Weis to Move to the Booth Permanently?

charlie-weis-04When asked about coaching from the booth in 2009 on Friday, Charlie Weis did not rule out the possibility.  Here’s what he had to say.

My wife has asked me that, as well. That’s no kidding, you know. I mean, she’s asked me the same question.

I can tell you that it’s a subject that we’ve addressed as a staff. Although I’d say it’s definitely on the lower end of 50/50, it’s not something that’s a 5% consideration by us at this point.

Here is the problem with that. If you go upstairs, you obviously have to stay upstairs. The first time you come downstairs, now you open yourself up for a whole different set of scrutiny. So what you have to decide, you know, is what is the best in both short term and long term.

You don’t want to say, Well, let’s go up for Nevada, let’s come down for Michigan. You can’t do that. So whatever that decision is, you have to intend to do it on a fairly permanent basis.

I can honestly tell you it’s not a no. It’s something that’s still under consideration. My wife will be very happy that you asked that question.

I can’t say I’d be opposed to Weis coaching from the booth since he is now the offensive coordinator and will be calling the plays.  With the staff Weis has assembled for 2009, there will be plenty of coaches capable of providing the emotion and leadership the players need on the sidelines – most notably, new associate head coach Corwin Brown.  Since Weis will be calling the plays and running the offense, sitting in the booth makes a lot of sense.

The biggest problem I see with Weis potentially coaching from the booth is it will really show his limitations as a head coach.  One of the biggest knocks on Weis is that he is an excellent x’s and o’s coach, but isn’t a great sideline coach.  No one is going to mistake Weis for Lou Holtz anytime soon, but at the same time, no other head coaches from the booth without some sort of medical reason. Perceptually, Weis coaching from the booth wouldn’t be great.  Losing a lot of games in 2009 would be too good perceptually for Weis and Notre Dame either though so if Weis coachng from the booth means a couple extra wins next year, I’d be all for it.

What are your thoughts on Weis possibly coaching from the booth?  Let us know in the comments.

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20 Comments

  1. Who Cares about SCRUTINY.. Winning is the only thing that matters.. I hope he coaches Nevada from the booth and Michigan from the sideline, if he thinks it will give ND its best chance of winning.. Inovators have to subject themselves to a little scrutiny to accomplish great things sometimes.. Look at BELICHIK… TIP to charlie just worry about winning….

  2. Absolutely Lyle,

    Charlie Weis might not be the best motivator for his team, so he has designated Corwin Brown for the job. Isn’t placing the individuals in the roles that better the team a vital role in a head coaches’ responsibilities? Absolutely.

    People knock him because he’s a head coach not on the sideline. How often are coordinators necessarily on the field; most are in the booth. If Charlie Weis is going to serve as the main O-C, he needs to be in the location that works best for the team; sacrificing his rep. and name for the better of the team to these “haters”.

    Nothing more admirable for a head coach.

  3. As fans, our experience of the Head Coach is almost exclusively for three hours on game day, so the matter of sidelines versus booth has a distorted importance. 95% of a Head Coach’s job is done during game week and in the off-season.

    Since he has designated himself the offensive coordinator, he has to call plays from wherever he can best do that job. If fans don’t see him as Head Coach during those three hours, that doesn’t mean he’s not.

    Charlie Weis will continue to be Head Coach as long as he wins. Whether he does it from the booth or the sideline is irrelevant.

  4. It’s unbelievable to think that coaching from the booth exempts you from being a great head coach. Head coaching isn’t on the sideline nor from a booth. Head coaching is making the final and best decisions for a team that you would like to see succeed. Most of those decisions are made during the off-season and making adjustments during the season. So, regardless of what anyone thinks, I think he is making a great head coaching decision in coaching from the booth; a decision that is best for himself and the team.

  5. I like to think of a football game as a battle and in a battle where do you want your General. Do you want your general leading his men on the field or would you rather have him in his communication bunker? My answer: I want him is his communication bunker, getting all the information he can so that he can win the war.

  6. now i loved watching the hawaii bowl game, but I think its too small of a sample to definitavely say “wow look at the results from that.” One game in 4 seasons isnt enough to conclude he’s a better coach up there.

    I dont know that I’m opposed to or for a booth spot for him, but to me there’s just not enough to positively say yay or nay.

