Part of this, of course, can be blamed on Tim Brown.
When I started following football in High School, I also started to follow college football....and being from South Dakota, where we don't have any major Schools (NAIA Affiliates), I started to watch the Notre Dame games. This was the time of Lou Holtz, with players like Brown, Ismail, and Tony Rice. Being before the days of the internet, i'd go to the library, and study the football history, and discovered how much of a legacy had gone on in South Bend.
But, like all teams do, they have ups, and they have downs.
By 1996, Lou Holtz had reached the end of his coaching stint, and the team would go in a new direction. Bob Davie, his replacement, would last less than half Lou's time, only five years.
Tyrone Willingham? Three.
Kent Baer? One.
What would be next.....two games?
No....Charlie Weis, fresh from the Patriots coaching staff, stepped into the picture.
His first two seasons were an interesting mix, of plays, creative gameplans, and a lot of work, by Brady Quinn, now of the Cleveland Browns.
However, his third season, after Quinn's departure, wasn't so hot.
The team limped to a 3-9 record...and Notre Dame, to this date, hasn't won a Bowl game since the Cotton Bowl, January 1st, 1994.
So, we've had multiple Coaches, some decent players, and a dry spell.
Solution? Keep the coach around, to develop his players. Don't keep swapping them out, it's hard for players to develop otherwise.
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about 1 month ago
father jenkins and father hesburgh ,current and former presidents of NOTRE DAME,the greatest american university, have an absolute obligation - to confront weis and determine the truth or falsity of whether the head coach of NOTRE DAME footbal did or did not cheat,how long ,to win at all costs, and in a closed hearing obtain his admission or denial- if true weis should be fired immediately- forfeit his back pay ,and benefits-- bring lou holtz back immediatly as interim coach and fire kevin white ad for gross incompetence-- a reduex of oleary, davie and willingham - ty didnt cheat charlie did - thats why weis continues to lose
from about 1 month ago
James is obviously a moron. Ty didn't cheat? Do you know anything about his golfing exploits? Are you aware of how many times he did not sign the sheet at Warren Golf Course so he wouldn't be exposed for how much time he spent on the golf course instead of coaching? It was deemed that the time he did sign for was deemed to be excessive.
Also, you mention, "thats why weis continues to lose". Continues? He had one losing season. In his first season, he took a team that Ty couldn't win with, and was within two plays (Bush Push & a an OT TD vs. MSU) of playing in the National Championship.
The problems Notre Dame has been facing are simply tied to The DavieHam Error. Davie & Willingsham are individuals who would much rather make excuses than go out and recruit the types of athletes that Charlie has been bringing in the last three years.
With regard to the bowl records, what people fail to realize is the fact that because of Notre Dame's History, they consistantly have faced higher rated opponents. No other bowl team faces teams that are higher rated on a year-in, year-out basis. Folks forget Michigan's tragic appearances in bowl games, simply because, compared to Notre Dame, they are not as relevant, even though Skunkbear fan will forever believe that all other programs bows to theirs.
Has Notre Dame had a down time? Yes. Their downturn has been as long as other so-called prestigious program's "rise to the top". FSU, Miami, Rutgers, WVU, etc. have all had their "day in the sun". They will soon go back to what their historic past has been. Soon too, will Charlie Weis have Notre Dame returning to prominance sooner than most choose to believe.
The haters will have their time to bask a couple of times this year, but that's about it. I'm sure they will attempt to respond, though I invite them to bookmark this and bring it back at season's end -- if they still feel they have something to say.
about 1 month ago
The glory days of the "greatest American University" are over. Unless you continue to play all the miltary schools and go the route of Ohio State, I can't see Charlie getting gifted players to come to his school. Let's ask the following question; "You are a gifted football player and you are being pursued by USC, Texas, Florida and Notre Dame. You want visibilty and to a chance to play in the BCS Championship - sorry Charlie. It's Sound Bend Indiana and the days of the Fight On Irish are over...and I agree with James; Charlie is so overrated it is not even funny....
from about 1 month ago
Hey Chet, why don't you actually do some research before you even begin to make statements about Notre Dame.
Error #1 in your post: "Unless you continue to play all military schools....". Are you kidding me? Year in and year our Notre Dame has had USC, Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State, UCLA, Purdue, Stanford, Washington, Boston College, and Georgia Tech on its schedule. All military academies? VERY few teams play schedules of that level of difficulty. Notre Dame seeks out big games every year.
Error #2 (and much larger and uninformed) you say "I can't see Charlie getting gifted players to come to his school" and then go on to give a hypothetical situation that was BOLDLY proven wrong during this last recruiting season. Notre Dame's last 3 recruiting classes have been ranked in the top 10. Last year's class was ranked #2 by Rivals.com only topped by Alabama! The last 2 years we have gotten the top quarterbacks (among other positions) right out of USC and UCLAs backyards. Jimmy Clausen decided on Notre Dame over a host of other schools. Dayne Crist went and did the same thing with this last year's class. Do you know who Notre Dame's most recent prominent recruit was? CIERRE WOOD, the #1 rated running back in the country from Oxnard California. All three of these guys were offered by all the top programs. All of last year's recruits were competed over by all of the programs you listed above, so your claim has absolutely no basis. ND's recruiting has been PHENOMENAL and all indications point to the opposite of what you're saying. Next time, please do some research and then get back to me. Thanks.
