Charlie Weis: The Face of the Irish

Born and raised in Vermont to an Irish Catholic lower middle class family, it was Notre Dame on Saturday and the New England Patriots on Sunday.

So for my family, Charlie Weis has been coaching the teams we watch for a decade.

In New England, Weis was known as an offensive mastermind, the man who discovered and developed Tom Brady and a hard working man.

When he was given the head coach job at Notre Dame I was as happy as ever knowing that they were getting a great coach that could really impact their offense. I, like many, thought this would take several years but he made an immediate impact bringing Notre Dame to back-to-back BCS bowl games and making Brady Quinn, a relative unknown prior to Weis' arrival, a Heisman candidate.

His next two years were not as bright, dipping as low as Notre Dame has been in its storied history.

After a 19-4 regular season record, he went 9-15 over the past two seasons. As the losses have piled up, fans in South Bend and across the country, as well as alumni, have gone back to what they do best, driving coaches out of town just as they did with Holtz, Willingham, Davie, etc.

For the past few years I have defended Weis' coaching, recruiting, leadership and character. Every close game I am yelling into the TV, wanting the Irish to come out on top but also wanting Weis to win so he doesn't lose his job. Never will I ever do that again after last week.

Last week Weis and his wife Maura and son Charlie Junior opened the doors at the Hannah and Friends Foundation Farm for special needs children.

It was after looking at the beautiful homes on the farm, the property, and the children that were to live there that I soon realized that Weis is far above the game of football.

While the media and fans want to call him arrogant or make fun of his weight, he is man whose successes far exceed the sidelines of a football field or the doors of a locker room.

I took a step back as a Notre Dame football fan, which is my proudest title, and realized that our coach would be fine no matter what happens with his job at Notre Dame.

He has enough money to live happy the rest of his life, his daughter is taken care of with the farm, he has a great relationship with his family and former players. And if he ever wanted to coach anywhere else he would have NO trouble finding a head coaching job in the NFL or Div. I college seeing how he turned Notre Dame around and the fact that hes got four Super Bowl rings on top of that.

This year the Irish sit at 3-1 and could easily be 4-0 or 1-3 given how close the games have been.

The offense is firing on all cylinders even after the loss of top receiver Michael Floyd and their defense is starting, however slowly, to come together.

They face a tough Washington Huskies team this weekend, and, for the first time since his arrival, I will cheer wildly for the boys of blue and gold without worrying about Weis' job security.

Notre Dame is at a time that they need Weis more than he needs them and that shows his ability to lead young men on and off the field, to inspire athletes to come to Notre Dame and play for him, and to recruit and assemble the most impressive coaching staff in college football.

I have been a passionate Notre Dame football fan since I was very young and I realize all the obstacles that stand in their way to making the Irish a national contender again, but, under Weis, this program can do it.

When Jimmy Clausen arrived on campus he was a cocky, self-centered jerk with very little success on Saturdays. He has grown under Weis into a very impressive quarterback with leadership, toughness, and character.

So, if you are not a Weis fan, or you believe in how the media or the Notre Dame Football websites define Weis, just ask those who have watched him for at least a decade.

Look at the kids who walk in the door and look at them when they leave. Weis turns boys into men and is a coach on and off the field, and, as a fan, I could not be any more proud than to have him as the head coach of my favorite sports team. 

Good luck to the IRISH this season but not to Weis, because after seeing what he has done with Hannah and Friends Foundation I realize he doesn't need it.