You're Gonna Do What?: Charlie Weis To Give Up Play Calling Duties at Notre Dame

Coach Charlie Weis dropped a few bombs on the Fighting Irish football faithful Friday, stating-among other things-that he would relinquish offense play calling duties to his offensive staff. This effectively allows Mike Haywood to do what his job title states: be the offensive coordinator.

Weis also announced that Jon Tenuta will coach the linebackers, moving defensive coordinator Corwin Brown back to work with the secondary. I believe this is a positive move given the quality of linebacker play Georgia Tech exhibited over the past few seasons along with the fact that Brown's experience in the NFL was coaching the secondary.

Weis mentioned the conversations that he had with both Brown and Tenuta before Tenuta was hired. They discussed their coaching relationship, how they would work and interact, and the responsibilities each would have going forward. All three agreed on the way things would work, believing that only good would come of the situation despite Tenuta having less responsibility and no play calling duties.

The move by Weis to give up play calling duties is puzzling, given that his background is as an offensive coordinator, developing a reputation for being one of the most innovative offensive minds in the NFL while working under Bill Belichick with the New England Patriots. Weis is an exceptional play caller not only because he can scheme and attack opposing defenses, but also due to his innate ability to set up and call the perfect play, at the perfect time. It is this last characteristic of Weis' offensive play calling abilities that makes him one of the best in the business.

Ultimately, this decision by Weis leads to the following question: Does losing his offensive play calling prowess and scheming advantages outweigh the positives associated with this move?

The Good

This decision by Weis doesn't come without positives. It shows a willingness to change, to distance himself from what he is comfortable with, to move outside his comfort zone. This must be a truly difficult thing to do. Weis is stepping away from doing what he does best for what he believes will ultimately lead to Notre Dame becoming a better football team and he becoming a better head coach. In the past Weis' stubborn and domineering personality has caused problems, not allowing his assistants to properly perform their jobs. The fact that Weis specifically commented on how he was restricting the creative capabilities of his offensive staff reiterates his belief that this move is for the greater good of the team.

This move will allow Weis to manage the team, the game, and his staff better. A great deal of being a head coach is doing just that, managing your players, making critical decisions during the game, and developing your staff. In the past, decision making in games has been an often criticized component of Weis' coaching. This move frees him up to hopefully make better in-game decisions at critical points of the game.

With his extra time Weis plans to get more involved with special teams, even making a trip to see Frank Beamer in the off-season. Beamer is an excellent special teams coach and Virginia Tech has had excellent success in the past blocking punts and field goals as well as in the return game. Weis also plans on using the extra time to become more involved with the players. He wants to become more approachable and less intimidating for the players, specifically with the younger players:

"I talked to former players and current players, and I think the biggest issue as I looked at this is if you're playing freshmen and sophomores, it's not the same as when you're playing juniors and seniors. The maturity level of the players is not the same. So you can't take for granted that 18 and 19 year olds are the same as 21 and 22 year olds as far as how you can coach them and the maturity level. You know, I never looked at it from that perspective before. But if you think about it, a kid right out of high school is not the same as somebody who's been weathered for four years in the program.

So therefore as I look at it, we're going to be playing those kids, and a lot of those freshmen and sophomores that you played last year are really only in the program for the second or third year, might have only played for one year. And I just felt that too many times when a guy makes a mistake, the only thing they're concerned about is getting yelled at, versus when you make a mistake, being concerned about letting your team down.

So I'd like to move in the direction that if a guy made a mistake he was more concerned that he was letting his teammates down than worrying about the fear of is Weis going to yell at me. The fear of a kid, the younger guys, too many times they play with that mentality. So what do you do? You get it so that they know you better so if you yell at them they know that it's not personal.

The first two years were a little bit easier to be honest with you because when you're playing with older guys, they've already been through that process. You can be harder on them because they're older and they've been more weathered. I played a lot more younger guys this year, and I think in self evaluation, which is what you're talking about right now, I don't think the freshmen and sophomores are really quite ready for the full load, so to speak. I think you have to -- they're not going to change. You're going to bring another group of freshmen next year. They're still going to be freshmen. You're not going to change, you've got to be the one that changes."

Weis' comments indicate he has evolved and adapted, and he has more understanding with one of the primary differences between coaching in college vs. the NFL. This move by Weis is an attempt to create a better team, building it from within and starting with himself. Spending more time with the players will build closer relationships with him, creating loyalty to Weis and leading to more motivated play.

