For Weis, It's Just About Pitt ... for Now

FanHouse writer John Walters is living in South Bend, Ind., during one of the most pivotal seasons in Notre Dame history. Check back daily for his dispatches on the Irish.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Last week, Charlie Weis had to concern himself with Naval-gazing. This week, the media is imploring him to do some navel-gazing. On Tuesday, Weis was asked not once, not twice, not thrice, but four different times to evaluate, as ESPN's Tom Rinaldi put it, "the journey." Rinaldi, by the way, was one of two ESPN on-air personalities present at the press conference of the coach of a 6-3 team, proving yet again just how irrelevant Notre Dame football has become.

"I'm not taking the bait, Tom," Weis replied. "It's great for sound bites, but in reality it's all about Pitt [this week]."

It is for Weis and the Irish, but for the media it's harvest time.

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Charlie Weis. When we are not ripping him for being egomaniacal, we are begging him to evaluate himself. We media are a curious lot. Is it just a coincidence that an anagram for Notre Dame is "tread on me?"

Granted, Saturday's visit to Pittsburgh provides a lay-up of an angle. Weis returns to the scene of his collegiate debut, which also happened to be Dave Wannstedt's opening night on the Pittsburgh sideline. Weis and the Irish thoroughly embarrassed the Panthers that evening in September of 2005, running out to a 35-13 halftime lead before cruising to a 42-21 finish.

Yet here we are, nearly five seasons later, and it is Weis who is on the cusp of losing his job. And it is Wannstedt who has a team ranked in the top 10 with a realistic shot at a BCS bowl. Who could have foreseen it?

Since the day Weis arrived in South Bend, the story has always been about him whether he courted it (which sometimes he did) or not. He's over-compensated (that 10-year extension). He's over-compensating (flashing those four Super Bowl rings). He's overweight. He's over-exposed. He is under-achieving.

Weis, and this is partly due to his approach when he arrived and partly due to his business address and partly due (don't laugh) to Regis, is far better-known to the average fan. People know that he graduated Notre Dame having played less football than Rudy, that he is married with two children, that his daughter is developmentally disabled, that he texts Tom Brady. He puts his foot in his mouth ("decided schematic advantage") before ever coaching a game and nearly five years later we in the media still flagellate him with it.

Welcome to Notre Dame. It comes with the territory.

He could have been less arrogant in the beginning.

Sure, there were admirable gestures, whether it be promising to run a play drawn up by a dying child to congratulating USC after a heartbreaking loss to promising that the Irish would stand with the Midshipmen players during the playing of their alma mater following each game (who knew they'd be the losing side?). But far too often Weis behaved -- nay, believed -- that he was smarter than everyone else in college football. Worse, he thought that would translate directly to dominance, as if there were little difference between knowing what to do and doing it.

The seasons have humbled him. The losses.
And so, after 59 games Weis sits just a half-game better than Bob Davie (35-25), who coached 60 games in South Bend before being fired in 2001. As much as we implore Weis to analyze his past while we contemplate his near-future, it really is all about Pitt. Defeat the No. 8 team in the nation (one of the less imposing eighth-ranked teams you'll ever see) on the road in prime-time on national television and you may just save your job. Lose and, well, it is difficult to imagine the story not ending right where it began.

The numbers do not favor Weis and his team. The Irish are 3-7 in their last 10 November games, are 4-8 in their last dozen road games and are 1-9 in their last 10 games versus ranked opponents. With the exception of Nevada in this year's season-opener, they have demonstrated no ability to control the game from beginning to end against a formidable opponent in the past three years, i.e., in the lifetime of this current crop of players.

Everyone will be watching on Saturday night. Waiting for the final blow. All Weis, his staff and players have is themselves. It is the ideal crucible for a teetering team whose results have so often been at odds with its talent.

"For a lot of people this is a game," Weis said Tuesday. "You cover it as a sport. For us, this is our lives."

Which is why it will be so compelling. Kickoff is at 8:12 PM ET.