director of athleticsJack Swarbrick to hire anyoneother than his No. 1 target,whether that be Bob Stoops,Brian Kelly or someone else.As reporters were quick to

remind Swarbrick at his pressconference Monday, it’s been16 years since the Irish con-tended for a National Champi-onship. Most of the playersNotre Dame is currently re-cruiting were barely a year oldthen.If we’re going through this

same process five years fromnow, that means Notre Dame isfive years closer to being nomore than a college footballhistory lesson. If Swarbricktruly wishes to annually con-tend for BCS berths, now is thetime to start.

The views expressed in thiscolumn are those of the authorand not necessarily those ofThe Observer.Contact Sam Werner at

swerner@nd.edu

The news of Irish footballcoach Charlie Weis’ firingspread fast across campus. Formany students, like senior D.C.Smith, the reaction was simple:“Finally.”“Everyone pretty much saw

this coming. It was just a matterof time,” Smith said. “I don’tknow what Notre Dame wasthinking when they extendedWeis’ contract so long in thefirst place.”Watching four football sea-

sons as a Notre Dame student,Smith said he saw a talentedteam wasted by poor coaching. “Weis did well with [former

coach Tyrone Willingham’s]people but he failed when heplayed with his own recruits,”he said. “But the team has tal-ent.”Junior Dashaun Gasque said

Weis’ biggest handicap was hiscoaching on defense.“He’s great offensively but I

was disappointed in his defen-sive tactics this season,”Gasque said. “The last gameproves that — the defense justwasn’t there.“Weis would do better with an

offensive coaching job. He’s justnot a head coach.”But Gasque said Weis is actu-

ally in an enviable position rightnow.“He’s going to make millions

getting fired,” he said. “I wouldlike to get fired just to make

that much money.”Junior Maggie Waller said she

almost felt bad for Weis, exceptfor the fact that his terminationwill earn him millions.“It’s terrible that we have to

pay him so much,” she said.“His contract should never havebeen extended.”Waller said she believes the

downside of Weis being fired isthe possibility that quarterbackJimmy Clausen and wide re-ceiver Golden Tate, both jun-iors, will leave with Weis. “I’m nervous because I think

this means Jimmy and Goldenwill leave,” she said. “I’ll cry ifGolden leaves.”Freshman Roberto Pellas said

he thinks the University made amistake in firing Charlie be-cause he believes Clausen nolonger has an incentive to stayanother year. “This is a huge mistake be-

cause Jimmy and Golden arebehind him,” he said. “We willlose our star players which isdisappointing because the teamhas a lot of talent.”Freshman Neil Eveld said a

coaching change is exactlywhat the football programneeds, but the new coachshould be chosen carefully.“They finally fired Weis, but

now we better get a big-nameto replace him,” he said. “[Uni-versity of Cincinnati headcoach] Brian Kelly would beperfect.”Junior Nathan Bush said he

thinks people hoping for a big-name replacement will be dis-

appointed.“Someone like [Florida coach]

Urban Meyer would be great,but he’s not going to leave histeam,” he said. After two disappointing foot-

ball seasons from Weis, Bushsaid he had low expectationsfor this season — and those ex-pectations were met. “How many games were de-

cided in the last two minutes?”Bush said. “This was a longtime coming.”After a couple mediocre sea-

sons, junior Colleen Harris saidshe expected to hear Weiswould not be retained after theStanford game Saturday. “All I can say is, he had two

Navy losses,” she said. Looking to the future, Waller

said she believes the team’sperformance next season de-pends on whether Tate andClausen stay.But Smith said he thinks next

season hinges on the newcoach’s chemistry with theteam.“We have a lot of talented

players,” he said. “But NotreDame is held in high esteemeven when they lose, so theyaren’t hungry enough.”Smith said the next Irish head

football coach’s challenge willbe to motivate the players.“At ND, the football team is

really a business,” he said. “It’snot fun. A coach needs to makethe game fun again.”

The Observer � IN FOCUSpage 2 Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Weis not answer,but future is bright

Students not surprised by firingSTUDENT REACTION

Sam Werner

AssociateSports Editor

IAN GAVLICK/The Observer

Then-Irish coach Charlie Weis leaves the field after Notre Dame lost to Stanford 45-38 Saturday night.Athletic director Jack Swarbrick announced Monday that Weis would not be retained for a sixth season.

By MADELINE BUCKLEYNews Editor

Contact Madeline Buckley atmbuckley@nd.edu

COMMENTARY

The Observer � IN FOCUSTuesday, December 1, 2009 Page 3

Regardless of the manifestationof Charlie Weis’ coaching abilities,he always whipped up impressiverecruiting classes. Now that recruiting force is

gone, and the Irish set about thetask of retaining those recruitswho have verbally committedwhile still attracting those whowere undecided.Athletic Director Jack Swar-

brick said he did not expect com-mitted recruits to back out of theirverbals because they committedto the University, not necessarilyone man.“The young men that picked this

place have picked this place,”Swarbrick said. “They were at-tracted to the coaches they metand no doubt were attracted toCoach Weis and have an affinityfor him. But as we’ve talked tothem today and will continue totalk to them, we’re hearing themessage we would expect to hear,

which is ‘I’m very sorry to hearthat, but you still offer the thingsthat attracted me to the Univer-sity, and so I’m still coming.’”Interim head coach Rob Ianello,

who also serves as the recruitingcoordinator, agreed with Swar-brick and said Weis’ firing maynot be the only question mark forpotential recruits.“Anybody that might be waver-

ing I think as recruiting goesmight have been wavering nomatter what the circumstancesmight have been,” Ianello said. “I

think we’re prepared for that,prepared to move forward to tryto secure those commitments firstand foremost and then move for-ward to some guys that we’re stillrecruiting that are uncommittedat this time.”Ianello said the staff would be

visiting the homes of potential re-cruits this week.The coaching change will most

likely not affect many of those whohave verballycommitted, saidMike Frank, aNotre Dame re-cruiting analystwho runs theESPN-affiliatedsite Irishsports-daily.com“Most of the

committed guys Ithink you’ll seewill stickaround,” Frank said. “The un-committed guys, that’s going to bethe interesting thing. The newcoach will have a lot of selling todo.”Frank said if Notre Dame hires

a big-name coach, such as Okla-homa’s Bob Stoops, Florida’sUrban Meyer or former TampaBay Buccaneers coach and cur-rent ESPN commentator Jon Gru-den, signing uncommitted recruitswill become easier. Smallernames, like Cincinnati’s BrianKelly, might have more trouble,but Kelly’s personable nature maywin over some recruits, Franksaid.Swarbrick said the timetable for

finding a new head coach is open-ended. Frank said getting theright coach is more important forNotre Dame than finding onequickly.