Weis will still be involved with the offense, primarily with the quarterbacks and interjecting when he feels necessary. This is important for two primary reasons. I believe this will allow him to continue to have influence on the timing of the offensive play calls. It will also allow Notre Dame to continue to bring in top quarterback talent, as he has a superb reputation for developing quarterbacks.

Without Weis calling plays control of the offense will go to Michael Haywood, who's background is in the running game. Haywood played running back at Notre Dame, he coached the running backs at Texas (including Ricky Williams and Cedric Benson), he currently coaches the running backs at Notre Dame, and I believe he will renew the Irish commitment to running the football consistently and effectively.

If there have been any criticisms about Weis' play calling in the past, it was that he was too cute, that he didn't develop a power running game to convert short yardage situations and have an effective goal line rushing attack. With the talent up front along the offensive line and at the running back position Weis and his staff have brought in over the past three years, this could bode very well for the future of the Irish rushing game.

The Bad

Losing Weis' excellence in offensive play calling aside, what puzzles me most about this move is the timing. While I think that ultimately this is a good decision, having two very young and inexperienced coordinators on the same staff has the potential to be problematic. Weis must have confidence in Haywood, otherwise I don't think he would allow him to call plays, but the fact of the matter is that Haywood has no experience calling plays in a game.

The problems associated with this lack of experience at both coordinator positions may also be mitigated by having Weis' presence with the offense and Jon Tenuta's presence with the defense. Still, I believe this introduces an area of concern for the near future and the importance of losing a play caller like Weis cannot be overstated.

The 2007 Notre Dame football season was a disaster due to a combination of problems all occurring at the same time. Three new starters on the offensive line, youth and inexperience at many of the offensive skill positions, a true freshman quarterback, lack of depth at the defensive line position, a new defensive scheme, coordinator, and terminology, and a front loaded schedule with good defensive football teams all contributed to a 3-9 season.

In the history of college football there may have never been so many unfavorable factors facing one team.

In 2008 many of these problems will either be reduced or gone. There will still be youth at many of the offensive skill positions. However, there will be more experience. The offensive line returns four starters. Jimmy Clausen should be healthy, have more practice time with his receivers to improve their timing, and have a more developed understanding of the offense. The defense should be more adept with the new 3-4 scheme. And the schedule is much more manageable.

Only the depth issues along the defensive line will remain as big problem of a problem as it was in 2007.

By making this decision now Weis has introduced another factor that could negatively contribute to the 2008 season. It isn't having one weakness or problem area that makes it difficult to win football games. One problem area can typically be covered via adjustments and scheming. It's when there are several weaknesses and problems that winning becomes difficult because opposing teams can more easily adjust to exploit multiple weaknesses.

It remains to be seen whether or not this decision by Weis will be a good move or bad. However, when one lines up the positives and negatives it looks like a forward step for the Notre Dame program.

The Weis Is Right: Notre Dame Nets Stellar Recruiting Class

To all Notre Dame football fans, everywhere, I'd like to take the time to introduce you to the class of 2012. On Wednesday, coach Charlie Weis and the Notre Dame football program received twenty-three faxed letters of intent from high school football players around the country. Depending on who you talk to this recruiting class is ranked from 1 to 7 in the nation. Most believe it to be, in the very least, a top-three class once it is all said and done. Many programs which signed more players will lose some due to academic casualties and/or cannot accept all of their scholarships.

First things first, Weis and the entire coaching staff deserve a great deal of credit.

Last year at this time the Fighting Irish unexpectedly lost a few recruits to other teams. Even during the rest of the recruiting season there were undertones of recruits misleading and/or wavering from their verbal commitments. Weis adjusted his recruiting style and the "rules" surrounding it to come away with a grand slam haul this year. This very well could be the best class Notre Dame has had since the Lou Holtz/Vinny Cerrato era. After last year's 3-9 season, this is a welcomed breath of fresh air in South Bend.

It isn't like the past two recruiting classes Weis has brought in have been bad, they have certainly been far from poor. The reason this class is so phenomenal is three-fold.

First, the needs up front on the defensive side of the ball have been addressed, as much as they can in one recruiting class. Second, the skill position players on offense, save at the running back position, are top notch football players. Dayne Crist, Deon Walker, John Goodman, Michael Floyd, and Kyle Rudolph are all excellent high school football players, and each one brings something unique to the table for Notre Dame.

Third, this class has intangibles. The recruits are already close; they have been talking to each other, bonding, and are convinced that they are going to put Notre Dame back at the top of the college football world. The quotes from their high coaches virtually all read: "The amazing thing is, he's a better person than football player." They have bought into the concept of Notre Dame, what it means, how special of a place it is. They have leadership, toughness, and determination that is evident in both what they say and in action, as they stayed loyal to Notre Dame and Weis despite Notre Dame's poor season.

