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

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.

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