SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame's football team got its first taste of new Irish coach Charlie Weis last offseason when he addressed the team as a guest speaker after a workout.
"He seemed a little arrogant, but in a good way. Real confident," senior defensive end Justin Tuck said. "He was the first person to come in as a guest speaker and kind of rip us. ... Normally, a guest speaker comes in to talk about the tradition of Notre Dame and how great it was to be here. That wasn't his focus. He came in and gave us criticism, positive criticism."
Weis displayed some of the same qualities Monday when he formally was introduced as Notre Dame's 28th head football coach.
The New England Patriots offensive coordinator, a protege of NFL coaches Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick, showed a wisecracking sense of humor, an unmistakable no-nonsense edge and a passion for Notre Dame in his first day on the job.
He signed a six-year contract for a reported $2 million a year, ending the two-week circus that came to campus with the controversial firing of Tyrone Willingham and the unsuccessful courting of Utah coach Urban Meyer, who signed with the University of Florida.
"You are going to have a hardworking, intelligent, nasty football team ... because the attitude of the head coach will be permeated through the players," Weis told the media and school officials.
"I think he's really going to bring an edge to the team," sophomore quarterback Brady Quinn said.
The New Jersey native, 48, described the influence of Parcells and Belichick in his career. His blunt style and willingness to spar with the media reminded observers of Parcells.
"I'm here because expectations weren't met. And my job here is to raise those expectations," said Weis, wearing a Super Bowl ring only slightly smaller than the Golden Dome. "You are what you are, folks, and right now you're a 6-5 football team. And guess what? That's just not good enough."
Weis will split his time fulfilling duties with the Patriots and Notre Dame until New England finishes its season, which could stretch into early February if the defending Super Bowl champion makes it back to the championship game. But he declined to provide details of his job split, other than to say he has a plan that he's discussed with Patriots coach Belichick and Irish officials.
"We're all over it," athletics director Kevin White said of the next month and a half. "I feel very confident that we've worked this out (with the Patriots)."
Weis said he already has started the process of filling out his staff and will rely on his coaches to help in the transition. He declined to identify candidates.
Though he has never been a pro or college head coach and hasn't recruited for colleges in 15 years, he said he is confident on both fronts. He likened recruiting to attracting NFL free agents to his team.
"He told us he's a closer, and I believe him," Quinn said. "I talked to him (Sunday) night ... and I bought into it right then and there. He had me sold."
A 1978 graduate of Notre Dame who didn't play college football, Weis becomes the first Irish alum to head the university's football program since Hugh Devore was interim coach in 1963.
"It's very apparent to many of us that he was in the next class to become an NFL head coach had he chosen to stay the course," White said. "We got a guy on the way up rather than on the way down.
"I like his pedigree. I look at the number of people that have come out of the Parcells-Belichick system, and that's a pretty good group. I really like Charlie's demeanor, I like his passion and I like his body of knowledge in relation to the game."
The Irish hope his hiring calms the storm that erupted with Willingham's firing, a move the Rev. Edward Malloy, the outgoing school president, said last week embarrassed him. Willingham was introduced as the University of Washington's coach Monday.
Malloy didn't backtrack from his comments but said Monday that he was "proud of the way this (hiring) process was conducted, and I'm happy with the selection. ... Coach Weis, if we are going to learn lessons from our recent past, needs to be given time and enthusiastic support. That's what I intend to do."
Originally published Tuesday, December 14, 2004
