Charlie Weis is An Amazing Guy (via Her Loyal Sons)
Great post. I concur.
December 4, 2009
--> Charlie Weis is An Amazing Guy -->
The Biscuit
Yes, amazing guy. And to all those that bashed him, called him fat, ripped on him and his family, and attacked him publicly, you should just feel shame. Heck, the other day, some d-bags on some forums claimed that Weis was going to bash ND on his way out the door ‘bc he’s that way’. To those people, and those that have made similar derogatory statements w/literally NO personal proof or evidence, you should feel shame, and you should publicly apologize for being a d-wad.
Because noting that a guy isn’t a great coach is fair, but personally attacking him for that isn’t. Especially when he’s just SUCH A FREAKING GOOD GUY. And especially when you’re some anonymous peon, self-entitled punk hiding behind a handle in a ‘cool’, ‘insider’ chat room with literally no reason to attack a guy in such a personal way (btw, you’re dorks, and you know who you are).
Nevermind what we all knew – that Charlie was absolutely killing himself trying to win for Notre Dame. Killing himself on the trail, killing himself in practices and game-planning. Doing charity work on the side and seeing his family ON THE SIDE. He wasn’t golfing, he wasn’t slacking. He was working for the University, the team and the fans.
Again, I have no issues with people questioning his decision-making in GAMES, his coaching style or his formations. I have a huge problem with attacking the man, which plenty of folks did, and he never deserved it.
What’s the reason for this rant, at this point? I mean, he’s gone right. Yep, he’s gone.
And he’s STILL proving what a stand-up guy he is.
Example #1. Charlie Weis gets fired. Soon after, he CALLS THE DUDE THAT FIRED HIM to make sure that Swarbrick is doing okay!
“It’s probably a measure of our relationship and how he’s approaching this; I had a call from him this morning; he wanted to know how I was doing.”
Lord, the guy has concern for the dude that just canned him. Be honest, would you ever do that? No way. (btw, neither would I).
Nice guy? Great guy.
And now, tonight, out comes Example #2.
Weis is on the phone, calling his recruits, trying to keep them committed to Notre Dame. Yep, the guy that ND fired is out there trying to keep the class together. Despite getting canned, despite ‘fans’ trashing him and his family, despite the drama and the intrigue and all that, Weis is on the phone calling the kids he recruited them and urging them to stick with ND. Because he cares about ND as an institution and a program, and because he’s a good guy.
You get to the point where you don’t want to answer your phone,” [Daniel Smith] said. “But when I saw it was [Weis], it was just great to hear from him. I tried to thank him for putting me in the position I am today.”
“He told me, ‘You earned this.’ And he said, ‘Don’t let my situation change your decision to go to the university.’
“He told me I made the right decision then, and it’s still the right decision. He told me to give it everything you have and encouraged me to work hard for the new coach, and that I’m going to make an impact as soon as I hit campus.”
He got me fired up to play for the new coach and to know who he is,” said Smith, who added only one school, Purdue, has tried to poach. “Up until now, I was just trying to get used to the first adjustment, the loss of my coach. But after talking to coach Weis, I think I’m more comfortable now with looking ahead.”
“Coach Weis calling, though, just made my day. It’s just like him to do something like that. I felt privileged to get to know him. He’s such a great guy. I wish I would have had the chance to play for him. You know, I was recruited for a long time. You build up close relationships with all the coaches. But he made me realize I could have that with the new coach, too.”
The cynics out there, those w/o a rational thought in their tiny brains, will say he’s doing it to get good PR. But heck, there’s plenty of ways to do that, and he doesn’t really NEED it. He’ll get a good job as a Pro OC regardless.
Point is, he loves ND, and doesn’t want his W-L record and his short-comings as a coach to hurt the program, and/or to divorce him from it. He’s part of the family, and wants to stay part of the family, and he wants to see ND football back on top. Rather than rooting against a group that he could perceive as turning on him, he’s still working to help them out.
The guy got canned, and he’s swallowed his pride and a few days after that firing he’s on the phone convincing kids to stay. Just awesome.
Charlie Weis isn’t a perfect human being. He’s gruff, he talks to much, he may annoy you, he’s not the smoothest guy in the world, he’s horrible at personal PR/image management, and his short-comings as a Head Coach (not an OC) are obvious.
But he did a lot of good for the program in recruiting and PR, in delivering a few good seasons, BCS appearances (and $), and some really exciting offense. In the end it wasn’t enough, and he gets that, but he’s no Fredo. He’s a Notre Dame guy. And that’s awesome. (makes you wonder if he actually would potentially stay on as OC under a new coach – unlikely, but makes you wonder…)
But unless you had Charlie Weis wrong you personally (really, really unlikely), I think the guy deserves your thanks and respect. At the least, he deserves your silence, and a refrain from bashing. Those that have gone after him are not honorable enough to come out and say “I’m sorry” – no, they’re righteously wrong here. And that just proves the theory – Weis can swallow his pride and get out there and do what’s best for ND, and what’s right. Cowards can’t, and won’t.
Rant over. Go Irish. And thanks for sticking by us and helping however you can Chuck. That’s money.