“Even though it may cost you afew recruits, even though you maytake some PR hits, you still have tohold out and get the guy you reallyneed.”Since Ianello was the recruiting

coordinator, he has been involvedwith the recruits throughout theprocess, something Frank saidwas a benefit.“I think it was a very wise move

to have him in charge becausehe’s going toknow the mostabout the mostimportant thingat this point,which is recruit-ing andprospects andthe candidatesthat are left outthere,” he said.The potential

decision to turndown a bowl game, Frank said,will not affect the recruitingprocess. In fact, he said it mighthelp to have the coaches visitingthe players rather than coachingin a bowl game.Without Weis, Frank said, some

players may de-commit, but oth-ers may reconsider.“A big name or somebody who’s

a real persuasive guy could comein and possibly grab some guysthat aren’t currently on the listright now,” Frank said.

For more on Notre Dame re-cruiting, check out Mike Frank’sirishsportsdaily.com. E-mail Mike at

mikefrank18@sbcglobal.net andtell him The Observer sent you.

Monday’s announcement thatIrish coach Charlie Weis wouldnot be retained didn’t come asmuch of a surprise, but hear-ing the news from director ofathletics Jack Swarbrick stillhurt, several Notre Dame play-ers said. “I’d be lying to say we didn’t

hear that it was a possibility,”said senior safety Kyle Mc-Carthy, who was one of fiveIrish playersmade availableto the mediaMonday. “Still,it was tough tohear that it’sactually a real-ity.”Several play-

ers describedtheir close re-lationship withWeis, who will not return toNotre Dame for a sixth seasonas head coach.“It’s hard to lose a family

member, and that’s how I seecoach Weis,” junior receiverGolden Tate said. “These lastweeks have been tough for us.”Senior center Eric Olsen said

Monday in particular was atough day, especially when hespoke to Weis after hearingword he had been let go.“He was kind of trying to

calm me down when I wastalking to him today because Iwas pretty upset,” Olsen said.“I just want everyone to knowI’m indebted to coach Weis.Giving me a scholarship to playat the University of NotreDame, it’s a huge deal. It’schanged my life.”Indicative of the relation-

ships these players forged withWeis is the fact that Tate, alongwith junior quarterback JimmyClausen, will still consult withthe former Irish coach Fridayto discuss the possibility of for-

going a seniorseason to enterthe NFL Draft.“As far as I’m

concerned, he’sstill a mentorfor me,” Tatesaid. “Everytime I’ve talkedto Coach I feellike he’s talkedto me like I was

[Weis’ son] Charlie Jr. Andthat’s a good thing in my eyes.He’s always told me the truth,whether I wanted to hear it ornot. That’s one thing I reallyrespect about him.”Olsen said if he could offer

Notre Dame’s next head coachsome advice, he‘d tell him,“heads up.”“He’s definitely going to be

under the microscope. It’s notan easy job,” Olsen said. “Ittakes a special kind of man to

fill that spot. You have to haveyour head on right for sure, orelse you’ll get swallowed upalive by everything that comeswith the coaching job. It takesa Notre Dame guy to be a NotreDame coach.”While the decision on who

that guy will be ultimatelyrests with Swarbrick, Olsensaid regardless of who is

named Weis’ successor, acoach alone will not single-handedly turn the Irish pro-gram around. Rather, Olsensaid, it will be a combination ofthe coaches and players work-ing together to improve a NotreDame team that has finishedconsecutive regular seasons 6-6.“Sometimes coaching

changes can be a good thing. Itkind of breaks up the continu-ous rituals and stuff that hap-pen in football, and it shakesthings up a bit,” Olsen said.“But at the same time, a coachcan only do so much with Xsand Os and motivating.”

Recruits weigh options with Weis outBy BILL BRINKSports Writer

Squad upset, but understanding, of coach’s dismissal

Contact Bill Brink atwbrink@nd.edu

By MATT GAMBERSports Editor

Contact Matt Gamber at mgamber@nd.edu

IAN GAVLICK/The Observer

Irish players (from left to right) Golden Tate, Kyle McCarthy, Chris Stewart, Kapron Lewis-Moore and Eric Olsenlook on as athletic director Jack Swarbrick announces coach Charlie Weis’ firing at a press conference Monday.

IAN GAVLICK/The Observer

Irish five-star defensive end commitment Chris Martin looks around on the field after Notre Dame’s 34-27loss to USC on Oct. 17.

“Most of the committedguys I think you’ll wee

will stick around.”

Mike FrankIrish recruiting analyst

PLAYER REACTION

RECRUITING

“I just want everyoneto know I’m indebted to

coach Weis.”

Eric OlsenIrish center

The highs and lows of Cha

The Observer � IN FOCUSpage 4 Tuesday, December 1, 2009

WEIS TIMELINE

Stanford’s Gerhart runs for 205 yards as Irish lose fourth straight

Monday, September 19, 2005 o bserverTHE

Michigan State 44 , Notre Dame 41Tuesday, December 1, 2009 o bserverTHE

IRISH INSIDERStanford 45, Notre Dame 38

STANFORD, Calif. — The gamefollowed the template of nearlyevery game of 2009: outstandingperformances by Jimmy Clausenand Golden Tate, an inconsistentdefensive effort and a last-secondfinish. And like the 2009 season asa whole, the final game was a dis-appointment for the Irish, who fellto the Cardinal 45-38 at StanfordStadium.Stanford senior running back

Toby Gerhart rushed for 205 yardsand three touchdowns, includingthe game-winner with 59 secondsleft as Notre Dame lost its fourthstraight game to finish 6-6.Another late comeback effort by

