Weis, Emotional Intelligence and The Bucket List
Of course the problem here is that Weis had never been in the main chair and seemed to lack any ability to self-identify problems, and worse, he had isolated himself internally and had no one who could give him counsel and course corrections. He certainly helped promote his 2006 team, which seemed to bask in the limelight, but just didn't play hard or cohesively on the field. That was the first sign that all was not right in the Bend. Most of those close to the program know that it was a good team, but had no business being in the top 5. Things started to go south mid-year in 2006 and, with a two year black hole in recruiting, all signs pointed to a cratering in 2007.
The team was fractured (which is normal, btw when a new coach takes over.) We've heard from many people that there was a division between the older players (who didn't have the talent) and the younger players (who clearly had the talent.) Weis was recklessly going for it on fourth down, clinging to a passing game that couldn't protect the passer (what's the point?) and out of touch with his players.
The aftermath of the nuclear bomb of a season that hit in 2007 was the burning platform Notre Dame and Weis needed to change. In the executive world, when an executive is under performing, you have to identify the causes of under performance. Sometimes they're just not smart enough (Davie/Willingham,) other times they haven't built the skills and then there are the executives that just don't care enough about their company or about reaching excellence (Davie/Willingham.) They're not willing to sacrifice to be great. You need all of these to be successful. Weis clearly has the intelligence. He has the commitment to Notre Dame and he wants to be excellent. What he seemed to lack was a specific skillset that applied to the college game and people skills needed to manage a top tier program (or he didn't value the people skills.)
So a few things happened aside from the calls for his head. Jenkins supposedly called him in and told him he was losing the support of those around him. Weis was really faced with a choice. He could either pull a Willingham and retrench or he could embrace need to change. Those that retrench are usually managed out, but for those that embrace it, this type of acute pain and challenge often leads to a transformational experience in executives. Through these experiences they gain an understanding of humility and through that the empathy to understand others and thus the tools to manage them. Think about it. If you can't understand someone else's point of view, you're going to almost useless when it comes to influence. The ability to understand other's points of view and sources of pain is power.
Weis embraced changed. He underwent leadership coaching. He met with over 20 people close to the program to get their feedback (sort of 360 degree feedback,) and he made his bucket list. Not that he's going to die mind you, but things he needed to do to change the team and himself. If you think about it, the number of things on this list are extraordinary for a man of his stature, but obviously much needed changing.
- Seeking feedback
- Leadership coaching
- Coaching his team to play with
- Instituting harder hitting practices
- Bringing in more experienced coaching on defense
- Simplifying the blocking/working with Latina
- Emphasizing protection
- Instituting more power runs
- Changing the day off after a game
- Letting Haywood coach the offense
- A renewed focus on special teams
- Becoming more approachable to his players
- Becoming more engaged with Alumni
- Not going for it on 4th down in absurd situations
- Not always receiving the kickoff
- Changing the risk/reward trade-off on our passing game by lifting the lid on our controlled passing game and throwing down field to stretch the defense (more work needed - see 4th down)
- Willing to fire his DC
The bottom line is that Weis isn't lacking in innate ability. He's doesn't lack in the aspiration to be the best and he certainly isn't lacking in engagement to his job. These are the three killers of success. He was lacking in specific competencies that restricted his ability. Weis is showing true leadership by embracing change and to be honest, this seems to suit him better than the Parcell's model. Charlie's grown beyond his mentors... as he had to.
None of this means he'll succeed or that he won't backslide, but it does elevate him by a significant margin above his two predecessors who didn't have any of the three attributes necessary for success.
My hunch is that Charlie's ensured himself a decent level of success and his bucket list won't mean that he's going to kick the bucket as our coach for some time.
Of course he still needs to figure out that we can't sell play action on the cheap. Let's face it, anyone with eyeballs know that our tendency is to pass it on third and fourth down and short. We're not foolin' anybody. Charlie seems to think that running for a hundy means we can now fool people into thinking we're going to run. Two one hundred yard games aren't going to change three years of scouting. We're getting there, but that works best when you're running for two hundred a game. We're selling our running game like a cheap...
Sorry, the fan creeping back in.
35 Comments:
I would be very interested in finding out about TW saying the team is only a .500% team. Where did this come from? Born and raised in New Jersey many people from other parts of the country do not understand the "tell it like it is" attitude. I think many people have just misinterpeted Charlie. As far as 05 and 06, these were good teams with some star power but did not have the talent of some of the premier programs in the nation. The talent level has improved dramatically under CW but it still is young talent. Another 2 more good years of recruiting and ND should have the depth from freshman to seniors. That is why this is a critical season for wins and improvement for the Irish.
