Charlie Weis: Making His Own Hot Seat Hotter

Of all the coaches known by even the slightest of fans, Charlie Weis has the most widely known hot seat. 

Starting his fifth year with a paltry 29-21 record, Notre Dame is so ashamed of some of his coaching years that they selectively removed them from the programs and media guides to hide his worst years.

Last year's 7-6 record and bowl win against a pitiful Hawaii team may not seem good. But compared with the prior year's 3-9 record, it was a highlight year.

What may have turned the heat up even more are the raised expectations following the win against that pitiful Hawaii team. 

In it, the offense looked like a tuned up Porsche while the defense looked capable of holding back the Nile. Notre Dame at one time was ahead 41-14 before calling off the dogs in the third quarter.

Notre Dame Quarterback Jimmy Clausen broke school bowl game records after passing for 401 yards and five touchdowns. His 84.6% completion rate was the second-best completion percentage for any player in any bowl game in NCAA history.

Should Notre Dame's offense struggle this year, fans will forget that this was against a Hawaii offense that couldn't stop any decent team. They'll just see things not working as they thought it would.

So, in a sense, Weis made his own hot seat hotter by the beating he put on Hawaii. 

Though he's recruited well, it's not translated into wins yet. And they are thin at several positions that make an injury here or there even more dangerous.

Also, a winning schedule may not save Weis' job. With a cushy schedule including Nevada, a rebuilding Michigan team trying to climb from the ashes, Purdue, the pitiful two Washington teams and Navy, this assures them of at least six wins and another shot at the Legg's Pantyhose Bowl at least.

It's the record he'll have against teams capable of beating them, like Michigan State, USC, Boston College and Pitt that will determine his future. 

Except for USC, Notre Dame will not play another team in the top 10 and may only play one or two others that even make the top 20. 

So if Weis can't win and post at least an eight-win regular season with Michigan down and this cupcake schedule, he does not deserve to walk the hallowed sidelines of Notre Dame any longer.

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