For Charlie Weis, 6-5 Not Good Enough

Charlie Weis has one game left to prove he can coach again at Notre Dame.

Or does he?

Ty Willingham, Weis’s predecessor, was let go after finishing the 2003-04 season 6-5 and it was said by Notre Dame officials that Ty Willingham’s 6-5 record was not good enough for Notre Dame standards.

Now with Weis’s future in Jeopardy at 6-5, with a team who was in preseason BCS Bowl talk, it doesn't look good as he faces a team that is better on paper and playing as one of the hottest teams in the country.

After the Irish’s demoralizing loss to Connecticut last week, Weis didn’t sound too confident when discussing his future with Notre Dame.

Maybe because he had his last chance in front of boosters and Notre Dame officials to prove he is still capable of coaching a successful team, but blew it by giving up another lead at home to a sub par opponent.

With the lack of success this year from his own drafting class of Clausen and others, can Weis’s past save his future?

During Charlie Weis’s first two years, he took the Irish to two BCS Bowl Games. Getting there is only the first step especially for a highly-regarded program like Notre Dame. His first year, he lost to Ohio State 34-20 in the Fiesta Bowl and the following year was outmatched and out coached by LSU, losing 41-14 in the Sugar Bowl.

Weis finally got his first bowl win against Hawaii 49-21, ending the Irish's NCAA record nine-game bowl losing streak. However, a win in the Hawaii Bowl is no huge accomplishment, and during his next two years the Irish finished 9-15 overall.

During his five-year tenure, Weis was unable to get a signature win and unable to beat a team with less than four losses that same year, and the 19 losses experienced in the past three years are the most losses in any three year span for Notre Dame.

The biggest accomplishment for Weis at Notre Dame was a personal achievement his first year as head coach, becoming the second Irish coach to receive the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, after Lou Holtz did it in 1988.

Unfortunately, Weis’s past added with this year’s destruction has all fingers pointing out the door for Weis. If Weis can somehow pull out a lopsided victory on the road and sound like there might be some upside to next year, he might give boosters and Notre Dame officials something to think about it, but I see the Cardinals winning.

If Notre Dame officials express their impatience like they have to past Irish coaches, then Weis’s future looks to be done.