My buddy Frank loves to call me with the latest sports rumors. He can't wait to tell me all about the latest thing that he's heard. And, it must all be true, cause it's on the radio.
Yesterday he wanted to get my thoughts on a report that Charlie Weis was about to quit the head coaching job at Notre Dame to return to the Patriots as Offensive Coordinator. I'm not sure where this came from, but I can't imagine it happening. First off, Notre Dame just went through a big show of telling anyone who would listen that Coach Weis will be returning for a fifth season. If he had any thoughts of leaving, he had outs before now. I know that Weis isn't the most charming of people (he is a football coach, after all), but I think that he would at least have the decency to tell the school that he was considering leaving and thus, not to complete dismiss any rumors that are out there. So, I don't think he'll going anywhere... this season.
Next season is completely a different scenario. If the Irish have another 7-5 season which nets them another lower bowl invite, then the school would probably look to get out from underneath the massive contract extension they gave Weis in his first year. If that were the case then I could see Coach Weis looking for a soft landing spot. And what better place than with his old team, his good friend Bill Belichick and the player that ran his offense better than anyone else, Tom Brady. With Josh McDaniels heading for the Denver Broncos the Offensive Coordinator job is technically open. The Patriots have announced that Bill O'Brien will be taking over as QB coach and have input on play-calling. Essentially, he'll have McDaniels's old job without the title. This is the same thing that the Patriots did when Weis left for ND four seasons ago and spent the season without naming an Offensive Coordinator. But, if a year from now he's out of work I could see Belichick giving Weis the coordinator job and quietly demoting O'Brien without having to actually strip him of the job title. It almost works out too well.
That, of course leaves one to question who will step in to helm Notre Dame. This week the interweb was all abuzz with talk that Jon Gruden, who was leading the charge for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers until last week, was interested in the job. I know he's won a Super Bowl (coaching against the team that he built and knew their entire playbook... it was a little like playing as both teams in Madden) but I don't think he'll be a very good college coach. Just look at how he handle quarterbacks. He's had roughly 20 on his roster in three seasons. Jeff Garcia came out yesterday and blasted the way that Gruden handles players, essentially blaming his people skills for the reason he was fired. I can't imagine that will go over too well with college-aged kids. I'm sure he could flash the Super Bowl ring and recruit well, but that has never been Notre Dame's problem. I just don't think Gruden has the patience to take an 18 year-old kid and mold him into a professional. In fact, I wouldn't be interested in any of the big-name head coaches who could still be looking for work next December (Brian Billick, Mike Shanahan, Bill Cowher... maybe Holmgren, but even that's dicey). To me they would always have one eye towards the NFL. A proven college guy like Tommy Tuberville is a much better idea. Or, back up a truck full of money and try and get Urban Myer to leave Gainesville (unlikely). To me, those are much better options.
-I'll be curious to see just how much money Matt Cassel cost himself by declaring that he would be happy to come back to the Patriots and be Tom Brady's backup. Part of that could be that he knows he's going to be franchised and doesn't want to cause friction with an organization that he knows he will be returning to. Part of it could be that he realises that not every franchise is going to have Randy Moss and Wes Welker to throw to. But, the larger issue to other teams could be that it almost seems as if he doesn't want to start. That's not a good thing for a quarterback to be showing anyone. You want a QB who will step on people's necks to get to the front of the line and are fiercely competitive. Having the chance to start is what all quarterbacks should be trying to get, not starting and then being happy to be a well-payed clipboard holder. I think we just saw why he stayed behind Matt Leinart when he was in college.
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