A String of Random Thoughts Amidst A Coaching Change

· UC fans really have no right to criticize Brian Kelly for “leaving for the money” or “taking off before the biggest game of the year.” They would do good to remember that Brian Kelly actually left his job at Central Michigan before their bowl game to bolt for Cincinnati, a bigger school in a bigger conference. Be careful of hypocrisy even when you are sour over losing a great coach.

· UC fans also cannot justify the sudden distaste for Brian Kelly. He came to a program and used another coach’s players to run his own offense. He was a mastermind for the Bearcats who left them in a better position than they were in when he found them. He has put UC on the Big East map, and put the program in the minds of every recruit from Ohio. Even if the recruits choose that school in Columbus, at least now they have a thought it the back of their mind about UC not being so bad. You should respect what he has done for your team, and realize that all may not be lost.

· Notre Dame fans would do good to remember that Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate are gone, and that National Championships are hard to get… Brian Kelly has proven that he is a successful coach no matter who plays for him, but Notre Dame is a whole new animal. Even I, the one warning of a let down, expect success right away, but I think 8 wins are much less than some delusional fans are hoping for. There will be a rebuilding period. Dayne Crist still must return from his ACL injury and even then must learn Brian Kelly’s offense. Michael Floyd must adjust to not getting as many targets, even with Tate gone, because the field will be crowded with receivers in South Bend from now on.

· College football fans in general remember this: the media builds the expectations with the help of a small percentage of overzealous fans, not the reasonable ND fans. I myself was excited by Charlie Weis, but only because he swept me off my feet with his high level of confidence and swagger (that’s a nice way of saying he was a cocky bastard). He was not my first choice, and I did not see him as a savior to Notre Dame. I am not delusional or insanely biased, therefore my expectations are realistic. I am fiercely loyal to the Irish, but I know that Brian Kelly will not win a National Championship right away.

· Final Random Thought: What will become of Jeff Quinn? Will he be a man in line for the UC job, or will he follow Kelly to Notre Dame and continue what has been a very successful coaching relationship? As a Notre Dame fan I can say that since we have Kelly we might as well keep that coaching chemistry intact. But as a UC fan I think he would be a good choice to lead the program. It would be good to test his mettle as a head coach, although it goes against my beliefs of hiring a head coach with no previous experience in that position. If he were to find success as a UC head coach, it would be wonderful for the Bearcats to remain on top of the Big East.

The Tale of a Good Coach Leaving UC... Again (Jumping Ship to a Sinking Boat)

Bearcats fans hold onto your hats. This could get bumpy.

Your team has just claimed its second consecutive outright Big East Championship after a thrilling comeback against a very solid Pittsburgh team.

You are headed to the BCS for the second year in a row.

And you are once again on the verge of losing a good coach.

Lets look at the past few seasons.

Mark Dantonio had moderate success in Cincinnati, which is thought of by most as a stepping-stone, and then bolted for a “bigger” program at Michigan State.

Enter Brian Kelly. In just his third season as head coach, he has accumulated a record of 34-6. He has lead the team to its first perfect season, a 12-0 start, the aforementioned two Big East Championships, and what will be two BCS appearances. Again, let me stress that this is all in THREE seasons.

Dantonio left for a bigger job, and what was his team’s record this year? Oh, I think they were 6-6. Have they won the Big Ten? Nope. Which is the destination program now?

All bashing of former coaches aside, I’ll throw it out there for the Bearcat faithful: it just isn’t fair.

You lost a good coach in the guy sporting Sparty green, and got someone with no big league success. As fate would have it, this guy turned out to be quite legit, delivering success at speeds that the Vikings can’t even drive at. And he is about to be ripped from your program.

I’ll say it again for the people in red and black, because it really is not fair.

Brian Kelly came and finished what Dantonio stated. He took Dantonio’s recruits and used them in a completely new offense. He took a solid foundation and improved it, adding flash to a program with the raw athletes that did not know how good they could be. He has brought in his own athletes and plugged them into his system perfectly, showing that he knows what he’s doing. He has shown that success can be found at the University of Cincinnati on playing surfaces other than hardwood.

He has turned the town into a place where college football is a big deal. A practice facility is on the way, courtesy of his demands. The stadium will be expanded eventually, because he found out how to sell seats through success.

And yet here comes Big Bad Notre Dame. They bring tradition, but no recent success. They look flashy with all the gold on campus (see: football helmets, Golden Dome) and they look like good Catholic people of upstanding morals. They bring an open checkbook. They are greedy in the eyes of UC fans.

UC fans appreciate what Brian Kelly has done. ND fans will forever scrutinize. UC fans support Brian Kelly and wish for him to stay and coach a contender every year. ND fans will support Brian Kelly, but only if he delivers National Championships every three years.

UC is loving, ND is demanding.

I can see how UC fans could question it if BK decides to jump ship to a program already underwater. It would seem like jumping onto the sinking Titanic from a lifeboat, rather than vice versa. But tradition and money carry leverage, and UC is not quite there yet.