I agree with the article. Weis has changed and worked hard. He has found his own style of coaching... However, this article would have never been written had the Irish lost to Michigan. It would have been a complete 180, saying how Weis claimed he would emphasize blocking and pass protection, but has not.
Yes, the Irish did beat Michigan, but I think we need to wait another game or two to see if we are a competent football team. Yes, we have improved by leaps and bounds since last year, which is important, but Weis is not done proving himself.
Nothing more worthless than supposition on what I would or would write. You are wrong in your supposition and wrong to use supposition to make a point. Anyone who reads this column knows that I focus on contrarian view points or emerging trends. Depending upon the game performance, you likely would seen a defense of Weis as mob mentality would have been negative.
NDMD62
IMO,these coaches don't get it. All preseason we read about bench pressing 350# and gaining the same amount of weight.These sluggish giants cannot move hold a block put a man on the gound get down field or chase a sweep.It is no big deal if you outweigh Navy and Air Force 30#s/man. Just the facts,maam.
Did you watch Michigan? We put a lot of pretty talented guys on the ground and won the battle in the trenches against four and five star upperclassmen.
Charlie needs a new list. Like the Japanese, constant never ending improvement.
Looks to me like he has already done everything on the current list.
Thankfully.
What's with the "willing to fire his DC" comment? Is that a nod to Willingham, or did he really "demote" or consider firing Brown after last season?
I think this is a great post, and it helps to explain to the Charlie-bashers some of the reasons why they might want to re-think their positions. After inheriting a broken program, Charlie led us to 2 straight BCS bowls. I can hear the bashers now: "Yeah, and he did it with Willingham's recruits." To which I say: "Recruits? What recruits?" Guys like Brady Quinn and Jeff Samardzija were coming to Notre Dame whether the coach was Ty Willingham or Paris Hilton. They came here to fulfill a childhood dream, and because of what Notre Dame meant to them, not because of Ty Willingham. Ask them yourselves. I'm sorry, Charlie-bashers, but that's not recruiting, so let's put to bed the notion that Ty was anywhere near the evaluator and recruiter of talent that Charlie is, or that he understood Notre Dame at all. Thanks to his 3rd successful Superbowl run as OC with the Patriots, Charlie didn't get a chance to do any real recruiting prior to his first season as HC in '05. Still, he managed to win with the handful of decent players that Willingham managed not to scare away before moving on to ruin the program at UW. The first season that any of Charlie's recruits were in the fold was '06, and fortunately, Quinn and the gang were talented enough to overshadow the dearth of talent in between the senior class and Charlie's freshmen, and made it to another BCS bowl game. Then came '07, when Charlie's first real recruits were now sophomores with virtually no experience, and there was no Quinn or Samardzija to hide the fact that we had NO talent in the upper classes. Still, the haters came out in force, demanding that Charlie be taken to task for the pathetic 3-9 showing of that team. Charlie, instead of whining or lashing out, took the humiliation and derision in stride, telling everyone to "get their laughs in now." The bashing got even louder, and now, here we are in 2008, and Charlie finally has a few of his own players on the field who have actually played a little, and we're 2-0. I'll be the first to admit that the opponents haven't been top tier, and that, for the first time, I was a little apprehensive after the SDSU game ended up being closer than anticipated. Still, we're 2-0, and everyone has to admit that things appear to be heading in the right direction. The 4th quarter of the SDSU game looked like a different team, and at the conclusion of last week's Michigan game, when the players stood before the student section to sing the alma mater, you could almost see the weight being lifted off of them. Those kids have been through hell, and they have to have had their doubts during last year's debacle as to whether or not they'd made the right decision by buying into Charlie's vision and coming to Notre Dame at all. By the smiles on their faces, you could tell that they had finally gotten the answer they had been after all along. Now, we still have a long way to go, and this is not a championship caliber team yet, but you can see that the players are beginning to believe in themselves, and in one another. They're learning how to win before our eyes, and it makes me proud of all of them. All that being said, I'd like for the Charlie-bashers among us to stop saying he doesn't have a clue, because it simply isn't true. He's proven that he's a GREAT recruiter, and more impressively, I can see him growing as a coach, right along with his players. As Rock points out in the post, he's self-aware enough to know that he's not perfect, and that he needs to constantly strive to improve in the areas where he's been deficient. He's becoming a better motivator, he's changing the tone and tempo of practices, he's scrapped the hard-headed "I want the ball first" mandate, and he's opened himself up more to his players, the alumni and the media. Even on the recruiting trail, the area where he's been strongest all along, he's