Clausen and Tate fell short, asNotre Dame gave up two sacks onthe final drive and Clausen’s HailMary pass was batted down astime expired.“It’s just the way the year’s

been,” Irish coach Charlie Weissaid in a press release. “I feel real-ly bad for the outgoing players.There’s a bunch of 22-, 23-year-oldyoung men right there finishingtheir career losing the last fourgames. They feel miserable and Ifeel miserable for them.”Clausen finished with 340 yards

and five touchdowns, tying acareer high. Tate caught a career-high 10 receptions for 201 yardsand three touchdowns.“It’s frustrating, anytime you lose

the game we’re losing by a touch-down or less,” Clausen said. “I’m areal competitive athlete and it’sreally tough.”After a big stop on Stanford’s

first offensive possession, the Irishoffense had a critical giveaway ontheir first offensive play. Freshmanrunning back Theo Riddick wasstuffed on an inside run and fum-bled, which the Cardinal recoveredon the Notre Dame 13. Gerhart ran three straight times

on the ensuing possession, refus-ing to go down on a four-yardtouchdown run that put Stanfordup 7-0 early.Notre Dame responded by forc-

ing a turnover of its own, gainingthe ball deep in Stanford territoryafter safety Sergio Brown forced afumble that was recovered byBraxston Cave. Starting on theStanford 16, the Irish evened upthe score with a five-yard touch-down pass from Clausen to Tate.A big sack by Brown helped the

Irish hold Stanford to a NateWhitaker field goal on their nextpossession. They responded with along drive of their own. After com-pletions to Tate and RobertHughes, Riddick took a short passfrom Clausen 24 yards to theStanford 18-yard-line for a key

third-down conversion.The 10-play drive finished in

spectacular fashion, as sophomoreMichael Floyd caught a touchdownpass from Clausen on the nextplay, staying in bounds on one footand extending over the sideline tomake the catch and give NotreDame its first lead at 14-10.Stanford took advantage of good

starting field position on their nextdrive, as David Ruffer’s kickoffwent out of bounds. After severalGerhart runs, the Cardinal wereset back by a holding penalty andhad to settle for a 47-yard field tocut the lead to 14-13 early in thesecond quarter.Notre Dame went back to the

running game to ignite its nextdrive, beginning with threestraight runs by Hughes for a totalof 24 yards. After two Clausencompletions and a quarterbacksneak, Hughes broke free for a 15-yard gain on fourth down toextend the drive.An incompletion and fumbled

snap led to Notre Dame settling fora 41-yard field goal from Ruffer,extending the lead back to fourpoints at 17-13.The defense forced a Stanford

punt on their next possession, with

senior defensive end John Ryanmaking a key tackle for a five-yardloss after several big runs byGerhart.The ensuing Irish drive started

out moving the wrong direction,with false start and holding penal-ties on their first two plays. A per-sonal foul call on Stanford finallygave the Irish some breathingroom, and on the next playClausen connected deep with Tatefor a 78-yard touchdown.With the catch Tate broke Jeff

Samardzija’s school record forcareer receiving yards (2,593), andgave the Irish a 24-13 lead.“It was about concentration and

being competitive,” Tate said. “Iknew that could change the game,and if I dropped it I would havebeen devastated.”The Cardinal retaliated with a

touchdown of their own beforehalftime, with quarterbackAndrew Luck completing passesfor two big first downs. FullbackOwen Marecic punched it in forthe touchdown with just 11 sec-onds left in the half to make thescore 24-20.The Irish continued moving the

ball at will in the second half,gashing the Stanford defense with

runs by Hughes and Tate. Weisthen dialed up a trick play out ofthe Wildcat formation for a 48-yard score, with Hughes receivingthe snap and handing off to Tate,who pitched back to Clausen. NoCardinal player was within 20yards of Floyd, and Clausen hithim for his fourth touchdown passof the game, giving Notre Dame a31-20 lead.Stanford continued to respond to

Notre Dame scores, however, turn-ing to its strength and the groundgame to respond with a touch-down of its own. Gerhart led an81-yard drive that was comprisedof nine straight runs, and finishedthe effort with a 10-yard romp intothe end zone. “Our players did a great job,”

Stanford coach Jim Harbaughsaid. “Handling success, facingadversity, rising from adversity. Itstarts from the seniors, their fireand desire to win has fueled thisteam.”After the Cardinal defense finally

made a stop, the Stanford passingattack began clicking. Luck foundGerhart for a 33-yard gain, andthen Chris Owusu for 21 yards oneplay later. The Irish made stops forlosses on two straight Stepfan

Taylor runs to hold the Cardinal toa 29–yard field goal to end thethird quarter at 31-30.Clausen and the Irish then went

to the air, throwing several deepballs for Floyd and Tate. Both drewpass interference calls, movingNotre Dame well into Stanford ter-ritory. On second down and nine,Clausen found Tate wide open.After receiving the 12-yard pass,Tate juked two Stanford defendersand weaved his way back acrossthe field for a 28-yard touchdown,putting the Irish up 38-30.“I took a risk, I felt like I could

maneuver through some guys, andI had some downfield blockers,and I was grateful for those guys toshow up when I needed them,”Tate said.The Cardinal answered yet

again, using a 28-yard run fromGerhart to start the drive and com-pleting it with an 18-yard pass toRyan Whalen on a fourth-downplay. Stanford coach JimHarbaugh elected to go for two,and converted it with a pass totight end Jim Dray, tying the scoreat 38.

Contact Michael Bryan atmbryan@nd.edu

By MICHAEL BRYANAssociate Sports Editor

IAN GAVLICK/The Observer

Stanford running back Toby Gerhart throws a touchdown pass on a trick play in the fourth quarter of the Cardinal’s 45-38 win overNotre Dame. The Cardinal rushed for 280 total yards in the game.

Deafening silence

player of the game

Toby GerhartStanford running back

Gerhart did it all with 205 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns, 33 yardsreceiving and an 18-yard TD throw.

quote of the game

“It was a microcosm of our season ... It’s just the way the year’s been.”

Charlie WeisIrish coach

stat of the game

943

Total yards of offense combinedfor Notre Dame (447) and

Stanford (496) in a game that was a classic shootout.

play of the game

Toby Gerhart’s 18-yard touchdownpass on 4th-and-4 in the fourth quarter

The halfback pass to Ryan Whalenhelped the Cardinal tie the game

with nine minutes to play.

