CAN CHARLIE BE TRUSTED?
Be honest. Do you really believe in Charlie Weis? Does he have your confidence? If you were strolling down a dark alley, would you feel secure knowing it was Weis who had your back? This writer, for one, must answer with a resounding no.
Put another way, with a game on the line, are you at all convinced the Notre Dame coach will pull the right strings necessary to bring home a clutch victory?
After one deplorable season (3-9) was followed up by a painfully disappointing one (7-6), no one can be sure that Weis can get the job done. Due to his hardly isolated bouts of ineptitude, Weis has created an enormous cloud of uncertainty that currently hovers over the football program.
If you don't have serious doubts about Charlie's viability, then you haven't been paying attention. Either that or you've had your head stuck in a helmet for the past 21 months. After a promising start in South Bend (17-6 in his first two campaigns ), Weis has lost much of his credibility. On numerous occasions, he's been clearly outcoached. In plenty of other instances, the team that Weis has overseen has imploded and completely fallen apart.
It's irrefutable that under Weis' watch, ND football has fallen upon hard times. As of late, Weis has provided the masses with very few positives. Right now, based upon his track record, it's mighty hard to trust in Charlie Weis. To believe in him is harder still!
Sorry but I remain skeptical about the supposed renaissance the Irish are expected to experience in 2009. There seems to be a consensus of opinion from virtually every source that the Domers will rebound in a big way, in this Weis' fifth season at the helm. Most everyone is predicting that the Irish will redeem themselves and in doing so, will begin burnishing a tarnished Golden Dome.
But hold on a minute. Let's not get too carried away with this projected revival without some concrete proof to go along with it, of which there is very little.
Oh sure, ND does have a favorable upcoming schedule, an experienced and potentially potent offense as well as a defense populated by some intriguing and gifted athletes. And certainly the infusion of new coaching talent in the persons of Frank Verducci (offensive line), Randy Hart (defensive line), Tony Alford (running backs) and Bryant Young (graduate assistant), has brought an energy and optimism that's been missing from the scene for far too long,
Yet, don't look now, but the same guy who took the Irish off the beaten path, is still driving the bus. The question remains has Weis regained his sense of direction or will he continue to steer the Irish deep into the wilderness from which only a GPS could help get them out?
We're told by some ND insiders that Weis is at last coming to grips with how to coach at the collegiate level. That, after a successful stint as an offensive coordinator in the pros, the sometimes wise guy from New Jersey is finally wising up on how it's done in college. The fact that it took him four years to start getting it right doesn't seem to bother some but it does trouble this reporter.
For someone who's reputed to be so bright and such a quick study, it sure took Weis an inordinate amount of time to begin figuring things out. His progression has been painstakingly slow, almost as if he'd been learning at a remedial level. Forget about taking any advanced courses. It's still unclear whether Weis has even got the basics down.
Weis' recent stumbles and pratfalls bring to mind the forgettable regimes of predecessors Gerry Faust, Bob Davie and Tyrone Willingham. Like the aforementioned three, Weis has been unable to extract from his teams any consistency of effort or performance. You simply don't know what to expect.
Under Weis, Notre Dame football has been erratic, underachieving, less than tough and brutal during crunch time. Knowing that, how can anyone feel assured that Weis is now ready to orchestrate a resurrection of consequence?
Objectively looking at what he's accomplished to date, only a fool would have blind faith in Weis. He's not a man who inspires a lot of confidence or engenders an abiding belief in him. You can't help but wonder from week to week if his team will show up, let alone play anywhere approaching their A game.
A coach earns trust and respect when he produces teams that can be counted on. When he creates squads that are reliable and steady. Being dependable is the true measuring-stick of any great leader.
Thus far, Weis hasn't cut it in that regard. He hasn't yet hit on the formula of how to make his charges repeatedly execute at a high level. Hence, when it comes to the trust factor, Weis has virtually none. He's almost bankrupt in this area.
So until Weis proves that he can win with regularity and over the long haul, the questions about his competency will continue to dog him. Is he legit or is the ND coach totally out of his element? The answer to that weighty question will, in large part, play out during the '09 season.
But, for right now, Weis hasn't won over very many converts. His detractors far outnumber those who swear by him. At the moment, most observers wouldn't trust him as far as they could toss him. To tell the truth, neither would this correspondent.
Needless to say, Charlie Weis has a hell of a long way to go before he proves that he's really head coaching material.