upped the ante, putting the emphasis on the word "commitment" in order to avoid the damaging, last-minute defections that took him by surprise the first time around. He may be a bit of a gruff character, and he may use some foul language, but come on! The guy’s a football coach, not a priest (and we all know that even priests swear occasionally anyway!). In my book, he's represented Notre Dame with class and integrity all the way. He went out of his way to congratulate USC after the heartbreaking loss in '05, and there's the whole "pass to the right" story that I hope touched every one of us. He teaches his players to respect the military schools and the solemn sacrifices that lay ahead for those players. He's raised tons of money for Hannah & Friends, and has helped raise a ton more for other charities as well. I know I've gone on for a while here, and I'm certain that I'll be called a Charlie footstool, but I don't really care. The guy's a winner, and if you can't see it, I wonder about whether you are. Let's knock it off with the "When are we going to stop blaming Willingham" routine, and get on board for the ride. We're 2-0, and we're poised for a winning season and then some. If we can win on the road this week at MSU, you'll see the team gain that much more confidence, and who knows? Charlie isn't perfect, folks, but unlike some coaches, he knows it, and he's proven that he's willing to do whatever it takes to win, provided it's within the context of everything else that Notre Dame stands for. The future is too bright to be grinding your axes in anticipation of every inevitable setback. We're on our way to a vastly improved season, and maybe even a downright good one when all is said and done. And come 2009 and beyond, everyone had better watch out for the Irish! So criticize the play-calling, or the use of personnel from time to time, but overall, let's give the coach a break. If you really look at the big picture, I honestly think he's earned it.
I believe he was referring to the firing of Rick Minter before last season.
C'mon Rock,watch Young push and release watch J.Brown wander around,Schapp had his best day and remind me how many yards our vaunted running backs put on the board. NDMD62
Might have missed that. I did see Wenger win some major wars on the day. Stewart almost broke Taylor's back on one play in the first half.
I didn't focus on Young, but we won far more battles than we lost. At worst, most plays were stalemates.
We blocked at a different level than last year.
NDMD62-
You really don't get it. Michigan came into that game leading the country in sacks. How many sacks did our offensive line give up? ZERO. Michigan came in allowing an average of 1.1 yards/carry. How many yards per carry did we average? 3.3. That rushing average isn't setting the world on fire, but it's 3 times their average. Michigan's defense is very good. Don't discount the play of the offensive line - it just makes you come across as clueless.
I saw a jacked-up ND team that played with its heart on its shirt-sleeve all day. I felt it right through the tv. I know when ND smells good and they did, keep it up Irish!
I will not add anything new, but I sure as heck will say THANK YOU to THE ROCK, KNUTE-HAMPSHIRE, and CHRIS.
I am so tired of the clueless "fans" who don't get it and will not let go of the constant criticism aimed at CW. It is rarely constructive.
If those are Notre Dame fans, we don't need them.
" . . . extraordinary for a man of his stature." Huh?
Not based upon our total record, for the past 3 years. No matter how "smart" or "committed" that Davie/Willingham may or may not have been . . .
I maintain that ANY solid, experienced, top-tier college coach would have managed the program at least as well as Weis did in '05 and '06. Better last year.
It will be interesting to see how all this plays out for Charlie.
~mpsND'72
Knute-Hampshire
I was hugely upset with the firing of Ty,.....at the time. Through this and other sources, mostly boards/blogs/etc, I've learned the truth about what transpired during his tenure, and tho' initially skeptical about the choice of CW as our new coach, was thrilled by his first two years. And, I've come to accept that much of what happened in '07 was inevitable (thanks, Ty!), tho' we could certainly debate whether it had to be quite so bad, and could probably lay the blame for the extreme degree of failure at CW's feet, particularly his curious and all-too-often infuriating playcalling decisions. Nonetheless, my gut tells me that he is getting it - i.e., how to coach D-I college ball; and that it is very different in crucial ways from the NFL. You, sir, have done the best job succincly summarizing all the important issues since the firing of TW. I feel that I could hand a copy of your post to some of the knuckleheads I run into, say "Read this if you want to really know what's been happening at ND since 2002," and they would then know. Believe? I'm not so sure....but, they'd know. My hat is off to you. Great job, and thank you.
The haters here are just trying to make it easier on themselves if Charlie ends up not being successful at Notre Dame. By criticizing him to death now and then being able to say, "I told you so!" later on, they are looking out for their own emotional state in the future. They are self-serving. They can't even pause for a moment to enjoy what is unfolding before their eyes in 2008 - a renewed Irish football program, and one that made me very proud to be an alumnus on Saturday after beating Michigan.