The Observer � IRISH INSIDERpage 2 Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Season ends in disappointmentIsaac Newton never met Charlie

Weis, or any Notre Dame football play-ers.If he did, he’d be in for a shock.After he got plunked on the head by

a falling apple,Newton figuredout some laws ofmotion, the firstoff which saysthat everything inmotion stays thatway unless someoutside force actsupon it.The Irish were

6-2 and had themomentum tocruise to 10-2and a potentialBCS berth, at thevery least a NewYears’ Day bowl game. Four losseslater, that momentum has dissipated. So what outside force acted on the

Irish? You could make the argumentthat Navy’s option attack, Dion Lewis,UConn’s run game and Toby Gerhartwere “outside forces,” but the trueactor that stopped Notre Dame wasitself. They couldn’t finish. Newtonwouldn’t know what to do with suchempirical evidence.Blame who you want, but Weis, as

the face of the program, ultimately hasto take the blame for the inability toconvert talent to success. In the pastthree seasons, he’s gone 3-9, 6-6 and6-6 after restocking the talent.Especially in light of the way the gamesthis season were won and lost, Weishas not prepared this team to wingames.The Midshipmen started it all, run-

ning the same offense they always doand still succeeding, rushing for 348yards and beating the Irish at home bytwo. The thread started loosening inthe seams after that game when nosetackle Ian Williams said the Irish wereout-schemed while safety KyleMcCarthy blamed the playmaking. Against Pittsburgh, the Irish played

too conservatively. Weis claimed hecalled the game that way because hewas on the road in a hostile environ-ment. Notre Dame mustered threepoints in the first half but 19 in thefourth quarter, when it was desperate-ly trying to come back. Imagine if theIrish played with that intensity allgame.Notre Dame changed that and got

going early against Connecticut, butcouldn’t keep it up. Nor could it con-tain Jordan Todman or Andre Dixon,who each rushed for more than 100yards. Dixon eventually scored in thesecond overtime to seal the win andNotre Dame lost to a sub-.500 Big Eastteam on Senior Day for the secondyear in a row.Which brings us to Stanford, surpris-

ingly Notre Dame’s best showing of thefinal four games. Jimmy Clausen threwfor 340 yards and five touchdowns,Golden Tate made a last-second pushfor the Biletnikoff with 10 catches for201 yards and three touchdowns andthe Irish established the run even with-out Armando Allen. But no finish. Likeevery other loss, no finish.On a fourth-down attempt, the Irish

let Toby Gerhart throw a halfback passto Ryan Whalen to tie the game. Thenthey allowed a 72-yard drive that took4:49 and ended with Gerhart’s thirdrushing touchdown of the game withless than one minute left. Again they showed fight. Clausen

completed three passes to Tate on thefinal drive but couldn’t score, and theIrish are 6-6 for the second straightseason and have to live with theknowledge that the blame falls onthem and the coaches.With the talent the team has shown,

6-6 is inexcusable and the players andcoaches know it. They also know whatNewton knows: for every action there’sa reaction. Action: Team goes 6-6. Reaction:

Weis was fired. Secondary reaction:the chances of Clausen returning areslim.“The reason I stepped on this cam-

pus was because of coach Weis,”Clausen said after the game. “To behonest, I wouldn’t be here right now ifit wasn’t for him.”I’m no linguistic expert, but the

rough translation is: If Weis is gone,I’m gone.Without Clausen throwing to him,

the odds that Tate jumps to the NFLincrease as well. Which leaves the Irishas an underperforming squad short ahead coach, quarterback and starreceiver. As if the program didn’t have enough

black eyes already, Clausen got onehimself last weekend, and the programresponded by banning media accessnot only to him but the rest of the play-ers and assistant coaches. After theloss to Stanford, where surprisinglyenough there was good (Clausen’s goodgame and Tate, who tied or broke sev-eral school records) to discuss alongwith the bad (Weis’ job, a potentialbowl game, Clausen’s shiner), Weis didnot speak with the media. Of all the things the program needs

from its leaders, silence isn’t one ofthem.The off-season, regardless of who is

in charge, should be focused on onething: how to finish. Finish halves, fin-ish games, finish seasons. The talent isthere but the assassin’s mentality tobury opponents, to kick them whenthey’re down and leave no chance of acomeback, or to come back yourselfwhen all seemed lost, hasn’t permeat-ed the program. Newton probably wouldn’t care

much for football, but he certainlyknew how to finish what he started.The Irish need to channel their frustra-tion with their four-game losing streakto end the season into converting theiropportunities in 2010 — no matterwho wears the headset, no matterwho’s under center.

The views expressed in this columnare those of the author and notnecessarily those of The Observer.

Contact Bill Brink at wbrink@nd.edu

Bill Brink

Sports Writer

DAN JACOBS/The Observer

Irish junior quarterback Jimmy Clausen talks with the media following Notre Dame’s 45-38 loss at Stanford Saturday.Clausen suffered a black eye in a reported altercation outside of C.J.’s Pub in South Bend early on Nov. 22.

Tune in to the Irish Insider podcast at ndsmcobserver.com/podcasts.

A-

Aquarterbacks: Clausen posted gaudy statistics and showed yet again that hecan make all the throws, including several tough ones on the run.

report card

Brunning backs:Riddick’s early fumble led toa Stanford touchdown, but he andHughes both ran hard and averagednearly six yards per carry.

Areceivers:Tate and Floyd combined for 286yards and five touchdowns, including severalhighlight-reel catches and runs that kept theIrish in the game.

Boffensive line: The line looked good formost of the night but couldn’t give a pushon a big third-down or allow Clausentime on Notre Dame’s last drive.

C-defensive line: Stanford ran all over theIrish to the tune of 280 yards, and theblame for that falls first with the bigboys up front.

B-linebackers:Te’o and Smith each had fivetackles and made some nice plays, butthe effort was inconsistent and Gerhartfound too many open running lanes.

Bdefensive backs:McCarthy and Brown,who also had a sack, led the team intackles, and considering Stanford’s run-ning success, the pass defense was OK.

special teams:Designed pooch kicks gaveStanford good field position, but Rufferwas perfect, Turk was solid and the puntcoverage team recovered a fumble thatled to the first Irish score.

C+coaching: Weis dialed up a few nicegadget plays, and the team kept itscomposure despite a tough start. Butthe Irish couldn’t finish a game yetagain, and that continues to fall onthe head coach’s shoulders.

3.04overall:A familiar story for NotreDame, as the Irish lose a closeone in which they led late andshowed glimpses of greatnesson offense but failed on defense.

adding up the numbers

Number of Notre Dame games decided in thefinal minute of regulation or in overtime. TheIrish are 4-6 in those games this season.

50 Number of consecutive starts made by seniorright tackle Sam Young, a Notre Dame record.Young has started every game of his career.

Number of career touchdown receptions forMichael Floyd after he caught two scoring passesSaturday. Floyd has played in just 18 games.

7 Number of 300-yard passing games for JimmyClausen this season, a school record. Clausennow has 10 in is career, second in Irish history.

25Number of touchdown drives of 70 yards or morethe Irish have executed this season, includingfour against Stanford.

4 Number of Irish freshmen to record at least 60tackles in a season, now that linebacker MantiTe’o joined that group Saturday.

