Adopting means of adaptation

Weis's call to delegate has aided Irish upswing

CHARLIE WEISYoung core in place

Charlie Weis last coached a football game in New England Jan. 16, 2005, a Patriots playoff victory over the Indianapolis Colts that further solidified Weis's reputation as an offensive mastermind. One month earlier, he had been named head coach at Notre Dame, his dream job, one of the few that could lure him away from here.

He became a near-instant hero, toppling a pair of ranked teams in his first two games and leading the Fighting Irish to a pair of Bowl Championship Series appearances in his first two seasons. He was an alum, the echoes were roused, Notre Dame was back.

The adulation Weis received upon his arrival turned, in an equally swift and hyperbolic manner, into scorn last season as the Irish hobbled to a 3-9 record. One national writer wrote a piece headlined, "The Worst Football Coach in the Universe," which began, in earnest: "In the entire history of American sports hype, has there ever been any fraud more grossly fraudulent than Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis?"

Weis will return to New England for tonight's game against Boston College a changed coach, less play-calling savant and more sideline CEO now, a change made necessary after Notre Dame bottomed out last season and he understood fully what it meant to coach at Notre Dame. The former Patriots offensive coordinator remains satisfied with his move from New England to South Bend, Ind., confident the travails of last year will pay dividends in seasons to come.

The roller coaster tenure of Weis has settled this season, one in which Weis, perhaps humbled, has altered his approach. The change in Weis, given the vast difference between professional offensive coordinator and Notre Dame head coach, could have been expected.

"First of all, I don't care if you're the New England Patriots or where you are, there's no way you can be prepared to be the coach of Notre Dame," said former Irish coach Lou Holtz. "It's completely different. The national exposure, the amount of interest, the high expectations. It isn't like anywhere else."

Weis and Holtz met for roughly two hours, at Weis's request, shortly after Notre Dame hired him. They still speak occasionally, the talks are never about football or strategy.

"It's about being responsible for 100-something players, and there are nine balls in the air all the time at Notre Dame," Holtz said. "What seems like a very trivial problem anywhere else you coach becomes a monumental issue at Notre Dame."

While Weis racked up victories his first two seasons with Brady Quinn and a talented cast inherited from Tyrone Willingham, he could afford to overlook such issues. The talent drop-off exposed Weis, and he realized he needed to reevaluate.

Weis turned over play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Mike Haywood this offseason, which allowed him to manage the team more empirically, and with a more personal touch. Weis attended summer workouts at 6 a.m. He ambles around the locker room chatting with players. He invites the team to his home for dinner.

"Just hanging out, being normal people," said senior wide receiver David Grimes. "He's just more around, you know? He's made the effort to be more involved with us."

Said Weis, "The big difference is, you're in New England, Bill [Belichick's] the man. It's his program, and you just follow his lead. Here, you're the man. One thing that happens at Notre Dame, you wear a lot of extra hats in addition to being a football coach. It isn't just about coaching football. There's a lot of other facets that you have to deal with.

"So when you're offensive coordinator, just dealing with half the team with the Patriots, especially with a lot of good players winning championships, versus being the head man here where you're wearing a lot of hats, that's quite a difference."

Weis's new approach has brought more victories, but more important, his highly regarded recruiting classes have brought a crop of stars. Freshmen and sophomores have scored 23 of Notre Dame's 28 touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Jimmy Clausen - dubbed by one recruiting service "the LeBron James of high school football" coming out of Westlake Village, Calif. - is beginning to deliver on his enormous promise.

Weis's offense has remained potent, too. The Irish have scored more than 40 points 11 times under Weis, a benchmark they reached nine times in the 97 games prior to his arrival. But the outbursts, more often than not, have come against the dregs of Notre Dame's schedule.

Weis is 4-9 against Top 25 teams, and the Irish's 41-17 victory over Penn State in the second week of the 2006 season remains Weis's lone win over an opponent that finished the season ranked; the Nittany Lions finished 24th. Notre Dame's most impressive win this season came against Purdue, ranked 71st in the Sagarin ratings, one of the formulas used to determine the BCS standings.

Southern California, Notre Dame's primary rival, has outscored the Irish, 116-55, in three wins over Weis. In the two BCS games, Notre Dame was trounced by Ohio State and LSU by a combined score of 75-34.

"I think the fan base is starting to get impatient, because they don't see a signature win," said Tim Prister, a senior editor at Irish Illustrated who has covered every Notre Dame game since 1986. "The two BCS bowls to start his career have really kind of been glossed over from a fan's perspective because of how bad the record was last year."

Weis received another, far more unconventional challenge this season. On Sept. 13, defensive end John Ryan rolled into Weis's knee on the sideline, sending him crashing to the ground. Weis assumed, immediately, he tore his anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments. Asked by a reporter Tuesday how his knee felt, Weis replied, "My knee is doing crummy, thanks for asking."

An MRI Wednesday showed the full extent: Weis had fractured his femur, blown both the ACL and the MCL, and also torn the posterior cruciate ligament, the lateral meniscus, and the posterior capsule, "which I don't even know what it is," Weis said.

"They said it's a trauma knee, like getting hit by a car," Weis told reporters Thursday. "I knew when I got hit it was bad."

The future appears more promising. With another elite recruiting class expected to pour into South Bend, Notre Dame's expectations will soar next year. Clausen will still be throwing to receivers Golden Tate (a sophomore) and Michael Floyd (a freshman), who have combined for 13 touchdowns this season. Holtz, now an ESPN analyst, believes the Irish could challenge for the national title. "The best," Holtz said, "is yet to come."

"I love coaching at Notre Dame," Weis said. "I loved my coaching experience in New England as well. This is my alma mater, and this is my home, and this is my life. I'm happy here."