Besides, with the way his success rate is looking, Brian Kelly could have salvaged the Titanic himself.

Maybe Notre Dame fans should prepare and find a way to appreciate him, since Cincinnati fans will have to find a way to forget him.

To Bowl, Or Not to Bowl?

We’re going to go ahead and just ignore all of the speculation about the Notre Dame coaching situation. We’re going to let Rob Ianello enjoy being the head of football operations for this piece of writing.

To bowl, or not to bowl? That is the question.

We’re going to say that Notre Dame fans need a bowl game. And we’re going to go ahead and say that the Notre Dame players do not need a bowl game.

Wait, what? No bowl game?

You heard right. If it were up to the fans of Notre Dame, the team would be playing in a bowl game, no doubt. Hell, if it were up to the fans, the Irish would play in more than one bowl game. Every fan wants to see one more game.

Every fan wants to see Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate wearing gold helmets… for one last time.

What am I insinuating? I am insinuating that Clausen and Tate are gone now. With Weis gone, the only coach they have known in their college days, these players will choose to move on as well. It is probably more certain with Clausen, but after the phenomenal year Tate had, it’s probably a done deal with him, too.

The team has experienced such a vast range of emotions this year that it would drain on even the greatest of players. I would be worn down, ready for the next step if I had the skill and opportunity. Clausen and Tate have both, and it would not surprise me if they choose to end the disappointment they have found in South Bend and move on to bigger things. And this brings me back to the original point.

I’m sure every player would love to suit up for a final game, a shot at one final victory. But then they must consider what is best for themselves and their teammates. Why take a few more weeks preparing for a game that essentially does not matter when that time could be used to prepare for more important things? Like next season?

And why waste three or four weeks to play in a pointless bowl when juniors and seniors with NFL aspirations could use the early jump on preparing for the combine and pro days?

The season is basically lost. A 9-3 record would have been a minor disappointment, with any more than 4 losses being a total disappointment. Well here we are, the Irish are 6-6. This season was “BCS or Bust” and it was just that, a Bust. Why risk injury to potential starters of the future in a game that will not change the way the season is viewed? Why risk injury to those select few players who are NFL-ready in a game that will not impress anyone?

The bowl game would basically be the “Nobody Bowl”… as in no team of significance is playing this game. Notre Dame can no longer be considered significant because it has no true head coach, it has stars that are seemingly ready to depart, and it will suffer rebuilding under the new head coach whether Domers like to think about it or not. The opponent would be similar: a middle-of-the-pack team that wasn’t significant enough to make noise at the top of its conference

Notre Dame still does have bright spots in its future: Michael Floyd, Kyle Rudolph, and Manti Te’o, just to rattle off the big ones. But these bright spots should look to next season and recognize the task of rebuilding. They must prepare to lead a team that will struggle if Clausen and/or Tate leave. A bowl game does not speed up the process of “moving on,” which will be difficult enough as it is.

I would consider myself a relentless follower of the Irish, the most loyal of Golden Domers, defending my team against any individual who speaks ill of it. But I am also a realist. There is much more for Notre Dame and its athletes to lose from playing in a bowl game than there is to gain. A loss would add further insult, while a win would do nothing to save the image of the team. Injuries could happen, and time is wasted that could be spent preparing for the future.

It hurts to say, because I would feel lost without ND in a bowl game, but I believe “Not to Bowl” is the answer. Putting myself in the shoes of a player ready to move on, I would look towards the fresh start that will come with whoever the new head coach turns out to be.

I would rather be in the weight room preparing to shock the nation in the new coach’s first year than to be in the Insignificant Bowl.

"For Whom the Bell Tolls"

I walk through Notre Dame’s campus with a companion on Saturday evening, and I hear church bells ringing. It gives you the chills, really.

Notre Dame on a cold November night, your breath is visible. There is a certain calming peacefulness to the whole situation. Images of the movie Rudy play in your mind. There is a spirit at Notre Dame, and a loyal Domer can feel it everywhere on campus.

Hearing the church bells as fans poured out of Notre Dame Stadium exemplified that spirit to me. It seemed to signal the end of Charlie Weis’ tenure as head coach. It was as if the whole campus, living or not, knew that the final home game of the season meant the end for Charlie and his “schematic advantage.”

A two-overtime loss to the Connecticut Huskies and a loss on senior day for the second consecutive year left me struggling to figure out just how I felt about my trip to South Bend as I walked in the cold night air.

First, out of frustration with a loss, I wanted to say that the trip was a waste of time and gas money. I could have been at home, watching football on TV and saving my money for the holidays.

But that’s not right. No matter the outcome, I always appreciate an opportunity to attend a game in the House that Rockne Built. And as I said, it is special when you walk through campus and can feel the Spirit that everyone talks about.

But the bells continued to toll, and again I’m back thinking about Charlie Weis.

