Weis’ next big call: on field or in booth Michael Rothstein The Journal Gazette
Charlie Weis will call the offensive plays this season. The big question is from where.
Weis said Friday he wouldn’t rule out coaching from the press box this season – something he did during Notre Dame’s 49-21 win over Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl – although he called it a less than 50-50 chance.
It would be a bold move for the fifth-year head coach considering almost no other head coach – aside from Penn State’s Joe Paterno, who was forced into the press box for health reasons – spends game day away from the sidelines.
Here’s the problems with that,
Weis said. You go upstairs, you obviously have to stay upstairs because the first time you come downstairs you open yourself up for a whole different set of scrutiny. So what you have to decide is what is best both short term and long term.
The benefit for Weis would come in how he sees the game. He said as a coordinator it is much more beneficial to call the game from the press box because the view allows him to better predict what defenses can do.
He used an example of a screen pass he called at the Hawaii Bowl.
You would have had a couple good chuckles during the game if you heard my voice raised before the play was even called,
Weis said. We called that one screen pass and I said, ‘They are bringing the house here, fellas, there’s going to be a lot of blitzing for a screen.’ So I called a pass that’s a screen, and before the play I said, ‘Here they come, it’s a walk-in,’ and my voice is up (high), and we haven’t even snapped the ball yet.”
Promotions and shifts
Notre Dame hasn’t filled out its defensive staff and has shifted around some titles.
Corwin Brown, defensive coordinator the last two seasons, has been promoted to associate head coach and will become co-defensive coordinator with Jon Tenuta, who was named the defensive coordinator and will call the defensive plays.
If this will help us win more games next year then I’m all for it,
Brown said in a statement. I’m the ultimate team guy. I’ve always been the ultimate team guy.
It won’t be too much different, though, because Tenuta said calling plays last season was a collaborative effort.
You’ve got to work together,
Tenuta said. It’s a cohesive group. The chemistry has to be good all week and obviously game day, but somebody has got to be in charge.
Media outlets reported that Randy Hart, the former defensive line coach at Washington, is expected to be named Notre Dame’s line coach within a week.
Weis said Friday that Romeo Crennel will not be coming to South Bend as the defensive line coach.
No surgery needed for coach
Weis said he will not have surgery on his left knee, which was injured when John Ryan crashed into him during the Michigan game. He initially had surgery scheduled for Feb. 24. But when he had surgery on his right knee they checked the MCL in his left knee and deemed it firm enough to put off surgery.
This and that
Fullback Luke Schmidt will no longer play at Notre Dame because of recurring concussions. He’ll still be on scholarship. … Notre Dame named Brian White, a Juniata College graduate, as its offensive graduate assistant.