  7. The Hawaii game was a great result. I wonder if Charlie’s lack of motivation brings an ominous feel to the sideline.
    Hawaii is not USC or Boston College or Pitt or Navy for that matter. If it helps ND then so be it. WHATEVER The call, we must all remember that this is a year for NO EXCUSES! This is year # 5 for Charlie -these are his men and his staff and the holes which bob Vanilla lackluster two-faced Davie left and the smoke and mirrors of Ty and the horrific results there are IN THE PAST! No excuses –be it from the booth or field.
    ND will think twice about shooting from the hip and granting a huge contract based on a game or two.
    What is Best for NOTRE DAME is what should be done!
    Period. End of story.
    ( Unlike Rodriguez at Michigan, Charlie is part of the program. Mr. head coach wolverine has said that “this is about him and not U of M”
    regarding certain traditions!
    We cannot dare find ourselves anywhere CLOSE to that in South Bend!

  8. It doesn’t matter that Charlie is the head coach. An offensive playcaller should have the best advantage to picking apart a defense and clearly watching the game from above is the best way to do that. Charlie has hired personnel to be able to control the sidelines just fine. Nobody needs to worry that the head coach isn’t on the sidelines. He cannot help he just happened to be the offensive coordinator as well. And if that is his specialty, then take full advantage of it and by doing that he needs to be in the booth!

  9. A head coach coaches from the field regardless if he’s also calling plays. The only exception should be as a surprise for this year’s USC game.

  10. Coaching from the booth will let CW be CW. Whatever works best for the team. We already know emotion is not his strong suit so let the guy rule with Xs and Os

  11. How many REAL head football coaches coach exclusively from the booth?

    This is the kind of soul searching madness when your clueless about being a head football coach. One game does not dictate a whole season.

    The real problem that still exists, is that Charlie wants to play offensive coordinator again, instead of head coach.

    All this flip-flop back and forth is pure chaos. Another example of keeping on an under performing employee that you should have fired.

    CW,if you don’t want to be a college football head coach exclusively then leave. Your way over paid to be an offensive coordinator no matter if your in the booth or on the sideline, it doesn’t matter. More evidence you need your old job back in the NFL.

    Great recruiter, not a head football coach yet.

  12. It sounds to me like Corwin Brown was made the unofficial head coach. dont know if i ahree with everyone here about weis going up to the booth. unlike JB i think charlie is a very smart man who is learning how to be head coach on the job. i have a feeling Charlie Weis can be a greatheadcoach i just hope he learns quick enough to be a great coach at Notre Dame

  13. Coaching from the booth makes a lot of sense for the following reasons:

    1) He can see the field better
    2) It gives Brown a legitimate role on the team–sideline boss–and he has a lot of credibility with the players–a fiery and emotional leader, much better than Weis.
    3) We don’t have to watch any more painful pictures of Charlie hobbling around on the side-lines.

  14. Coach from the booth. I never saw a great chess player play from eye level with the pieces. They look from above.

    Just because a lot of other people do does not make it right in all situations.

  15. My thoughts are; who is CW here for, the team or himself? I think what is good for the team is good for CW and I can’t think coaching a failing team [because he won’t make the right choice] is going to get him coaching job considerations in life after ND. If it works, go to the Booth CW and stop worrying about what it looks like. Save face by making sound decisions and not by grasping at some outdated perception that you need to micro manage physically from the sideline.

  16. I really hope coaches from the booth. No coordinator should be calling plays form the sideline. He has no emotion on the sideline anyways. Let Corwin be the top sideline coach. He needs to let his ego go and get up to that booth.

  17. I would personally prefer him coaching from the booth. We all saw the Hawaii game. I also hope Corwin stays with the Irish for the next 5-10 years. This guy is very good.

  18. i think it would be ideal considering the new “titles” which places corwin in charge when and if he makes the move to the booth. anyone else know of a head coach doing it from the booth minus joepa with a bum hip??

  19. I like the happy medium of an emotional coach on the field (brown) with our x’s and o’s guy in the booth reading defenses (weis). Not to mention, Weis said he liked being in the booth for the Hawaii game, and we all saw the positives that came from that. Since it is pretty typical to have the “bird’s eye view” of the field for the O coordinator, I’d personally rather him be up there, for the sake of not having another lackluster year (imho) on the offensive side of the ball.

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