It was touching to see the support the team has for its coach. Rather than running out of the tunnel at the beginning of the game like normal, the team marched arm-in-arm. It looked like a golden battle formation of tightly packed soldiers, with their Head Coach at the middle of the front line, arms linked with the team captains that stand by him through all of the rumors and negativity. He is their coach, and they are with him to the end. But the end is here. If a movie were to be made of Charlie Weis’ time at Notre Dame, the scene on senior day would have been known as “The Last March of Charlie Weis.”

When he was announced as the new head coach at the University of Notre Dame five years ago, he boldly proclaimed that the team was 6-5, and that it was not good enough. “That’s not good enough for you, and it’s certainly not going to be good enough for me,” he said.

And now his team stands at 6-5 after three straight losses. The argument can be made that the Irish are right on the cusp, walking a fine line between mediocrity and greatness. Five games decided by 7 points or less. Five scores away from a potential perfect season. It is a sign of improvement that the team is so close to so many wins. But it is not enough improvement. In the win/loss column, it could be zero improvement after the upcoming trip to Stanford.

You can see the difference in the team. The talent finally has experience. The players finally feel like they should win every game they play. There are no blowout losses, and every week’s effort is respectable.

But this team could have been great. The level of talent on the team is such that every game could have been won, and probably should have. But it did not happen. The talented players did not execute when the time was at hand for execution, and the coaches did not make the right calls when it was time to make them.

The team supports Charlie Weis. I’m sure they would be glad to have him back for one more year. But that was the mantra after last season when Weis was under fire: One More Year.

I believed it and proclaimed it loudly. “Give Charlie one more year with Jimmy Clausen, Golden Tate, Michael Floyd, and Armando Allen, and the offense will be unstoppable. Give him one more year for his defense to improve, and we will be contenders again. Give him one more year so his players get that experience under him, and the National Championship is ours.”

It was wishful thinking, but it was a very real possibility. However, it did not pan out. If he were to get “one more year” again, his team would again have one of the most talented and dangerous offenses in college football. I believe Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate would return to play under him for their senior seasons. Even if one or both of them did not return, Weis would have his recruits to run his offense, and it would still have firepower. The team would be in a position to have a chance at winning every game.

But time is up. He was given a chance to get the job done, and it did not happen. Waiting another year for change under Weis is no longer an option. Action must be taken. A new leader must be brought in.

Irish nation is impatient, and its patience with Weis has run out. Stability is important, but winning is more so.

Just as the bells on campus tolled Saturday night, the bell has tolled on Charlie Weis. It signals the end of his time in South Bend.

And probably Jimmy Clausen’s. And probably Golden Tate’s.

Message to Bengals: Do Not Bungle Your Strong Start

Words cannot express the frustration with the Cincinnati Bengals.

As much as I would like to believe that they can get to the playoffs and make noise, and just as I am ready to proclaim them as the a member of this season’s elite class, they mess it up.

An elite team does not lose to an inferior team when said elite team has a chance to put a chokehold on their division.

An elite team does not allow a backup quarterback on a bottom five team to drive 80 yards in eleven plays for a tying score as time ticks away in the fourth quarter.

I understand that it is the NFL, and that any team can beat any other team on any given day. Every team has professional talent on its roster, and that talent can show up at any moment and take over a game.

But the Oakland Raiders did not take over this game. The Bengals gave it away. I would rather have been dominated and beaten to a pulp than to lose by three. Especially in the fashion the game was lost.

Bruce Gradkowski puts together a solid drive and puts the Bengals secondary on the ropes, ultimately cashing in for the tying score. Okay, cool. Overtime. The Bengals are better than the Raiders; they will wake up and do what they need to do in OT. Oh wait, Andre Caldwell, you forgot the ball at the 17 yard line. The Raiders picked it up. There’s only 30 seconds left in the game. Shoot, they just kicked a field goal for the win. We didn’t even get to go to overtime.

It almost makes me feel disgusted. All week since the sweep of the Steelers, I have gladly stood up for Cincinnati, supporting them and backing them when all of these people say that “it’s the Bengals, they’ll mess it up late in the season.” I do not feel that they are going to mess it up, but now it is much harder to state my case.

Last week I said that this three game stretch would be an indicator of how mature the Bengals really are, and if they are legit. Three wins from three games against inferior competition would have added major cushion. But now we must hope for two of three.

The Bengals can live with letting the Oakland game slip away. But now they MUST beat Cleveland and Detroit. If the Bengals really have matured, and are contenders, they will pick themselves up, dust off that Oakland baseball field dirt, and win the next two games.

If they can keep from getting down and avoid a slump (losing a game to a bad team can put you in a slump very quickly) they will be all right. If they can respond strongly and show everyone that they are not going to lay down and “blow it” like everyone thinks, then they can continue chasing playoff aspirations.

But for now, I struggle with frustration. I wrestle with logic. I continue to defend the Bengals and their status as a playoff team, even after such an abysmal loss.

I hope my defending them is not in vain. We will know in two weeks whether or not the Bengals bungled their strong start.