Right MPS, and as we know, there are tons of solid, experienced, top-tier coaches lying around.
He may have reinvented himself, but he was making corrections from the beginning. The list of things that Charlie needed to change occurred long before he started to lose support due to 2007. Not much to the article really. Comments were better.
How much of your article is speculation? If not speculation than how do you have access to so much inside information? Are you the psychoanylist or corporate coach for the ND administration? a fly on the wall? omnipotent?
Kudos to the "commenters."
I'm elated that ND beat Michigan but that doesn't necessarily foreshadow great things to come this season. Until there's a modicum of consistency every week in all phases of the game then the jury's out on Weis and the coaching staff.
Granted, the 2007 team was devoid of depth and upper class talent thanks to TW, but they still woefully underachieved throughout much of the season. That's a coaching problem. Also, the UM game was the most intense and lively performance by a Weis coached team since USC in 2005. That's an awfully long drought.
I think Weis is very committed to ND and I wish him and the staff well, but until they produce week in and week out and deliver some wins against top 10-15 teams then all the wild eyed optimism and giddiness over the UM win should stop.
BTW, looks like Ty might be canned before the season ends. Poetic justice of sorts.
Rock,it maybe you are too defensive. This is a great blog. No one on this page could love the place more than I.Season tickets, tears singing the alma mater scholarship sponser but---if everyone is supposed to agree with the band on the wagon nothing will improve i.e. our current political debacle the past 8 years.
Defensive about what? I hate the "you would have written X" argument, because it's just moronic. Other than that, I don't have a real vested interest.
Perhaps ND alumnis and fans should look at the bigger picture. Aside from Weis REALLY trying to make the program succeed the Notre Dame way. As Alumns, with the values we expect from the Notre Dame Football Program, we need this relationship to work. We need Charlie to succeed and avoid the need to can another 5 year coach. I think ironically that Weis has been very passionate about the way the program has to run and succeed but has not been able to transfer this passion unto his players. In the end, his bucketlist is about transferiung this passion on to the program.
To me, a win is a win and we have four in a row so far. Lets cut some slack and wait for the entire season to pan out before we draw out rash conclusions or start the ´let´s fire the coach campaign´ because in the end the players and the alumns are the most affected. A coach will almost always have a job next year, us (the players and fans) on the other hand will be stuck with anoter ´rebuilding´ year. Believe in coach Weis and let the year pan out before you bash.
Fantastic article, one of your best, Rock. The last paragraph doesn't suit the rest of the text though. Imo, you should omit the last paragraph (although i tend to agree with it)
know it's a little off topic, but when Nolan does an intervies does he talk WAy too much? Or is it just me? Seems like a 30 minute question.
Rock,
Good article examining the transformation of Charlie Weis. I don't think Charlie has necessarily "evolved beyond" his mentors (at the professional level they are among the best), he has just realized that he has to do things somewhat differently. I don't think it's really a comparable situation.
It is also not surprising that he had had to change, this is his first head coaching job at a high level. People can learn every day, even if they already have quite a bit of knowledge.
Finally, I know you really want more runs called (based of your posts), but play calling is something that is very difficult to criticize. All coaches look like genius game callers when the players are good, and not so smart when a Todd Boeckman type is the quarterback (uncalled for sucker punch, I know). Weis (and whoever is his coordinator) is going to call the plays that they think will work (not caring how many times it is a run or a pass), which is something that I assume you like. (He puts players in a position to be successful, unlike his predecessors.) If that is what you like about him, doesn't it shows a lack of consistency to second guess his strategy?
pete said... too many people are cutting charlie too much slack for his first year of recruiting. he choose to stay with the patriots instead of starting with nd right away. any shortcomings that charlie's first class has are charlies fault, not tys. all four classes that are currently playing for nd are charlie's recruits.
Saying that ND won the battle in the trenches against Michigan is a little bold. There is a reason Michigan was running the ball all over the field and ND couldn't sustain an offensive drive.
ND was doing a nice job of pass protection (for once), let's hope it continues.
I guarantee MSU rolls over this squad on Saturday. One of the reasons is run blocking; MSU does it, ND does not.
Rock, the "commenters" comment was beneath you, chill out.
I do want to say this: Kudos to Weis for keeping Armando Allen out of the RB spot for much of Saturday's game, that guy runs towards opposing defensive players like they are magnetic and he is metal. I've never seen a player with less field vision, it's almost funny.
I maintain my opinion that Weis needs to go if this team doesn't win 9 games. This guy was hired to coach offense and the offense is abysmal. Seriously, it's like watching a slow motion train wreck. Michigan would have destroyed this team if not for the turnovers.
