Tough-guy Weis has Irish headed in right direction

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis can be a jerk.

At least that's what Irish quarterback Brady Quinn revealed on "60 Minutes" last week.

And for Notre Dame, a program that had slipped into mediocrity, some tough love is exactly what was needed, Quinn said.

You can't argue with the results. The 11th-ranked Fighting Irish (7-1), who host North Carolina (1-7) today, already have one Bowl Championship Series appearance under the second-year coach -- and another forthcoming. If that means someone's feelings get hurt along the way, so be it.

"He's going to push you as far as he can, to your limit," Quinn said. "I want a coach who's going to be a jerk if we're going to win every single game."

To Weis, a protege of Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick, being called a jerk is the highest of compliments, second only to being called a winner. Weis, 50, has gone 16-4 at Notre Dame after the Irish went 11-13 in the previous two seasons.

In December of 2004, the Irish found themselves in a situation similar to what UNC has been going through over the past couple of weeks. They needed a coach and they needed to make the right hire.

The way Tyrone Willingham's tenure began at South Bend, that scenario had at one time seemed impossible. Willingham won eight straight to start the 2002 season and finished the regular season 10-2 with a date in the Gator Bowl against Philip Rivers and N.C. State. The Pack embarrassed Notre Dame 28-6 on Jan. 1, 2003, which was the beginning of the end for Willingham.

The Irish stumbled to 5-7 in 2003 and then 6-5 in 2004, when athletics director Kevin White fired Willingham before the bowl game. A run at then-Utah coach Urban Meyer, a former Notre Dame assistant, failed when Meyer went to Florida.

That led to a national search, including several high-profile rejections, but ended with Weis, a 1978 graduate of Notre Dame who never played college football.

Thanks to a strong staff and his trademark offensive ingenuity, Weis guided the Irish to the Fiesta Bowl last season, his first as a head coach on any level higher than a New Jersey high school. And Weis has the Irish on track for second straight BCS appearance this season. Notre Dame lost to Michigan, 47-21 on Sept. 16, but has since reeled off five straight wins.

The Irish expect an inspired effort from North Carolina, which lost 24-17 to 23rd-ranked Wake Forest last week, its first game after John Bunting was fired.

UNC spent Friday touring Notre Dame and the College Football Hall of Fame. The Heels, a 24-point underdog, see the nationally televised game as an opportunity to extract a positive from an otherwise miserable season.

"We've got nothing to lose," senior running back Ronnie McGill said.

Bunting struggled at UNC while making the transition from an NFL assistant to a college head coach, but Weis enlisted the help of two former college head coaches -- Bill Lewis (East Carolina) and Rick Minter (Cincinnati) -- to acclimate him.

The entire staff, Quinn said, has instilled a mental toughness. "They've changed our attitude and put us in the right state of mind to win," Quinn said.

Weis credits the instant success to the players, who were recruited by Willingham. In particular he points to Quinn, who has thrown 53 touchdown passes since 2005. Bunting called Quinn a "top-five pick" in the upcoming NFL draft -- maybe the No. 1 overall pick.

"I'm not taking credit for that," Weis said.

But Quinn credits Weis, who made his name as the New England Patriots' offensive coordinator and tutoring Tom Brady, the 199th pick in the 1999 draft, into the best big-game quarterback in the NFL.

In Quinn's first two seasons, he threw for 26 touchdowns and 25 interceptions as the Irish struggled going from a power running offense to a passing offense.

In Weis' scheme, which features screens and short, high-percentage passes, Quinn set school records with 32 touchdowns and 3,919 yards. His interceptions dropped to seven.

Through eight games this season, Quinn has thrown 21 touchdowns with four interceptions. He hasn't thrown an interception in 169 attempts.

And Weis' success doesn't seem likely to end when Quinn and the rest of Willingham's players graduate. Weis has signed Jimmy Clausen, the top high school quarterback recruit in the country.