Weis won't quit as coach despite Notre Dame woes

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Weis is no coaching genius

Charlie Weis is a compelling twist on Abraham Lincoln's observation that "you can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time."

As the football coach at Notre Dame since 2004, Weis fooled a lot of people for a long time. Few of those he fooled, however, were opposing coaches. Instead, they were Notre Dame boosters and administrators. Perhaps they got caught up in Weis' being a guy's guy, better than his predecessor, Ty Willingham, at glad-handing, telling jokes and firing off snappy one-liners. Perhaps better, too, at recruiting.

A better salesman, not a better coach.

Notre Dame fires Weis

Charlie Weis arrived at Notre Dame flashing Super Bowl rings and talking about outscheming opponents. He leaves one of college football's most prestigious programs without even matching the record of the two men who were fired before him.

Athletic director Jack Swarbrick announced the decision to fire Weis on Monday.

"For many of you who may have thought that was a foregone conclusion, I would say to you that the decision was harder than you might have thought, principally because of the man it involved," Swarbrick said during a news conference on campus.

UVa likely to pick London today

Virginia has called a news conference for today to discuss its football program, where it seems likely the Cavaliers will announce their choice to replace former coach Al Groh, who was fired eight days ago.

The news conference will come one day after the school asked Richmond for permission to speak with its coach, Mike London, about the job. That's according to London's agent, Dennis Cordell.

Several Virginia newspapers and ESPN reported that London has accepted the job.

Weis stays the course for now

Charlie Weis is going about his job as Notre Dame coach as normal, saying he doesn't think a decision about his future has been made.

"Oh no, I don't think that any decision's been made because I probably would know, and I don't know," Weis said Tuesday.

Athletic director Jack Swarbrick has said he will evaluate the program after the season. The Irish (6-4) head into their game Saturday against Connecticut on a two-game losing streak that has left Weis with a 35-25 career record, a .583 winning percentage. That's the same record Bob Davie was fired with and the same winning percentage Tyrone Willingham was fired with.

Notre Dame (6-3) at (8) Pittsburgh (8-1)

GAME NOTES: Non-conference rivals will collide on Saturday under the lights, as the red-hot Pittsburgh Panthers host the disappointing Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Heading into this season, Notre Dame had national championship aspirations, but the team fell to Michigan in game two and USC in mid-October to crush those hopes. Then, last weekend, the Irish suffered their third loss of the campaign in a 23-21 setback at home against Navy. Head coach Charlie Weis continues to be heavily criticized for failing to elevate the UND program, and he figures to need a strong finish to have a chance to return next season.

As for Pittsburgh, it has recorded five consecutive victories since suffering its lone loss of the season, a seven-point setback to a modest NC State club. The Panthers moved to 8-1 overall and 5-0 in the Big East Conference last weekend with a 37-10 romp over Syracuse. The 8-1 start is the first for the program since 1982 when Dan Marino was behind center. The Panthers are also unbeaten after five