Charlie Weis coaching Notre Dame

I like Charlie Weis, but I never liked the Irish (the football team I mean, please take no offense Bono, Ted Kennedy, leprechauns, etc.)

First, Notre Dame's perspective: As Weis worked his way up he was successful at everything he touched. When he was a receivers coach Terry Glenn has his best year, when he was a tight ends coach, Ben Coates had his best seasons. Then, in the Bledsoe/Brady year, the quarterback coach died, they didn't replace him, so Weis ended up doing a lot of work with Brady. We know how that worked out.

I see Weis's strengths being developing talent and recruiting. If I'm a high school star, I'd be impressed with a coach who has Super Bowl rings and developed pro talent. Weis will be telling several recruits, come to Notre Dame and you'll be drafted in the first round. His NFL connections mean a lot.

There are some questions about Weis. Some in New England have been critical of his play calling, saying he's too reckless. Also, he has NO head coaching experience, so we don't know about his organizational skills, and how he'll handle the press and distractions. He does sound like Parcells in press conferences though.

Bottom line, Weis will make Notre Dame a top 20 team. They have recruiting restrictions -- unlike other college programs I believe Notre Dame requires that their players can read. I don't know if he'll overcome those restrictions to make Notre Dame national champs in the near future.

From the Patriots perspective: I don't think this will be a major distraction. Players knew he or Crennel would probably leave, so they shouldn't be surprised. Game planning on the other hand could be a problem. Fans are lead to believe that all NFL coaches work 20 hours a day getting ready for Sunday. Weis will be doing Notre Dame work in his "free time." Maybe he can sleep during the games. Notre Dame distracting Weis from game planning is a legitimate concern.

As for next year, the Pats have a replacement for defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel ready (Eric Mangini) and, of course, Belichick is deeply involved in the defense. The Pats offense seems to be run completely by Weis. No one knows who is replacement will be, and a bad offensive coordinator can ruin a team. However, having Brady around makes me less nervous.

One last thing, the Pats should be happy Weis is going to the NCAA instead of another NFL team. For one, I'd be nervous if he coached the Dolphins; he knows everything about the Pats and some Patriots might try to join him. Remember what Parcells and Belichick did to poor Bledsoe and Pete Carrol.

Another last thing, Belichick gets a lot of good information from college coaches who used to coach for him. For example, Randal Gay is now a competent starting cornerback for the Pats. He was a backup for LSU who had some injury problems. How did Belichick know to take a chance on him? The head coach of LSU, Nick Saban, who used to coach for Belichick told him to. Weis will basically be another scout for Belichick.

So, good for Charlie, good for Notre Dame, hopefully not so bad for the Pats. Now let's see if Crennel can get a job.