Consecutive field goal attempts junior DavidRuffer has made since taking over for injuredfreshman Nick Tausch.

8 Number of consecutive games with a receiving touch-down for Golden Tate, who has scored in 11 straightgames. He has 18 total touchdowns this season.

10

5

16

DAN JACOBS/The Observer

Stanford running back Toby Gerhart runs upfield during Stanford’s 45-38 win over Notre Dame Saturday night. Gerhart fin-ished with 205 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

STANFORD, Calif. — Onhis final play of the game,the Irish defense let TobyGerhart into the end zonein the hopes of getting theball back with a chance toforce overtime. Most of thegame, though, Gerhart hadhis way with the NotreDame defenders even whenthey were going all out tostop him.The Stanford running

back rumbled for 205 yardsand three touchdowns,including the game-winner,and even passed for a scoreon a crucial fourth-and-fourplay. While senior captainKyle McCarthy sa id theIrish’s game plan was tofocus on stopping the run,the Notre Dame defensewas gashed repeatedly bythe 235-pound Gerhart.With the monstrous game

against the Irish, Gerhartbecame the leading rusherin all of FBS, finishing theregular season with 1,736yards. Gerhart’s 26 touch-

downs also lead all runningbacks, and the senior aver-aged 5.6 yards per carry.Gerhart’s second touch-

down against Notre Dameput h im into the recordbooks, as he broke the Pac-10 single-season record fortouchdowns in a season setby LenDale White in 2005and Corey Dillon in 1996.“Toby has said it all with

the way he’s p layed,”Stanford coach J imH a r b a u g hsaid . “Hehasn’t talkedabout it, justgone outthere weekafter week.”G e r h a r t ’s

f i rs t touch-down cameless thanfour minutesinto the game. Following aTheo Riddick fumble ,Gerhart ran the ball threestra ight t imes for theCardinal, breaking a tackleand using a hand to staybalanced and get two extrayards before diving into theend zone.

“He’s a phenomenal play-er, one of the best I’ve everbeen around,” Harbaughsaid.Every t ime i t seemed

Notre Dame might have achance to pul l away,Gerhart and the Cardinaloffense would put togethera long scoring drive to staywithin a score. The senior’s10-yard touchdown run inthe third quarter, his sec-ond of the day, narrowed

the Irish leadto 31-27.“He’s a big

physical run-ner,” Ir ishcoach CharlieWeis said ina pressr e l e a s e .“ E v e r y o n ethinks he justruns north-

south, but they run him tothe edge a lot on a toss or atoss-sweep. When he getsto the edge, you’re in trou-ble.”With Stanford finally driv-

ing with a chance to evenup the game, Gerhartshowed of f h is throwing

ability in the fourth quarter.On a fourth-and-four playfrom the Notre Dame 18-yard-line, Gerhart took thepi tch from quarterbackAndrew Luck and complet-ed a touchdown to widereceiver Ryan Whalen.“We practice that once a

week, I just threw up aprayer,” Gerhart said. “Inpractice [Whalen] is alwayswide open and in the gamehis back was turned and Ijust threw it out there andhe made a great play.”With his strong perform-

ances throughout the sea-son and role in big winsover marquee opponentsUSC and Notre Dame,Gerhart seems to haveplayed himsel f into theHeisman discussion.“Toby is too humble to say

anything about himself, buthow can you not at leastinvite him,” Luck said. “Heput his team on his back.He makes everyone in thelocker room a better player.I think he deserves it.”

Notre Dame 14, Stanford 13Whitaker 47-yd field goal with 12:39 remaining.Drive: 8 plays, 30 yards, 3:01 elapsed.

Notre Dame 17, Stanford 13Ruffer 42-yd field goal with 7:25 remaining.Drive: 11 plays, 53 yards, 5:08 elapsed.

Notre Dame 24, Stanford 13Tate 78-yd pass from Clausen (Ruffer kick) with4:23 remaining.Drive: 3 plays, 88 yards, :48 elapsed.

Notre Dame 24, Stanford 20Owen Marecic 1-yd run (Whitaker kick) with :11remaining.Drive: 9 plays, 61 yards, 4:07 elapsed.

STANFORD, Calif. — Irishreceiver Golden Tate brokeJeff Samardzija’s schoolrecord for career receivingyards. Tate’s 201 yards inthe game put him at 2,707career receiving yards, pass-ing Samardzija’s record of2,593. Tate also t iedSamardzija’s record of eightconsecutive games with areceiving touchdown, whichSamardzija set in 2005. Tatenow has had a touchdown ofany kind in 11 consecutivegames.Tate also extended his

streak of games with 100yards or more to 15 overalland nine this season. His

season total broke TomGatewood’s record of eight,which Gatewood set in 1970.Tate tied a single-season

touchdown record with 15receiving touchdowns.Samardzija had 15 in 2005and Rhema McKnight had 15in 2006. Finally, Tate scoredhis 18th overall touchdown,which tied Allen Pinkett forsecond on the all-time list.Pinkett had 18 in 1984.Jerome Bettis set the single-season record with 20 in1991.Tate said he didn’t know

he had broken the recordsafter the game. “It’s great to be mentioned

with those guys but rightnow I’m really hurting,” hesaid. “Maybe in a week or ayear … it’ll hit me.”

Quick off the blocksIn Notre Dame’s last three

games, all losses, the Irishscored an average of eightpoints in the first half and 3.3points in the first quarter.Against Stanford, they scored14 points in the first quarterand 10 in the second. The 14points in the first quarterwere the most the Irish scoredin the first period this season.

Tackling leadersWith his 10 tackles, fresh-

man linebacker Manti Te’ofinished with 63 on the sea-son, making him one of fourIrish freshmen to record morethan 60 tackles in a season. Senior safety Kyle McCarthy,

already the only Notre Damedefensive back to record 100tackles in a season with 110 in

2008, did so again this year.His team-leading 11 tacklesgave him 101 in the season.

So close …Ten of Notre Dame’s 12

games have been decided dur-ing the final minute of thegame or in overtime. “To be honest with you, we

didn’t finish,” Irish quarter-back Jimmy Clausen said. “It’sfrustrating. It seems thatevery time we lose a game it’sby a touchdown or less.”He’s right: Notre Dame’s

largest margin of defeat hasbeen seven points, duringSaturday’s 45-38 loss toStanford and a 34-27 loss toUSC on Oct. 17.

