SOUTH BEND, Ind. – If nothing else, Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis is a straight shooter.
That endears him to those who appreciate brutal honesty and it’s a turnoff to those who can’t handle the truth.
Weis, too, is adamant about not being attached to any excuses.
But the fact is, while his Notre Dame football team was staggering to an unsightly 3-9 record in a miserable season that included a first loss to Navy in 44 years, the cupboard was bare in South Bend. Not only had Weis lost NFL first-round draft pick QB Brady Quinn and Quinn’s top target, Jeff Samardjiza, but he had to reboot with a completely new offensive line.
“There was one game last year when we had 11 freshmen starting . . . and I’m not counting red-shirt freshmen,” Weis said. “That is not an excuse; that’s just reality. The thought methodology was, ‘Let’s get the best guys on the field regardless of their age and get them experience.’
“We knew that there was potential for this not to be pretty (in 2007). Now, did I expect us to go 3-9? Absolutely not. But you knew when you were going to play a whole bunch of these young guys that you just brought in that there were going to be some growing pains.
“I take the full responsibility for the difference between 3-9 and whatever better it could have been. (But) I grew up under (Bill) Parcells’ philosophy that you pay in advance. And that’s basically what we were doing. We were paying in advance and we’re hoping to cash in. And the cash-in time is this year and next year as we go forward.”
Those last words should bring hope to Notre Dame fans, who are still smarting from last year’s disappointment.
The most significant of those “pay in advance” players is sophomore quarterback Jimmy Clausen, who struggled in his freshman season as a raw signal-caller behind a young, porous line. Clausen threw six of his seven touchdown passes (along with only one interception) in his final three games – a loss to Air Force and wins over Duke and Stanford.
Clausen arrived at spring practice having added 18 pounds of muscle. After a 2007 season of uncertainty at quarterback, Clausen is the man at Notre Dame and Weis is hitching his wagon to him.
Weis, too, believes in his offensive line, which was so woeful last year it contributed heavily to the Fighting Irish possessing the 115th-worst rushing offense in the Bowl Subdivision, and allowing an NCAA-record 58 sacks. The line is another “pay in advance” group that played and grew together.
After the season, two dynamics off the field changed. First, Weis hired former Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta to be his assistant head coach in charge of the defense. Tenuta, whose Georgia Tech unit was known for being blitz-happy (the Yellow Jackets sacked Notre Dame quarterbacks nine times in the 2007 season opener), will work with defensive coordinator Corwin Brown.
Weis also removed himself from play-calling on offense, handing that responsibility to offensive coordinator Mike Haywood. It’s a move Weis had been thinking about, but feared doing last year because he knew his team would struggle and he didn’t want to hang any assistants out to dry as scapegoats.
Weis made the move after consulting with Bill Belichick and Andy Reid, both successful NFL coaches who yielded play calling to assistants in order to become more involved with the entire team. That is Weis’ goal – to become more involved with the entire program rather than being so heavily geared toward the offense.
Weis called it “cutting the umbilical cord.”
“I’ve been with this offensive staff for three years; they know what I’m thinking,” Weis said. “They can do the nuts and bolts of everything we do without me in there. I never thought I would enjoy doing it (handing over the play calling), but it’s really allowed me to be involved with the whole team. I almost feel like the defense felt like second-class citizens, because I was never with them.”