Archive for the ‘Charlie Weis’ Category

The wise old grandfather in Grumpy Old Men (played by Burgess Meredith) told his son he could wish in one hand, and take a crap in the other. I would like to give the same advice to Steve Serby of the New York Post after his column from today’s post where is openly pinning for the Giants to do whatever it takes to bring Charlie Weis to New York.

“Weis would be the closest thing to a young Bill Parcells, a tough, smart Jersey Guy disciplinarian and motivator who would have the best chance of anyone on the planet of saving Eli Manning, because Weis is a brilliant offensive mind with the interpersonal skills necessary to nurture and steady a developing young quarterback.”

These type of articles are really annoying because even though Weis has repeatedly said he’s come to Notre Dame to retire, it doesn’t stop these columnists from putting this stuff out there for opposing coaches to use as recruiting ammunition against Notre Dame.

Last year’s contract extension was supposedly supposed to put an end to this kind of speculation, but its clear that it hasn’t. Even the buyout clause in Weis’s contract doesn’t deter Serby in his article…

“The fly in the ointment for Big Blue ownership could be the reported $15 million or so it would cost it to buy out Weis’ contract, which runs through 2015, but nothing is impossible in this day and age.”

What these columnists don’t understand is that while Weis may be a Jersey native who grew up a huge Giants fan, he also attended the University of Notre Dame. John Walters from NBCSports.com puts Weis’s ties to the Irish in great perspective.

“Charlie Weis is a Jersey boy, but he is also a Domer. Virtually nobody spends four years on the campus with the Touchdown Jesus and the Grotto and the Hungarian noodle bake in the dining hall and the “May I have your attention, please? This is Officer Tim McCarthy from the Indiana State Police,” at the start of the fourth quarter, and fails to come away thinking of it as their home.”

It’s flattering a coach that is so overrated who hasn’t beaten anybody according to the Mark May’s and Dennis Dodd’s of the world is so sought after by the media in the nation’s largest market. At the same time, I absolutely HATE these articles because its exactly the kind of ammunition that opposing coaches can use in recruiting battles with the Irish over the final stretch of recruiting.

Closing out this year’s recruiting class strong will be paramount to Notre Dame’s success over the next several seasons so the timing of this couldn’t be worse for Weis and the Irish and God help us if the Giants do actually fire Tom Coughlin next week.

I hope someone in the media does ask Weis this week about these kind of reports because I know what the response will be – the same its been since last year – “I came here to retire.” Apparently, however, it needs to be said again.

Serby does get one thing right…

“The Giants made a mistake when they passed on Charlie Weis three years ago for Tom Coughlin.”
Yes, the Giants did make a mistake by not hiring Weis three years ago.  Weis wanted the Giants job more than any other NFL job and would have done anything to be roaming the sidelines of the Meadowlands.  Since then, however, a funny thing happened - he landed another dream job coaching his alma mater.  The Giants had their chance to hire Weis and they said thanks but no thanks which is exactly what Weis will tell the Giants if they contact him about coaching the G-men.

This is really starting to get old.  What else must Charlie Weis say to have his name stop being floated around in head coaching rumors in the NFL?  Weis signed the huge extension last year to let the NFL and media know he is not leaving Notre Dame.  That didn’t work.  He’s stated over and over that he indeed has his dream job coaching at his alma mater.  That hasn’t worked earlier.  As proof, here is a little gem from the New York Daily News…

Charlie Weis, Notre Dame: Two months into his first season with the Irish last year, the school extended Weis’ deal five years through 2015. By the end of the deal, he will make a reported $30 million-$40 million at Notre Dame, which obviously struck quickly to fight off suitors from the NFL. When he signed the extension, Weis said he plans to retire at Notre Dame. So it may not be easy to get him to leave - and it could be costly, depending on any buyout provisions - but the Giants might be the only team that could entice the Jersey guy to leave South Bend. He desperately wanted the Giants job three years ago, but finished second to Coughlin. The other candidates interviewed then were Romeo Crennel and Lovie Smith. Weis developed Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn into the likely first pick in the 2007 NFL draft after helping turn Tom Brady into a three-time Super Bowl champion with the Patriots. If Coughlin goes, the Giants would salivate at the prospect of Weis straightening out Manning. The Giants have always been Weis’ dream job. (LINK)

First off, I find it very funny that of the four candidates the Giants interviewed before hiring Coughlin, they probably made the worst decision possible.  Smith has the Bears headed for home field advantage,  Crennel looks to be making some progress in Cleveland, and Weis has Notre Dame in back to back BCS games.  Coughlin meanwhile has one of the most talented teams in the NFC, on the verge of missing the playoffs.

As much joy as the Giants blunder brings me, the New York media really needs to stop floating Weis name out there just because they think Weis would be a good choice.  Stuff like this is exactly the kind of ammunition opposing coaches dream about down the stretch in recruiting and with plenty of spots to fill in this year’s class, Weis doesn’t need anything like this getting in his way.

Part of me actually hopes the Giants do indeed put on the full court press for Weis, should they fire Coughlin.  Maybe Weis turning down a fat contract from the Giants would put an end to all of the speculation and rumors that keep popping up.

One last thing that amazes me about this… for all of the college football media who constantly say Weis is overrated and what not, its amazing that the NFL media in major markets still float his name out there.