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

"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 one of the primary differences between coaching in college vs. the NFL. This move 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' system 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.

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