Finally, just because many of us are not drinking the Charlie Weis kool-Aid doesn't mean we aren't true fans. It reminds me of the way Republicans tell us if we don't support Republicans we are not true Americans. In other words, it's just silly. We can love our alma mater and still criticize the Head Coach who has never won a big game and went 3-9, with the worst offense in D-I (or whatever they are calling it now) last year.
We may not be sold on Weis, but we still root for Notre Dame every week. In other words, we are disappointed in Weis, but would love for him to prove us wrong and lead this program to greatness.
Peace.
Quote "too many people are cutting charlie too much slack for his first year of recruiting. he choose to stay with the patriots instead of starting with nd right away. any shortcomings that charlie's first class has are charlies fault, not tys. all four classes that are currently playing for nd are charlie's recruits."
There are several fallacies with this statement. First, unless I'm completely mistaken and I don't think I am, Charlie did not "choose" to stay with the Pats, Bellicheck would not let him leave till the Superbowl was over. As he still had a contract with the Patriots he had to be there. Secondly, the bulk of the recruiting work is done well before signing day. It happens during junior days, summer camps, at fall visits. How else do you explain teams having up to 20 commits lined up by this time. 90% of that falls on Ty's shoulders.
A different Michael
FOLKS this is IRISH MIKE again...and I want to let everyone know, that I have come back to reality and will only write thought provoking, meaningful prose and not bantering hyperbole.
For you SC fans who may happen to read this...please use a dictionary to find out what prose and hyperbole is...they are not diseases or cocktails...fyi.
Anyhow...I would like to say that I might have been premature in FIRING CW campaign.
This is probably the most difficult job in the country....the expectations are astronomical.
I guess the one that that seems to be missing...and to be honest...I havent seen it since LOU...is the fire on the sidelines...some emotion.
That's what I'd really like to see more of from CW.
I heard on the local radio show here in los angeles...that one of the commentators actually saw CW show some emotion.
I know it's a stressful job...but I guess I just miss Lou ranting and raving and sparking this team up.
Is it just a coincidence that LOU and the 88's were on the sideline for the game?
That was the base of my complaint with CW.
I want back to see a game two years ago...and was lucky enough to see the pep rally...and I'm telling you...the guy practically put me to sleep.
Davie and TW didnt have it either...and I personally think that's a huge reason they failed.
So from here on in...no more negativity on my part fella's.
I just want the Irish to start kicking butt again.
GREAT POST ROCK...as always.
oh..one last thing...Rock..can you please explain to me...why initially I was under the impression that CW was a mastermind offensive genius...and yet our offense is terrible?
Just curious.
Irish Mike
I really don't see how some cynics are labeling the offense as a "trainwreck". Yes, they looked like a trainwreck for 3 quarters against SDSU, but they looked pretty damn good from the 4th quarter of that game thru halftime against UM. Only a fool would fail to recognize that we were just trying to run some clock and hold onto the ball for the 2nd half against Michigan. We are a LONG way from being an elite offense, but it's idiotic IMHO to say that the offense sucks, at least from what they've shown so far.
This still does not make sense to me: The list described in the post was apparently made after the 2007 season, yet it contains a plan to fire his defensive coordinator, which he did prior to the 2007 season? Any clarification appreciated.
More name-calling. This time I am a "fool" and "idiotic." I'll ask again; am I on a USC board?
Oh, and yes, when your offense does nothing for three quarters against San Diego State, it is a HUGE train wreck.
Enough of this bull about sitting on the ball against Michigan. Did you watch the Michigan game? Sitting on the ball means ball control. Ball control means sustained drives. It didn't happen against a superior Michigan team, a Michigan team that had absolutely no trouble sustaining drives against ND. The victory against Michigan was reminiscent of some of Ty's victories in his first season. Lucky.
This offense has shown nothing so far. They are, once again, mired in the bottom third of the NCAA rankings. They do not sustain drives because they cannot run the ball. The offense has been terrible. Again, have you watched either of the two games?
The offense hasn't just been a train-wreck, it has been a slow motion train wreck. Get it right.
There are some positives; less sacks, a better QB, and young talent at WR. Charlie has done a fine job recruiting after the Willingham debacle, but he has yet to show that he can coach offense at the college level.
When Notre Dame plays a game in which the offense shows it can sustain drives with some regularity, you let me know. Until then, the fourth quarter against a team that lost to a I-AA team isn't going to get it. This is Notre Dame. When did the program get reduced to holding on to to a couple of touchdowns in one quarter against the worst team in D-I to make itself feel better?
Give me a break.
Peace.
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