The Weis Era Begins at Notre Dame

By Paul Smith
paul.smith@collegeblitz.com

PORTER, IND. — For many, the moment will be lost in a never-ending blizzard of Notre Dame lore, recruiting updates, training camp and regular season stories. But if ever there were a signature event to the official start of Charlie Weis' coaching career at Notre Dame, this was it.

No, it wasn't the fairly inspirational, but not exactly "Shake Down the Thunder" tent revival/opening speech from Notre Dame's newest football coach last winter.

No, it wasn't his sharp whistle and pointed direction at a crisply-run, productive spring practice.

Nope, in actuality, it was a moment that compared to Lou Holtz's entry into the Joyce Center media room where about 100 Notre Dame football players sat, slouched in their chairs, still pondering how the literally just-departed, tear-filled Gerry Faust could have been arguably the hardest-luck coach in Fighting Irish history...

Holtz's first words: "Gentlemen, I want every one of you to be sitting up straight, both feet on the floor, by the time I look up."

The sound of thumping feet and shuffling bodies, as if responding to a Marine drill instructor screaming "Att-ENCH...HUTTT!!!" signaled the beginning of a radically different era.

Well, of course, the great Tyrone Willingham Experiment had fallen far short of its goal and Mr. Willingham, who was alleged to have been negotiating with the University of Washington, where he currently hangs his chapeau, is little more than a way-stop on Notre Dame football's century-plus trek.

No, let the record show many will recognize the Charlie Weis era -- the Weis Guys -- began in this jarring way...

...With the event taking place captured by South Bend Tribune photographer Jim Rider...a full-fury, partially-obscured Weis getting in the face of an unsuspecting freshman linebacker. Weis' Germanic no-nonsense one-eye sent the nameless, faceless (on camera, at least) young man ... and the Tribune readership ... an unmistakable new-sheriff-in-town message.

The kid, see, had forgotten his obligatory practice ankle bracelet -- we are not making this up, Camp Weis Guys is not a prison, but there is enough regimentation to send the Irish a taskmaster's message.

In a scurry to reach practice by the 3:45 p.m. deadline, the youngster sprinted to his locker in a madcap attempt to slip it on and get back out to practice in time.

3:46 p.m. Not good enough at Stalag Weis. Herr Kommandantur shook down enough thunder from a blue-gray August sky to assure three forty-five meant exactly that.

The young man learned he would be expected to add a few laps to his 6 a.m. running regimen the following morning.

Team wake-up during the summer camp is 6 a.m. and walk-on cornerback Brandon Harris told the Tribune's Eric Hansen, one of the more talented reporters covering college sports, "It doesn't mean you have to like it, but it got the message across."

There have been many great communicators involved in Notre Dame lore -- George Gipp, the Rock, Leahy, Pat O'Brien, the other "Gipper" who communicated pretty well with a nation for 8 years in Washington, Holtz and, apparently now, Weis.

"I let the players know, in no uncertain terms," Weis (Notre Dame '78) told Hansen, "that don't expect me to be in my best disposition for quite some time.

With a testing opener at Top 25er Pitt less than three weeks away, Weis' sense of urgency has permeated not only the players and program, but, arguably the campus and what is being called Notre Dame Nation.

With the graduation of defensive supertalent Justin Tuck and seven other starters, and the prospect of a longest-night scenario in Pittsburgh against power-armed Pitt quarterback Tyler Palko and a great cast of receivers Sept. 3, Weis' urgency can be best measured in his relationship with his defensive coaches. Particularly coordinator Rick Minter, who is on his second tour of duty in South Bend.

"Just because I'm over there (coordinating the Irish offense; he was architect of the New England Patriots' superb Super Bowl-winning offense) doesn't mean I'm missing anything," Weis told Hansen.

"And there are times I go to Rick (who assisted Holtz in the early 1990s) and say, 'If you do this, this is what I'm going to do to you (on offense) and you're going to have a problem.

"What that does is it lets the defensive coaches understand how an offensive mind is going to approach attacking what they're doing."

Belichick West, if you will. For sure there will be more than a little bit of coach Bill Belichick's Patriots flavor to what the Irish do on offense, probing and jabbing for enemy weaknesses.

And with people like a potential All-American tailback in Darius Walker springing loose from time to time, and talented-enough wideouts Rhema McKnight and Maurice Stovall teaming with one of the nation's more underrated tight ends, Anthony Fasano, the Irish could give scoreboard keepers everywhere a major workout.