Those are just blatant factual errors. To argue about Charlie's coaching ability would move beyond the realm of fact and into opinion. Just know that I disagree with you on your last point as well.
about 1 month ago
Notre Dame began to focus on its own reputation due to the coaches, post Lou and pre Weis, that ocouldn't recruit a match for a bonfire. The Irish will be back, they have young talent that keeps putting on muscle and a coaching staff that will teach them to beat the opposition into submission. The other side of the story has to do with the superconferences and their officiating crews. Take away three bad call out of aobut 113 counted horrible blatant ones against ND and Notre Dame has a title in 89, 93 and a shot at the tittle in 2006 (the series of plays that involved the "BUSH PUSH and the officials stopping the clock twice illegally for USC)
The other teams are about to find out what the bottom of Notre Dame cleats look like.......GO IRISH
Oh, Notre Dame actually graduates its athletes.
about 1 month ago
Conrad,
Maybe ND should join a super conference then and not act like it's better than the other 119 D-1A schools and maybe it would get some calls.
Till then, it'll be viewed as the evil empire currently without an empire.
I used to hate ND and then i had a friend go work on their strength and cond staff so i pulled for them to do well. but he moved to morgantown now, so i guess i don't have to pull for them anymore.
that said, i like when ND is winning rather than losing. it's harder to pull against a pathetic team.
about 1 month ago
The number 20 gets used alot to describe ND's misery because it's been 20 years since their last NC. The misery is certainly overstated. It's only been 15 years since 93 and 12 years since Lou left. Lou got the boot because everyone underestimated the effect of reduced scholarships as evidenced by schedules like 95's (BigTen champs Northwestern, Michigan, Texas, USC, and Ohio State...that's right, in one year). During Davie's tenure the offensive recruiting fell off (partly because after Powlus, no pro style QB prospect would even pick up the phone), and during Ty's tenure defensive recruiting fell off as well. That left Weis with Brady Quinn and not much else. So there it is in a nutshell. The NCAA increases parody in a time of overconfidence by reducing scholarships and ND suffers through two coaching administrations that can't sell the school to recruits because they themselves didn't get ND. So whatever, say what you will about Weis, but he gets ND. The recruiting is fixed and the schedules are realistic.
Can you hear that? It sounds like the Irish are coming.
about 1 month ago
James is obviously a moron. Ty didn't cheat? Do you know anything about his golfing exploits? Are you aware of how many times he did not sign the sheet at Warren Golf Course so he wouldn't be exposed for how much time he spent on the golf course instead of coaching? It was deemed that the time he did sign for was deemed to be excessive.
Also, you mention, "thats why weis continues to lose". Continues? He had one losing season. In his first season, he took a team that Ty couldn't win with, and was within two plays (Bush Push & a an OT TD vs. MSU) of playing in the National Championship.
The problems Notre Dame has been facing are simply tied to The DavieHam Error. Davie & Willingsham are individuals who would much rather make excuses than go out and recruit the types of athletes that Charlie has been bringing in the last three years.
With regard to the bowl records, what people fail to realize is the fact that because of Notre Dame's History, they consistantly have faced higher rated opponents. No other bowl team faces teams that are higher rated on a year-in, year-out basis. Folks forget Michigan's tragic appearances in bowl games, simply because, compared to Notre Dame, they are not as relevant, even though Skunkbear fan will forever believe that all other programs bows to theirs.
Has Notre Dame had a down time? Yes. Their downturn has been as long as other so-called prestigious program's "rise to the top". FSU, Miami, Rutgers, WVU, etc. have all had their "day in the sun". They will soon go back to what their historic past has been. Soon too, will Charlie Weis have Notre Dame returning to prominance sooner than most choose to believe.
The haters will have their time to bask a couple of times this year, but that's about it. I'm sure they will attempt to respond, though I invite them to bookmark this and bring it back at season's end -- if they still feel they have something to say.
about 1 month ago
An actual comment about the article... no offense meant, just some honest feedback here...
Based on the title, 20 years of Irish football, I would expect the article to be longer than essentailly a paragraph.
An you last sentence, the conclusion...you need to have a coach in place for a long time in order to successfully develop players? Based on what evidence. How then do you explain Brady Quinn's meteoric rise in such a brief time under Weis?
And blaming this on Tim Brown? (first sentence) I realize you are not literally blaming Tim Brown, but you never explain the reference. I don't get the point of this sentence.
Overall, this article feels like it was written by a kid in middle school.
from about 1 month ago
No, sorry....just a guy trying to work with what data he has at the time, and some old memories. I know Notre Dame has had some tough years....but I also know the school has a long and storied history.
Now, If you wanted a novel, I could try to spill out a comprehensive guide, with chapters for each year, spend the time interviewing players, coaches, fathers, etc, then I'd charge 34.95, and be on ESPN.
Since i'm married with two kids and working full time, I do what I can, and write about what I like.
Why, are you in middle school?
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