The Observer � IRISH INSIDERTuesday, December 1, 2009 page 3

Gerhart makes case for Heisman

By MICHAEL BRYANAssociate Sports Editor

Notes: Tate breaks career record in loss

Contact Bill Brink atwbrink@nd.edu

By BILL BRINKSports Writer

1stNotre DameStanford

1410

2nd1010

3rd77

4th718

Second quarter

Stanford 7, Notre Dame 0Toby Gerhart 4-yd run (Nate Whitaker kick) with11:34 remaining.Drive: 3 plays, 13 yards, 1:30 elapsed.

Stanford 7, Notre Dame 7Golden Tate 5-yd pass from Jimmy Clausen(David Ruffer kick) with 8:56 remaining.Drive: 4 plays, 16 yards, 1:18 elapsed.

Stanford 10, Notre Dame 7Whitaker 40-yd field goal with 5:59 remaining.Drive: 7 plays, 38 yards, 2:52 elapsed.

Notre Dame 14, Stanford 10Michael Floyd 18-yd pass from Clausen (Rufferkick) with :40 remaining.Drive: 10 plays, 78 yards, 5:12 elapsed.

Third quarter

Notre Dame 31, Stanford 20Floyd 46-yd pass from Clausen (Ruffer kick)with 12:56 remaining.Drive: 4 plays, 76 yards, 1:58 remaining.

Notre Dame 31, Stanford 27Gerhart 10-yd run (Whitaker kick) with 8:12remaining.Drive: 9 plays, 81 yards, 4:42 remaining.

Total3845

scoringsummary

First quarter

statisticstotal yards

rushing yards

passing yards

Contact Michael Bryan atmbryan@nd.edu

Fourth quarter

Notre Dame 31, Stanford 30Whitaker 29-yd field goal with 14:57 remaining.Drive: 12 plays, 76 yards, 6:01 elapsed.

Notre Dame 38, Stanford 30Tate 28-yd pass from Clausen (Ruffer kick) with12:56 remaining.Drive: 4 plays, 80 yards, 2:01 elapsed.

Notre Dame 38, Stanford 38Ryan Whalen 18-yd pass from Gerhart (Jim Draypass from Andrew Luck) with 8:59 remaining.Drive: 7 plays, 67 yards, 3:50 elapsed.

Stanford 45, Notre Dame 38Gerhart 4-yd run (Whitaker kick) with :59remaining.Drive: 10 plays, 72 yards, 4:49 elapsed.

“Toby [Gerhart] hassaid it all with theway he’s played.”

Jim HarbaughStanford head coach

time of possession

14-20-198

29-20512-35

6-754-56

25-30-340

13-776-37

10-2016-85

Clausen

HughesRiddick

TateFloyd

Luck

GerhartTaylor

WhalenFleener

receiving

rushing

passing

The Observer � IRISH INSIDERpage 4 Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Jimmy Clausen threw for 340 yards and five touchdowns and Golden Tate

caught 10 passes for 201 yards and three scores, but the Irish defense

couldn’t slow Stanford’s Toby Gerhart, as the Cardinal prevailed 45-38.

Notre Dame held a 24-20 halftime lead and extended its advantage to 31-20

after its first drive of the second half ended with Michael Floyd’s second

touchdown catch, but from there, Gerhart would run for two more touch-

downs (after scoring one in the first half) and throw for one as well, as the

Heisman hopeful rushed for 205 yards. Tate’s third touchdown grab — a 28-

yarder in which he caught a short pass to the left and cut across the entire

defense for a highlight-reel run — gave Notre Dame its final points with

12:56 to play, as the Irish led 38-30. But Gerhart’s touchdown pass and his

third scoring run with a minute remaining cemented the game, as Clausen’s

final Hail Mary try would fall incomplete as time expired.

For more photos, check out the photo gallery at ndsmcobserver.com

Out with awhimper

Clockwise from top: Junior wide receiver Golden Tate steps in the end zone for Notre Dame’s first touchdown, junior quarterback Jimmy Clausen warms up on the sidelines, junior line-backer Harrison Smith tries to make a tackle, Tate reacts after an incomplete pass, sophomore wide receiver Michael Floyd hauls in a touchdown pass from Clausen on a trick play.

JENN METZ/The Observer

IAN GAVLICK/The Observer

AARON STEINER/The Observer DAN JACOBS/The Observer

IAN GAVLICK/The Observer

arlie Weis’ five-year tenure

The Observer � IN FOCUSTuesday, December 1, 2009 page 5

Observer Graphic by ANDREA ARCHER, IAN GAVLICK and LAURA MYERS

The Observer � IN FOCUSpage 6 Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Corwin Brown

AssociateHead Coach

Bernie Parmalee

Tight EndsCoach

Randy Hart

DefensiveLine Coach

Tony Alford

RunningBacks Coach

Jon Tenuta

DefensiveCoordinator

Rob Ianello

RecruitingCoordinator

Brian Polian

Special TeamsCoordinator

Ron Powlus

QuarterbacksCoach

Frank Verducci

Offensive LineCoach

Charlie Weis’ future at NotreDame was made quite clear Mon-day when director of athleticsJack Swarbrick announced hisfiring, but the 11 assistantcoaches on Weis’ staff await theirdestinies while Swarbricksearches for a new head coach.The odds are few of the 11 will

be retained by whomever Swar-brick hires, and as assistant headcoach Rob Ianello said in a pressconference Monday, the coachingstaff will be looking out for them-selves while helping the Univer-sity through this transitionalperiod.“I have committed to Jack

[Swarbrick] to do all that I can toease this transition for the Uni-versity and I am going to devotemy time and efforts to that,” saidIanello, who was given the re-sponsibility for football opera-tions until a new coach is hired.“I think you’d be naïve that Iwouldn’t be reaching out to some

people about my future also.”Ianello said the entire coaching

staff will put the players and theUniversity first, but will naturallylook out for their families andtheir futures.“This coaching staff is a very

professional coaching staff, avery committed staff,” he said.“They will certainly do the Uni-versity right through this transi-tion.”Ianello may be able to breathe

easily for at least a season. Hisduties as assistant head coach in-volved coaching the receiversand, more notably, coordinatingrecruiting. Over the past five sea-sons Notre Dame receivers, fromJeff Samardzija to Golden Tate,have enjoyed much success, butIanello’s true value to the nextIrish coach will be his recruitingknowledge.The Irish have landed four

straight top-15 recruiting classes,and without Weis as the lead re-cruiter, Ianello’s knowledge of theincoming class will likely lead tohim sticking around campus foranother season.

