Weis recognizes errors with Tenuta hire, other moves

September 2nd, 2006 was the first sign of trouble for Notre Dame's recently anointed genius. Charlie Weis brought his 2nd ranked Notre Dame football team into Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta and things didn't go as planned, despite the win. Notre Dame - optimistic due to the return of many key senior offensive weapons - was held to 14 points by Georgia Tech. The passing game led by Weis and Brady Quinn was held to only 246 yards. The offensive genius had been matched. The man on the other sideline responsible for ND's offensive downfall on that day, Jon Tenuta. A year later in front of Touchdown Jesus, Tenuta's defense sacked Irish quarterbacks nine times in route to a 33-3 Yellow Jacket win that sent ND down a path that would lead to a 3-9 record. Weis' offense plummeted to dead last in all of Division I-A football.

Weis has brought the enemy on board, hiring Jon Tenuta as linebackers coach and assistant head coach. The disastrous '07 season proved to Charlie that many of the defensive coordinators in the college game had caught up to him. Weis recognized that perhaps his players no longer had a "decided schematic advantage." Weis never was able to swing a counter punch during the '07 season. Tenuta's greatest benefit could be to help Charlie regain his advantage.

Expecting a defensive coach to improve a team's offense is a lofty goal, but Tenuta may just be that good. His last four Georgia Tech defenses were all in the top 30 in total defense and top in rushing defense. Tenuta's only North Carolina defense in 2001 led the ACC in total defense.

The role that Tenuta will serve the Irish in is surprising. Tenuta has been a defensive coordinator since 2000. Weis was able to bring him on due to secondary coach Bill Lewis taking an administrative position due to health concerns. However, as soon as it appeared as if Lewis may not be able continue coaching, Weis was proactive in attracting Tenuta. The hiring of Tenuta is much more about bringing in the best possible coach and not a criticism of defensive coordinator Corwin Brown. Brown's first ND defense in '07 ranked 2nd nationally against the pass and 39th in total defense (91st against the run). Notre Dame finished 65th in total defense in '06. Brown was also very valuable on the recruiting trail, making significant contributions to ND's top 5 recruiting class.

The key to the Tenuta job being a success will be just how he works with Brown. If there are problems between the two, things could end up poorly. Currently, there doesn't seem to be much of a plan, Tenuta said, "Obviously, with my experiences in where I've been and what I've done, with the packages that I have, and Corwin and his package, we just kind of melt the packages together. If something good, something's bad, whatever, and work it out and game plan together and get ready for practice." One gage in how things are being melted together is how much 4-3 defense is played during spring practice. Tenuta comes from a 4-3 background. Brown installed the 3-4 defense last year, but ND did run some 4-3.

The amazing thing is that Tenuta was still on the street for this to happen. "There were a lot of jobs I was interested in. There were a lot of jobs and people that were interested in me. But the first time I talked to Coach Weis, once that happened to me, this is where I wanted to be." Tenuta said about him ending up in South Bend. Weis said that the first contact between the two occurred in December. Two things contributed to Tenuta taking a positions coaching job. One is the 571 yard defensive effort Georgia Tech put up in their bowl game while Tenuta was the interim head coach. The other is Tenuta being rumored and possibly holding out for a head coaching job. He was most heavily rumored for the SMU job. Most importantly, Charlie was willing to make room for Tenuta while others - likely negligently - didn't. Auburn, South Carolina, Arkansas, Washington, and Pittsburgh, among others, had an open defensive coordinator job while Tenuta was on the street. Those schools may pay for passing on Tenuta.

Perhaps a greater indication of Weis' mindset is the changes that he is making on the offensive side of the ball and with himself. He has given up calling plays, which will now be handled by offensive coordinator Mike Heywood. The motivation is two fold. He thinks that it will allow his assistant coaches to perform better and at the same time make himself a better coach. Weis is very critical of himself in this assessment, "This is a tough one for me to do, but I'm trying to give them an opportunity to run the offense with me interjecting rather than me demanding and telling them everything that we're going to do." Further, Weis suggests that he is out of ideas and is therefore turning things over to his assistants, "But I'm going to give them an opportunity to see if we can't be more expansive on our ideas, and I think that sometimes when you have a number of good coaches, sometimes they get stymied or stifled a little bit when you have a very domineering presence when the head coach is also involved in the offense."

Weis felt that giving up play calling would make him a better head coach, "I think that play calling is my greatest strength, okay, but I'm the head coach, and I think that when you're play calling on offense, you might not necessarily be the best head coach. So what I'm trying to do is I'm trying to be a better head coach. That's what I'm trying to do. " Weis is also making an effort to be more approachable for his players, especially younger players. Weis' moves are anything but arrogant.

Additionally, Weis is scrapping the coaching organization on special teams. He is going from a system where each special teams scenario had a different coach to special teams being coached by one assistant, Brian Polian. Weis himself will serve as assistant special teams coach. Weis will be meeting with Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer to improve the Irish special teams, "But we already have a time set, and before spring ball starts I'll be flying over there to spend some time with them to see if we can't get this righted. Brian will be the special teams coach, it'll be his deal, but I'll be his assistant. And I think when the head coach makes himself an assistant to an assistant coach, I think it might create a little sense of urgency with us on special teams." Again, Weis self criticism is startling.

Charlie Weis has made some major changes for 2008 Notre Dame football. It is a clear indication that there was a coaching problem in '07. Weis is trying his best to fix that problem. Bringing on Tenuta is a step in the right direction. The impact of the offensive and special teams changes is less of a sure shot fix. Notre Dame football will be coached very different from what it has been under Weis, making '08 critical for Irish fans. Now that the genius realizes he has worn out his welcome, we will find out if he has any staying power.