Conflicting Reports on Weis’s Buyout
There have been various reports today about just how big the buyout in Charlie Weis’s contract is.
First Lee Corso weighed in on the buyout (via a Chicago Tribune article)
“The entire Catholic Church doesn’t have enough money to pay him off at $2.5 million for another seven years or whatever it is,” Corso said. “So forget about it. The guy is going to be the football coach and they’re just going to have to live with what they’ve got.”
That same CT article, however, described Weis’s buyout as “loose change.”
The common perception of Weis’ buyout is not accurate. Multiple sources have told the Tribune the buyout, far smaller than believed, will not affect whether Notre Dame decides to fire Weis after Saturday’s game at USC. One prominent alumnus called the amount “loose change.”
Weis’ contract likely calls for annual increases to his base salary. If that average rises to $650,000, the seven-year buyout would be about $4.5 million.
Not to be outdone on the subject, ESPN’s Joe Schad came out with yet another report describing the buyout in Weis’s contract “stupifying.”
A person with knowledge of Weis’ contract told ESPN’s Joe Schad on Wednesday that the amount Notre Dame would have to pay Weis is greater than $4 million to $5 million, which was reported earlier Wednesday by the Chicago Tribune. The source told Schad that the buyout, which is specified in the contract, is “stupefying.”
Obviously there is a lot of information and disinformation being put out there right now and it’s impossible to know which reports are accruate. The mere fact that there are even reports about the matter, however, suggest that there is a real chance that Weis might not be back next year.
The fact that we are even discussing this also saddens me. It really does. I have been a big Charlie Weis fan for some time and as little as three weeks ago I posted on this very blog that I was still on the Weis bandwagon and that I still thought he would be able to turn things around. The narrow esacep versus Navy and the loss to Syracuse had me rethinking that stance, but I can honestly say that I never thought we would be in this position. I’ll have a more detailed post on that subject over the holiday.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
If CW were to be let go, Brian Kelly, head coach of the Cincinnatti Bearcats, will be the next head coach. He has a clause in his current contract that he can leave the Bearcats for ND. He has already turned down the Tennessee position. I live in West Michigan. Brian coached at Grand Valley State University, and Central Michigan University. He turned both of these programs around. Check out his Wiki page and you will see what I speak of.
you can’t tell me that UTAH,FRESNO,BOISE AND YES EVEN PENN STATE,get better recruits than ND.It’s just that their coaches develope their kids into better ball players than when they first got them.
If you google: Urban Meyer to ND. It makes for some interesting reading.
Urban may very well be at the top of the list, again. Things change.
Weis should be fired. All great coaches at ND won the national title year three. What did the big man do? Only the worst season in ND history.
John,
It wasn’t a 27 yard field goal, it was a 47 yard field goal into the wind with a kicker who had made just 1 40 yard field goal in his career prior.
CW should have been fired after the unbelievable finish (they had a 27 yard field goal that he chose to not kick) last year in the Navy game. Also the Navy game this year, trying a 52 yard field goal that left Navy at mid field then the front line for the onside kick looked as they if did’t have a clue, most of the players just stood around and let Navy get very close to winning the game.
God be with you,
John
I agree with Castine that the kicking game isn’t the best, but how did we get in the position to have the game rest on the shoulders of Walker in the first place?I’ll tell you. 1.) The majority of the players have NO HEART and play with NO EMOTION! 2.) Wies sucks arse. Now is the time to go to congress and ask for help to bail us out of CW’s contract! The “stay puft” marshmallow man needs to go! The numbers are there in black and white. Ty and Bob both did equally crappy jobs and they were sent packing. We need to send this clown packing too. I feel bad for him because He genuinely cares about ND, but I care for ND too and I know I can’t coach!
If Weis is fired this year, and another coach comes in and wins next year with his recruits, won’t it be the same situation as when Weis took over for Willingham? People who hate CW make the argument that he won with Ty’s players. What happens if another coach comes in next year, has two good seasons, and then starts to lose some games. Do we say that he won with CW’s players? Do we get yet another coach?
Let’s see what he can do with his players as upperclassmen. Otherwise, we’ll end up in the same situation again.
Also, no matter what anyone says, CW is a fine individual. Look at his charities. I would rather lose games and have a high character coach and team than win without class.
@DD
I am sorry, poor example: “battered wife syndrome.”
CW is nowhere in the arena with that. Further, CW and his family are outstanding individuals. They are ND.
We always hope for the best in football, and sometimes it just does not work out.
The players are not there or developed, yet. CW does deserve to see his recruits as upper classmen. There are many talented first and second year players waiting to take over. As for the kicking: The NC, Pitt, and Syracuse games could all be wins if the kicking game was, at a minimum, respectable! I would love to see stats on special teams and field position. It seems to me our special teams and especially the return game has been anemic for some time.
I tend to believe there is fault more with the coaching staff and CW trying to overcome deficiencies with his staff.
Frank, while your loyalty and that of your fans is admirable I think you are being had. I find this on again off again love affair with Weis a little like battered wife syndrome. He keeps telling you that he is going to be more involved, like that will help, and then punches you in the stomach, figuratively if not literally, with his incompetence. As loyal fans you buy into his crap and keep coming back for more even though you know he won’t change, he can’t change. He is not the caliber of coach he said he was nor is he the caliber of coach that a loyal fan base deserves. This is thanksgiving so what better time would there be to get rid of this turkey!
I completely agree except for the kicker part. I don’t think either of the kicks Walker missed were his fault. The first was a bobbled snap and the second was Charlie’s decision. Charlie does deserve a chance to show that he can have success with his own class. If he can do it next year, I think we could be good for a VERY long time.
Let CW have next year to work with this class of sophomores (Allen, Clausen, Tate) as upper classmen. The season is over but in the mean time fire the offensive line coach and get a new kicker and we should be ok. If not i wouldnt be opposed to CW staying on as a recruiter or offensive coordinator in a new regime. The question is, who takes CW’s place if people want him gone so bad?