All those things will be for naught, however, if Weis and his staff are unable to develop the talent they have worked so hard to bring in. I don't put a lot of stock in recruiting rankings, mostly because they judge more on talent and athleticism than actually attempting to quantify how good a high school football player is going to be in college. Many times this is an impossible feat; the competition in high school just isn't good enough to extrapolate the talent on the field to the college level. That said, the recruiting rankings of Notre Dame's past three classes indicate that the talent and athleticism in South Bend come Fall Camp will be seriously upgraded from the initial group Weis inherited. You can't create talent and athleticism; you can coach it into good football players. This will be the task of Weis and his staff moving forward, in addition to continuing to recruit well.

Now on to my take of how the Irish did at each position...

Quarterback

Dayne Crist is as good as there is out there. Physically he has more tools than Clausen. That doesn't mean he will necessarily be a better quarterback than Clausen, but he does have more size, speed, and strength. He really can zip the ball but he lacks the accuracy and polish that Clausen has. Crist will surprise you with his speed and elusiveness, but he also needs to adjust to lining up under center, as he took the majority of his high-school snaps from a shot-gun formation. What really impresses me about Crist is his already teeming leadership abilities. He already says and does all the things you want in a veteran quarterback.

Running Back

I'm not overly impressed with Jonas Gray. The speed all the recruiting services list for him is overstated. He doesn't have as good of speed as advertised. He does run tough and keeps his pad level low. I can see him being a solid player for us but I think Aldridge and Hughes will keep him on the bench for the foreseeable future.

Tight End

Kyle Rudolph and Joseph Fauria make a great combination of tight ends in this class. Rudolph is an exceptional athlete for his size. He's got great height and the frame to put on more weight. He can really go up and get the ball but the things I love about him are those that make a great receiver. He gets his hips very low when he cuts on routes, allowing him to move in and out of cuts very quickly. He also catches everything with his hands, away from his body.

Fauria is of a different mold. He already has the size and strength. I think he will be a better blocker than Rudolph but both will be great weapons in the red zone both in tighter formations and split out wide.

Offensive Line

Most of the offensive line recruits we signed are more of the project variety. Mike Golic certainly has the fundamentals to be a great one. He just needs to gain size and strength. I think Lane Clelland and Braxston Cave are more polished and will contribute sooner but I don't know if they are really do go just yet. Cave does have a great mean streak and Clelland has great feet for a tackle but I think both will need to adjust to the speed at the college level, as all linemen do.

Trevor Robinson, I believe, is the exception. I think Robinson can compete almost immediately. He has the size and strength needed to compete at the college level and enrolling early won't hurt his cause.

Wide Receiver

I firmly believe this could be the best wide receiver class Notre Dame has ever had and is also probably the best wide receiver class any school has signed over the past 5-10 years. Michael Floyd is a man among boys. He has deceptive speed and quickness, strong hands, and the ability to stretch the field. He isn't going to run away from everyone, but he isn't without the ability to generate yards after the catch. He catches everything thrown in his vicinity and I think he has the potential to be the best possession receiver in Notre Dame history. I think he is like Maurice Stovall (in his later years) but with better hands and more speed and quickness.

Deon Walker is a very fluid player, really quick in and out of cuts and accelerating through his routes. I believe he lacks the strength to be a consistent contributor right away but he could be a great receiver down the road.

John Goodman is a very under-rated wide receiver prospect. In any other year he would be rated much higher; this year's wide receiver recruiting class is extremely deep. Goodman has great speed and good quickness. While his hands are somewhat suspect, playing quarterback in high school will help with potential trick plays like double passes.

Defensive Line

At the defensive line position the Fighting Irish got both quality and quantity. While losing Omar Hunter hurt, the glaring depth needs at the position were met. Sean Cynwar, Brandon Newman, and Hafis Williams have the size to contribute early and to help stop the run, something Notre Dame didn't do particularly well last season. Kapron Lewis-Moore and Ethan Johnson both have the speed to become great pass rushers and get penetration off the snap against the run. Hopefully all are better than advertised, as they will very likely need to contribute next season.

Linebacker

I think my favorite recruit at this position is Anthony McDonald. He has a reputation of being very coachable and is a student of the game. Although he won't blow you away with his speed, he plays with good technique and typically takes good pursuit angles, both of which can help make up for a lack of physical ability.