If not, Ianello will likely land onhis feet somewhere, as he al-ready has coached at Wisconsin,Arizona and Alabama.Offensive line coach Frank Ver-

ducci is the next most likely can-didate to be on the Irish sidelinesnext season. In his one seasonwith the Irish, the offensive lineperformed noticeably better thanin the previous two, and the run-ning game became a legitimateweapon. But if the next headcoach chooses to proceed withoutVerducci, he, like Weis, will likelyfind a position waiting in the NFL.Verducci coached for Cleveland,Buffalo, Dallas and Cincinnati be-fore coming to Notre Dame.Player favorite co-defensive co-

ordinator Corwin Brown willpresent an interesting case to anynew head coach. While Brownmay be the best motivator onstaff, his defensive backs largelyunderperformed this season. IfBrown is kept, it will likely be be-cause of his relationship withmany of the returning players. Though the defensive line

looked overmatched at times this

season, it seemed progress hadbeen made through the first sev-eral games under first-year linecoach Randy Hart. He survivednearly three decades and severalcoaching changes at Washingtonbefore coming to Notre Dame, sowhile the line did not perform upto expectations, Hart’s resumémay earn him another year inSouth Bend.Swarbrick’s hire will want to

mark his start here with his ownstaff, so it is unlikely many, if any,other assistants will be retained.Defensive graduate assistantBryant Young could return foranother season, as he is a formerIrish and NFL star. But his rolethis season was unclear, and thenext hire is most likely not goingto have Notre Dame ties, soYoung’s accomplishments yearsago may not hold much weight.Special teams coordinator

Brian Polian should be able tofind an NFL position if it comes tothat. His father is the president ofthe Indianapolis Colts, and one ofhis brothers serves as the vicepresident of football operations

with the Colts. Polian’s youngerbrother is the assistant to thehead coach of the MinnesotaVikings.Defensive coordinator Jon

Tenuta did not find the same suc-cess at Notre Dame as he foundat Georgia Tech the six seasonsprior, but he will likely end up inthe same position somewhereelse in college football.Running backs coach Tony Al-

ford has never stayed at the sameschool for long, but in his past 14years as running backs coach atvarious schools he has producedseven 1,000 yard rushers, and heshould be given a chance for an-other next season at yet anotherschool.The three remaining members

of the coaching staff — tight endscoach Bernie Parmalee, quarter-backs coach Ron Powlus and of-fensive graduate assistant BrianWhite — will all likely be else-where in college football nextseason as well.

Assistants must secure future in wake of changeND ASSISTANT COACHES

Charlie Weis’ affiliationwith Notre Dame began longago, when he was a studentin the 1970s. He walked intothen-University President.Fr. Theodore Hesburgh’s of-fice with a complaint aboutthe state of the footballteam.In his book, he said he left

“feeling as humbled as youcould possibly be.” Now Weis leaves Notre

Dame again, probably notwith the same humbled feel-ing as he had as a studentbut possibly with a differentperspective on the frustra-tion of losing than he had asan undergraduate.After graduating Notre

Dame in 1978, Weis coachedat Boontown High School andMorristown High School inhis native New Jersey. In1985, coach Joe Morrison atSouth Carolina hired him andhe coached there for fourseasons. He returned to NewJersey to lead Franklin HighSchool to the state champi-onship in 1989.That year, Weis made his

foray into the NFL, workingin the New York Giants’ per-sonnel department whilecoaching Franklin. In 1990,he became a Giants offensiveand special teams assistantunder Bill Parcells. The Gi-ants won Super Bowl XXVthat year, beating the Buffalo

Bills 20-19, and Weis earnedhis first Super Bowl ring.In 1991, Weis took over as

the Giants’ running backscoach and served for twoseasons.Weis then spent four years

with the New England Patri-ots, also under Parcells. Hecoached the tight ends dur-ing his first two seasons inNew England. In his third, hecoached the running backs,and rookie Curtis Martin setPatriots records with 1,487rushing yards and 14 touch-downs. In his fourth year,1996, Weis coached NewEngland’s receivers. From 1997 to 1999, Weis

served as the New York Jetsoffensive coordinator. Hecoached under Parcells andBill Belichick, whom hewould later coach under inNew England. He took theJets, who went 1-15 in 1995,to a 9-7 record in his firstseason. In 1998, the Jets fin-ished fourth in the NFL intotal offense. They scored the second-

most points in franchise his-tory and won their first-everdivision title. The Jets’ topreceivers, Keyshawn Johnsonand Wayne Chrebet, bothpassed 1,000 yards receivingunder Weis, who was alsothe receivers coach. The Jetshadn’t had two 1,000-yardreceivers since 1986.From 2000 to 2004, Weis

went back to New England,serving as the Patriots’ of-fensive coordinator under

Belichick. New England wonthree Super Bowls during histime there and he helpedmake Tom Brady, the 199thoverall pick in the NFL Draft,a top-tier NFL quarterback. Five years ago yesterday,

Notre Dame fired TyroneWillingham as head coach.Their first choice, UrbanMeyer, turned down NotreDame and accepted the headcoaching position at Florida.Meyer has since won two na-tional championships withthe Gators. Notre Dame thenhired Weis and signed a six-

year contract. Midway through his first

season, Weis signed a new10-year contract that ex-tended through the 2015 sea-son and was worth anywherefrom $20 to $30 million de-pending on reports. Weiscompiled a 35-27 record atNotre Dame, won one bowlgame and lost two. Weis had success in his

first two seasons at NotreDame. The Irish almost upsetUSC at home during Weis’first season, and he led theteam to the Fiesta Bowl. The

Irish lost to Ohio State. In hissecond year, Weis led theteam to the Sugar Bowl, butagain the Irish lost, this timeto LSU. In his next three years,

Weis went 16-21, including a3-9 debacle in 2007. TheIrish went 7-6 in 2008, beat-ing Hawaii in the HawaiiBowl. This season, the Irishfinished 6-6 and lost theirlast four straight after start-ing 6-2.

NFL success doesn’t translate to college for WeisWEIS’ ROAD TO ND

By DOUGLAS FARMERSports Writer

Contact Douglas Farmer atdfarmer1@nd.edu

By BILL BRINKSports Writer

Contact Bill Brink atwbrink@nd.edu

AP

Then-Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, left, hugs New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, center,and then-defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel after the Patriots won Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville.

