A Sad Day

This isn't going to be a rant against Charlie Weis or a call for his immediate firing. I did enough of that last night. It's more just about how sad of a day is for the ND Nation. I really wanted Charlie to succeed. He's an ND alum, and he definitely gets "it". From Pass Right, to having the ND players stand with Navy post-game, to Hannah and Friends and all the other stuff, I really wanted to see Charlie succeed.

But something has gone wrong the past couple of years. Last night for me was about as low as it can get as an ND fan. Sure, I think that Navy will establish a 2 game winning streak against the Irish this year, which is embarrassing enough, but to not even show up against BC, freaking Boston College, in what many were calling a must-win game is pathetic. It appears to me that the players have tuned Weis out and in effect quit on their head coach. It's one thing to lose games like Pitt and UNC where you play decently but lose (although both of those are still inexcusable in my opinion). But to quit on your coach is about as troubling a sign as you can have as a fan of a program. BC is not that good! Their offense was terrible, and consisted primarily of one play - the shotgun QB option read. But the book is out on a Charlie Weis offense. You only need to rush 3 because the offensive line is so bad you will still get pressure. Don't even worry about the run because when they run your three man front will be able to make the play. And drop 8 into coverage and totally confuse Clausen. Is it just me or did Butch Davis pretty much write this book at halftime of the UNC game. Clausen has just not looked the same since then. And for the record, I'm not holding anything against Clausen. He has been put in a horrible position as a true sophomore, having to carry the offense with no running game and no offensive line.

I don't know what the answer is. I'm not going to be marching on South Bend or posting on NDNation every 30 minutes demanding Charlie to be fired. I just think it's becoming more and more obvious that Charlie does not have what it takes to succeed as a college head coach. If he is on the sideline next year, I fully expect more of the same. If we do make a coaching change, I have absolutely zero confidence that the administration is capable of carrying out a competent coaching search.

Someone tell me this: We are Notre Dame. I know we are not the Notre Dame of the 60's or of Lou Holtz, but there is still something special about the gold helmets and Touchdown Jesus. Why should we have to settle for a head football coach...who has never been a head football coach. Why should we be hiring an athletic director...who has never been an athletic director. Notre Dame is not the place to be learning on the job. I really hope Swarbrick proves me wrong. But when the day comes that Charlie is ousted and the coaching search begins, I'll be nervous to log onto espn.com for fear of seeing a headline like "Notre Dame hires Tommy Bowden to revive football program."

Again, I don't know what the solution is. I don't want to hear the youth excuse, or how great recruiting is going. The bottom line is Notre Dame is 1-16 in it's last games against .500 competition. That is beyond horrific. It's totally incomprehensible and should not be tolerated. Losing 17-0 to BC for the 6th straight time while it appears that the team couldn't have cared less, that's what is the most troubling sign. A truly sad day for Notre Dame football. What happens next?