David Posluszny is small and will need to gain strength but his instincts for the ball cannot be ignored. I think he is someone who will contribute, albeit a little further down the road. Steve Filer and Darius Fleming are the more athletic guys of the group. Both can run sideline-to-sideline, something essential to playing inside linebacker position in the 3-4. I think they, particularly Fleming, could press for playing time next season.

Defensive Backfield

I absolutely love this class of defensive backs. Jamoris Slaughter and Robert Blanton are cut from the same mold. They may not have the best 40 times, but they fly all over the field and neither are afraid of contact. They love to hit and they bring the lumber every time. They are the perfect complement at the corner position to Darrin Walls, Gary Grey, and Raeshon McNeil who are much more cover corners.

If I could use one word to describe Dan McCarthy it would be range. While he may not have the pure speed of Harrison Smith, he can really move laterally, cut, and close ground in a hurry. McCarthy is also a very physical player. All three of these guys are really, really solid athletes and football players.

Interviewing With the Guys at Pigskin Podcast

This Thursday I am going to be interviewed for a podcast to be posted on Pigskin Podcast. It should be available late that evening or Friday morning. The interview will also be available on iTunes (search keyword PIGSKIN). We will discuss the ESP and AV, as well as some other recent things related to Notre Dame football. They have a preview of the interview up at their website here and here.

Edit: The podcast of the interview is now posted here.

Jon Tenuta...Come On Down

First, let me say thank you to Bill Lewis for being an excellent coach and recruiter. Every time I saw even a glimpse of practice the man was coaching his heart out. Rarely was his voice at full go simply because he never stopped talking, teaching, coaching. He recruited hard, he coached hard, and he worked hard for the University of our Blessed Mother. I don't like to see a good coach go, but I am very pleased that he has decided to remain a part of the Notre Dame athletic family. It just serves as another example of how special ND is and how it can really grab ahold of a person with its mystique.

If Lewis had to go, and he did due to a double hip replacement, Jon Tenuta was about as good of a hire as we could have made. To get a coach of his caliber as a position coach is astounding. He is a high profile name, an excellent defensive mind, and a no-nonsense coach. All of these things are tangible additions to our football program. This hire isn't a home run, it's a grand slam. Tenuta is among the top defensive minds in all of college football. He ranks with Charlie Strong, Bud Foster, the Stoops brothers, and our very own nemesis Pete Carroll.

Tenuta is the perfect complement to Weis and Brown. Brown is a sideline coach, involved in the game, motivating the players, creating energy in the play of the defense. Tenuta is a press box defensive tactical guru. He schemes, he adjusts. His presence in the defense will not only be felt in improved toughness and aggressive play, it will be evident in a improved ability to adjust to opposing offenses. The 3-4 is built to blitz, to confuse, to apply pressure to the quarterback from all over the field. Tenuta's background and experience is in aggressive, pressure applying, blitzing defensive schemes. Brown is new, raw, inexperienced. Tenuta is polished, he is battle worn, he has years of coordinating experience.

Tenuta will change our defense, he will make it faster, tougher, more aggressive. Our defense will dictate what opposing offenses can do, the tempo of the game, and will force our opponents out of the comfort zone. Brown tried to do this some last year, particularly in the UCLA and Boston college games. Tenuta is excellent at it. He has a background coaching in the secondary, but he also has a reputation for producing excellent linebackers. I could see either he or Corwin coaching the secondary and/or the linebackers with great success. Tenuta's style of defense is the epitome of what great defenses do: pressure and confuse the quarterback while playing press-man and/or roll zone coverage. His style is what all defensive coaches should aspire to. He has run it with pretty good success at Georgia Tech with average talent. Let's see what he can do with the talent Weis and Brown are bringing in.

Tenuta is a no-nonsense type of guy. He will make our practices tougher and more intense. He will give our offense a multitude of looks, making practice more like games. He isn't afraid to tell Weis when he is wrong, he isn't afraid to tell him how he would attack his offense, and he isn't afraid to speak up when he believes he is doing something wrong. On top of that, Tenuta explicitly stated that he took the job because of Weis and Notre Dame, to bring Notre Dame back to where it belongs in the college football landscape. Weis again hired a coach he didn't do well against in the past, upgrading the talent of his staff, and bringing in someone who's philosophy on the defensive side of the ball will upgrade our performance on the offensive side of the ball.

And the icing on the cake is the fact that Brown and Tenuta talked about how they would work together prior to Tenuta arriving. My one concern regarding this whole situation was a "too many cooks in the kitchen" type of thing. The fact that Weis got Corwin on board prior to the hire means he will be open and receptive to advice from Tenuta and will work well with him.

Welcome to Notre Dame Mr. Tenuta, I look forward to watching our defense play in the future.