Behind a versatile and talented offensive line, anchored by senior right guard Dan Stevenson from Barrington, Ill., who was one of the nation's two most sought-after linemen in the Class of 2002, Notre Dame could restore the offensive glory in a hurry.

They'd better. That schedule doesn't exactly welcome the meek and mild. Pitt introduces the Dave Wannstedt era, and a whole new outlook. Then there's a visit to Big 10 favorite Michigan, a home "breather" (?) with Michigan State, which has beaten Notre Dame four of the past six, then, in what would have to be a classic scheduling quirk -- a visit to Washington. Coached by Willingham. Who knew?

Throw in Top Fiver Tennessee and U.S.C. and you can clearly see Weis will need every available innovation at his disposal to slow down those 18-wheelers.

What, he worry? Even after five talented players -- junior defensive back Eddie Parish, a projected starter, backup left tackle John Kadous (to Arizona), cornerback Tregg Duerson, son of former Irish, Bears and New York Giants safety David Duerson, wide receiver Chris Vaughn (Louisville) and second string defensive end Travis Leitko -- flew the coop?

Nope. As anybody who knows him will notice, he is not exactly Mr. Goodquote. Under Belichick, he rarely spoke to the probing, jabbing Boston/Providence/Hartford/ Worcester area media.

Now that the spotlight's on him, what's changed? "It's a necessary part of what we (coaches) do, of course," he told his first-ever press conference last spring, cracking a semi-smile. "But not that big a part..."

Look hard and you can see past the Belichick influence to the deeper Bill Parcells roots, because Weis's pro football roots trace back to the New Jersey Meadowlands not far from his central Jersey roots. He coached high school ball in Morristown and his odyssey took him through South Carolina to the Giants where he likely would have run coffee errands for the demanding Parcells.

But Weis became an integral part of a Parcells staff that also included current Cleveland Browns coach Romeo Crennel, University of Virginia head coach Al Groh and Belichick among others.

A bit like the former Giants staff under Jim Lee Howell that produced fellows named Lombardi and Landry.

So, stripped of eight defensive starters, including the aforementioned Tuck, big run-plugger Kyle Budinscak from Weis's home turf of Somerset County, N.J., and tackle Greg Pauly -- three of four defensive linemen, how to cope?

He looks at the available chicken feathers and sees chicken salad in the making. Junior defensive end Victor Abiamiri, at 6-feet, 4-inches, 262 pounds, gives Weis and Minter the type of edge rusher the Irish haven't been noted for in recent years.

Noseguard Derek Landri anchors the line with a power push that will disrupt many opposing offensive lines and hopefully give the Irish a chance to introduce themselves rudely to opposing tailbacks and passers.

The linebackers, though less-than-experienced, are rangy and Brandon Hoyte's senior presence will help outsiders Corey Mays and Chinedum Ndukwe scrape behind a potentially talented d-line and get after the other guys.

Toss in a very athletic secondary with athletic Mike Richardson and boxing aspirant Tom Zbikowski lending experience and the Irish defense might not be the most imposing the Pitts, Michigans, U.S.C.s or Tennessees will see, but neither will it be a pushover.

And Weis, who has seen much of life's ups and downs -- including a delicate, potentially life-threatening stomach surgery, knows the most famous Notre Dame chant..."We are ... N.D."

Indeed. And because they are, expectations abound. A 5-6 season with hopeful signs everywhere? Not if Weis and his more-than-capable, experienced staff can help it.

"Mind you, the object is to win as fast as we can win," Weis told the Chicago Tribune's Avani Patel. "There are not many games I've looked on the schedule and said, 'Well, we're losing that one.' I've tried not to do that."

But he's also made it clear, as cited above, that despite his portly physical presence, Charlie Weis sports a lean and hungry mental outlook. "Obviously," he told Patel, "we're very excited and really looking forward to getting out there and getting after it...I think we have a lot of ground to catch up."

You look at that schedule and your first instinct, knowing the the mostly-Willingham residue, is to ask where to send the flowers.

But you'd risk that infamous Weis eye captured by the South Bend Tribune from the ultimate Weis guy. These Irish are the Weis guys and their message is pretty simple to those who doubt them.

Don't cross us.

Stay tuned. For sure, it will not be a dull fall in northern Indiana this year.