No one wants to see someone lose their job. Though in the case of Charlie Weis, head football coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, I am almost willing to make an exception.
Now, before you think I'm an uncaring ogre, let me point out that if Charlie Weis were to be fired as Notre Dame's head football coach at the end of this season, he would get a buyout in the neighborhood of $15 to $20 million dollars. Another way of looking at that would be to say he just won the lottery. So he and his family would not go hungry.
I'm not alone in keeping an eye on this situation. There are several reasons this is a huge point of scrutiny and discussion right now - even by college football coaching standards, where serial hiring and firing comes with the territory. I'll hit the political reason last and start with how the Golden Domers are playing. On the field, over the last two seasons, after a successful 9-3 record in Weis's first season, Charlie's Notre Dame football team has -
*lost 13 of their last 21 games
*been shut out 3 times, including this past Saturday to Catholic rival, Boston College
*lost to Navy after 43 straight wins over the Naval Academy (think this Saturday's game in Baltimore is a big deal to Charlie?)
*had the first ever 9-loss season, which was the worst season in the 120-year history of the program
*scored 13 points in the first three games of last year
*accumulated a 1-15 record in their last 16 games against teams with a winning record
Even the leprechaun mascot looks shell shocked - and a little smaller. He traditionally does a push up for each point on the scoreboard every time Notre Dame scores. Not a real grueling workout for him these days and it shows. Can you blame alumni, fans, and even the priests for getting a little hot under the collar? (Yuk yuk.) After all, Notre Dame is the second winningest team in the history of college football with 829 wins and 42 ties in 1,139 games played.
The scoring woes of the Irish are amazing in light that they are coached by an "offensive genius" who boldly declared upon being hired to his first head coaching position that Notre Dame would have a strategic advantage over every team they played based on his tenure as offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. The Patriots have fared much better on offense than have the Irish since Charlie's move to South Bend.
The reason so many rival fans are rubbing their hands together in undisguised glee over Weis being on the hot seat is his record of perceived arrogance, which many feel has rivaled the arrogance of the fan base. (Yuk yuk yuk!)
Now to the politics. Off field, the reason this has become such a big deal is that an African American was elected president of the United States of America.
Huh? Obama is in charge of college football, too?
Nope but there's a connection. The man he replaced, Ty Willingham, is African American and many thought Notre Dame gave him the shaft when they suddenly dumped him with two years left on his contract, something the school had never done, not even in the tumultuous Gerry Faust era. Now the coach at University of Washington, Willingham is just one of just six African American head coaches in college football - a number that could very well be cut in half at season's end when he, Ron Prince at Kansas State, and Sylvester Croom at Mississippi State possibly get the axe and lose their jobs as expected.
What's brought on the renewed scrutiny is that Willingham was fired by the Golden Domers after three seasons with a 21-15 record. With three games to play in his third season, including an almost certain loss coming up against USC, Charlie Weis is 22-15. Since there is such little difference in their records, groups like the Black Coaches Association and fans and commentators of all colors are watching closely to see if the two men will be treated the same by Notre Dame's administration.
Even if their records are nearly identical it doesn't mean their situations are the same and I am loathe to interpret Notre Dame's action against Ty Willingham and possible inaction against Charlie Weis in racial terms, though on face value, the facts look more than a bit damning. One need not be self-consciously racist to behave in a racist manner.
But there are factors besides race, most notably simple economics, by which Weis could survive another season as head coach. Sure, Notre Dame with its own television network contract can afford to buy Weis out of his contract.
But will they be willing to write that kind of check in the midst of a national financial crisis? That would generate a whole other set of questions. Stewardship by a Christian institution comes to mind.
Under coaches like Knute Rockne and Frank Leahy it became popular to talk about the Luck of the Irish. What we're about to discover in the next month in regard to the running of the Notre Dame football machine has much more to do with the Pluck of the Irish!
That leaves just one conclusion.
Go Navy!