Recently finishing his 11th regular season at Oklahoma,Bob Stoops has brought tremendous success back to theSooner program since leaving his defensive coordinator posi-tion at Florida. Stoops has won six Big 12 championships and one national

title in Norman, and has a 110-25 record as Oklahoma’s headcoach. He has a wealth of experience coaching a top FBS pro-gram and had led the Sooners to eight BCS bowls in 11 years.Despite his success, Stoops has faced recent criticism for his

team’s failure to show up in big games, losing their last fiveBCS bowl games. With his proven track record winning at atop program, Stoops figures to be one of if not the top nameon Jack Swarbrick’s list.

BOB STOOPS, OKLAHOMA COACH

AP

Another coach that has ledits team to an undefeatedseason in 2009, Patterson ledTCU to a 12-0 record and aprobable BCS berth this sea-son.The Horned Frogs have fin-

ished with 10 or more wins insix of nine seasons underPatterson. Despite battlingfor local talent against localpowerhouses like Texas,Texas Tech and Texas A&M,Patterson has been able todevelop elite talent in FortWorth. Patterson’s defenses have

consistently ranked near thetop national teams.

The last opponent CharlieWeis faced, Harbaugh ledStanford to one of its bestseasons in years in 2009, fin-ishing 8-4 and 6-3 in the Pac-10.In 2007 Harbaugh led

Stanford to a huge win overNo. 1 USC, upsetting the Tro-jans 24-23 despite being a41-point underdog. The Car-dinal again beat Pete Carrolland USC this season, defeat-ing the Trojans 55-21 andscoring the most pointsagainst USC in program his-tory.

Jim Harbaugh

Stanfordcoach

Iowa’s coach of the last 11seasons, Ferentz had one ofthe best years of his careerthis year, leading theHawkeyes to a 10-2 record.Iowa has shared two Big

Ten titles under Ferentz, andmade a BCS appearance inthe Orange Bowl in 2002.Many major college pro-grams and NFL teams havebeen rumored to have inter-est in Ferentz at differentpoints in his career, but thecoach has elected to stay inIowa and currently has acontract to remain there until2015.

The top candidate for the Notre Dame job in 2004,Meyer turned down the Irish for Florida and has turnedthe Gators into the top program in college football aftera successful run at Utah.A former Notre Dame assistant under Lou Holtz,

Meyer led Florida to national championships in 2006and 2008, and the Gators are currently No. 1 in the BCSStandings and undefeated heading into Saturday’s SECChampionship game against No. 2 Alabama.While Meyer has in the past called Notre Dame a

“dream job,” he has denied having any interest in leav-ing Florida and has no good reason to abandon a peren-nial title contender in Gainesville.

The Observer � IN FOCUSTuesday, December 1, 2009 page 7

At Monday’s press confer-ence, director of athletics JackSwarbrick announced thesearch for Charlie Weis’ re-placement had officially begun. “This is a job in which there

is great interest,” Swarbricksaid. “It is a job in which peo-ple understand the potentialthat is here to return NotreDame to a position of promi-nence in college football, andI’m excited to embark full boreon the process of finding theright next successor to thelegacy of Rockne and Leahyand Parseghian and Holtz.”Swarbrick denied reports

that he had contacted potentialreplacements, but he said thesearch “has effectively begun.” At this point, the discussion

of who will succeed Weis is en-tirely conjecture. But it sure isfun, so with that, here is ourlist of the top candidates Swar-brick might examine in thehopes of taking the Irish backto glory.

POTENTIAL REPLACEMENTS

IN SWARBRICK’S DREAMS...

Urban Meyer

Florida coach

Jon Gruden

ESPN analyst

Another name suspected as a candidate after Willing-ham’s firing, Gruden has family connections to the NotreDame program, as his father was an assistant under DanDevine.Gruden has coached as an assistant at the college level,

but gained notoriety at the NFL level as the coach of the Oak-land Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He led Tampa Bayto a Super Bowl win in 2002 over his former team.Most recently, Gruden has been an analyst on Monday

Night Football and recently signed an extension to remainwith the program. It also seems unlikely that Swarbrick andthe Irish would want to sign another professional coach whohas no head coaching experience at the college level.

Kirk Ferentz

Iowa coach

A coach the Irish are famil-iar with facing, Johnson hashad rapid success since tak-ing over at Georgia Tech in2008.While many doubted that

Johnson’s triple-option of-fense would work in a majorconference, the Yellow Jack-ets have compiled a 19-5record over the past twoyears and will play for theACC Championship againstClemson Saturday.Johnson led Navy to five

straight bowl berths and a45-29 record in six seasonsin Annapolis.

Paul Johnson

Georgia Techcoach

Since taking over the BoiseState program in 2006, Pe-tersen has led the Broncos to a47-4 record and a BCS win inhis four seasons as head coach.While Peterson has the least

head coaching experience ofany major candidate, he has aproven track record of successand player development atBoise. He made his first impact on

the national college footballscene by leading the Broncos toan undefeated record in hisfirst season, leading the teamto a Fiesta Bowl upset of Okla-homa that featured severaltrick plays.

Chris Petersen

Boise Statecoach

Gary Patterson

Texas Christiancoach

After leaving his post as acoordinator for the Cowboys,Davis compiled a 51-20record at Miami from 1995-2000, helping to return theprogram to prominence. TheHurricanes compiled an 11-1record in his final year, andDavis laid the foundation fortheir 2001 national champi-onship.A top recruiter, Davis has

helped improve a strugglingUNC program after strug-gling in the NFL with theBrowns. He has the headcoaching experience the Irishare looking for and a historyof bringing in top talent.

Butch Davis

North Carolinacoach

THIRD TIER

SECOND TIER

Who will be next in line at Notre Dame?THE FRONTRUNNERSBy MICHAEL BRYAN

Associate Sports Editor

Brian Kelly has become one of the hottest coaches in collegefootball this year, leading Cincinnati to an 11-0 record headinginto Saturday’s showdown against Pittsburgh.Recently named one of the finalists for the George Munger

Award for the best coach in college football, Kelly has led theBearcats to a 33-6 record as a head coach. Kelly’s spread offensehas put up impressive numbers and led Cincinnati to a Big Easttitle and Orange Bowl appearance last year.Kelly also has experience turning programs around, taking

Central Michigan from a three-win team to the MAC Champi-onship and a 9-4 record in just three seasons. If interested in theNotre Dame job, Kelly will not interview or have serious talks withthe Irish until after this weekend’s game against the Panthers.

BRIAN KELLY, CINCINNATI COACH

AP

Contact Michael Bryan atmbryan@nd.edu

Observer Photo Illustration by ANDREA ARCHER and IAN GAVLICK

The Observer � IN FOCUSTuesday, December 1, 2009 page 8