Charlie Weis Extension: Pt. II

[bartshan-83]

Well that sure didn't take long. Jason Whitlock, a Page 2 writer for ESPN.com has called the Weis extension racist.

 

RACIST

 

 

His argument, as has been discussed here is that Ty should have gotten a huge extension after his 8-0 start and because Weis did after a 'not as good' start, ND is being racist and arrogant.

 

Let me start my rant by saying how disappointed I am in how Notre Dame was treated in the media for being racist regarding it's firing of Ty. Notre Dame will never be remembered as the big time college program who hired a black coach, but instead the one that unfairly threw him on out on his ass. With all the talk about how black men are vastly under-represented in coaching and ownership in College and Pro football (with which I agree), there was no where near the amount of positive press for ND giving a black coach a shot as there was negative when we 'classlessly and racistly' fired him. If anything, I think this has hurt the movement to increase the amount of black coaches in football. I think programs are weary of the backlash they will receive in the media if they have to make a tough decision with the coach. I'm glad this fear did not stop Notre Dame because I know if we had kept Ty, we would be on our way to another 6-5 or 7-4 season (maybe) with a couple of serious ass-kicking at the hands of USC, MSU and Tenn. along the way. Having said that...

 

I am even more disappointed in the new call of racism against Notre Dame. To say that the situations are similar is so assinine, it borderlines on insanity. Forget trying to compare the impressiveness of the two coaches' starts. This whole thing is about the coach, not the record. The media has slobbered over Weis this entire season with a ball washing worthy of Tedy the Great. There has been talk about how great Weis is and how he will be heavily courted by every NFL team that needs a coach this off-season. With the amount of screw ups Kevin White has put on his resume that last years, it's no wonder he sh*t his pants and gave Weis the extension. There was no way in hell that ND was going to allow even the smallest of possibilities that we would lose him to anybody to exist. We can't afford another embarassment. THAT is why Charlie got the extension.

 

We never feared we would lose Tyrone. And as much as Whitlock wants to downplay the NFL card, it is absolutely relevant. There is probably a 99% chance that Weis would have stuck to his word at the end of this year and stayed loyal. But allowing that 1% to exist would have been a mistake. Fear drove this extension, not merit. Yes, Weis has done a great job, but a 10 year extension to make a coach the highest paid in the middle of his first year is not sound business practice. White knows he is taking another risk handling it this early. But, what a lot of people seem to be missing, is that NOT doing this was the far greater risk.

[smokinandjokin]

I agree with you Bart, but don't waste your time being upset about it. There are thousands of people who get paid to write articles, and you knew somebody was going to mention this. It was clear the ND admins liked Ty's program, but they were clearly second-tier when they played the big dogs. When they fired Ty and gave their Sunday-Friday speech, everyone gave them flack for tarnishing the Notre Dame image, and justifying the fact that academics and molding tomorrow's leaders are not as important as football. I gave them credit. The bottom line is that you have to win games. NBC does not have an exclusive contract with them because their team has a 3.6 GPA.

 

I also agree that while Weis probably would have stayed, you couldn't be certain. If the Green Bay Packers were throwing $3 million at him, who knows? They found the coach they want and they locked him up.

 

The only problem I have with Ty's firing is that this was the make or break year. It would have been right to give him a chance with his own players. He was in their living rooms recruiting these guys. But there's a rule in business that when you know somebody is not right for the job, you should cut ties immediately. The longer you let the situation drag out, the more of a mess it becomes at the end.

[Ramius]

Duh! Its obvious that weis got the extension because hes white, and willingham didnt get one because he black.

[KD in CA]

Well and an ND fan, all I can say is I don't care at all about wins or losses. I just want to make sure that there isn't one of "them" on the ND sidelines. (Well....not counting half the team of course....)

 

 

Whitlock is the worst kind of dog sh--. He has nothing of substance or intelligence to say, so he creates the 'racism' angle to get himself noticed. As a result, he shows himself to be exactly what he decries, and he desensitizes people to accusations of racism, harming the very cause that he apparently holds dear.

 

JW < RJ

[R. Rich]

Well and an ND fan, all I can say is I don't care at all about wins or losses.  I just want to make sure that there isn't one of "them" on the ND sidelines.  (Well....not counting half the team of course....)     

Whitlock is the worst kind of dog sh--.  He has nothing of substance or intelligence to say, so he creates the 'racism' angle to get himself noticed.  As a result, he shows himself to be exactly what he decries, and he desensitizes people to accusations of racism, harming the very cause that he apparently holds dear.

 

JW < RJ

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Whitlock is actually a very good writer, but I think he's just a bit too hasty in playing the race card in this case. I think Ty was a victim of timing more than anything else. 'That team' had been on the decline, in terms of record, for a while and was losing many of the blue chip recruits they used to get regularly to the Florida schools (who are on every week, play in good weather, AND are close to home in most cases). I think Ty's weak finish there was the last straw and he would've been gone regardless of color of skin.

[bartshan-83]

Whitlock is actually a very good writer, but I think he's just a bit too hasty in playing the race card in this case.  I think Ty was a victim of timing more than anything else.  'That team' had been on the decline, in terms of record, for a while and was losing many of the blue chip recruits they used to get regularly to the Florida schools (who are on every week, play in good weather, AND are close to home in most cases).  I think Ty's weak finish there was the last straw and he would've been gone regardless of color of skin.

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Very true about timing. If Urban Meyer did not include Notre Dame in his "out" clause from Utah, Tyrone Willingham would still be the coach. They ditched him under massive pressue from alumni (who paid for the buyout of his contact, BTW) because they thought they had their man. Period.