ND Coaching Staff

[NOTREDAMECHIEF]

Polian to join Weis' ND staff
Known for his recruiting ability
By Avani Patel
Tribune staff reporter

December 31, 2004, 11:15 PM CST

The coaching staff of new Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis appears to have taken shape, with the addition of yet another name known for his recruiting.

Brian Polian, the son of Indianapolis Colts President Bill Polian, will join the staff as a defensive assistant. He spent this season as running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Central Florida, on the staff of George O'Leary.

Rob Ianello, the current tight ends coach at Wisconsin, will be Notre Dame's recruiting coordinator. He also will serve as the team's receivers coach.

Michael Haywood, the recruiting coordinator, running backs coach and assistant special teams coordinator at Texas, will be Notre Dame's offensive coordinator.

Rick Minter will be the team's defensive coordinator, reprising a role he held in 1992-93 on the staff of former coach Lou Holtz.

Jappy Oliver, who spent this season serving on the South Carolina staff with Minter, will be Notre Dame's defensive line coach.

David Cutcliffe, for the last six seasons the head coach at Ole Miss, will be the quarterbacks' coach. And John Latina, Cutcliffe's offensive coordinator at Ole Miss, will be Notre Dame's offensive line coach.

Two others expected to join the staff are Bill Lewis, the defensive backs coach of the Miami Dolphins, and Rich Basaccia, the special teams coach with Tampa Bay.

Because both are NFL assistants, their hires won't be final until they receive releases from their teams. Copyright © 2004, The Chicago Tribune

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[LightningRod]

Weis has assembled a very good group.

[MegaWoody]

Stout indeed. He's off to a great start.

[CleveBucks]

Nobody with Ohio ties on that staff. Gotta like that.

[BB73]

They'll get a lot of mileage out of Cutcliffe as QB coach.

[BigDaddyDaeg]

I'm very excited about the crew Weis has put together. Michael Haywood is great hire from Texas.

[18thAveBuck]

Minter was head coach at Cincinnati for a number of years, so he has plenty of Ohio ties.

[NOTREDAMECHIEF]

By TOM COYNE

(AP) New Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis talks to the fans at halftime of the Notre Dame...
Full Image
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - New Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis told fans at an Irish basketball game Saturday that he's proud to be back at his alma mater and ready to begin work to turn the team back into a college football power.

"Hopefully in a short, a very short period of time, we'll get back to where everyone wants to be, because I don't like losing," he told 11,014 fans on hand for the game against Villanova, which the Irish won 78-72.

Weis, who a day earlier had described his planned halftime appearance as part of a "dog and pony show," received an ovation when he entered the arena and three standing ovations during his four-minute halftime speech.

Weis was hired Dec. 12, nearly two weeks after Tyrone Willingham was fired. Willingham, who made a similar appearance at halftime of a Notre Dame basketball game against Kentucky three years earlier, was fired after posting a 21-15 record at Notre Dame.

Weis hosted a recruiting weekend at Notre Dame before leaving Saturday night to return to New England to begin playoff preparations with the Patriots. Weis will continue as offensive coordinator for the Patriots through the end of the season.

He told the crowd he was eager to get to work at Notre Dame, but he doesn't want to be the full-time Irish coach until after Feb. 6 - the day of the Super Bowl. When Weis said that, someone in the stands yelled, "Go Steelers."

"I heard that Steelers comment," Weis said, as the crowd laughed.

Weis said he appreciated the applause of the fans, but wondered how long the good feeling would last.

"As much as I appreciate the appreciation you've shown today, this is a bottom line business," he said. "You didn't bring me here to lose.

"Let's see if you're clapping on Sept. 3, after we go to Pittsburgh," he said, referring to Notre Dame's opening game next season. "More importantly, let's see if you're clapping on Oct. 15 when that team from California (USC) comes here. Between you and me, I hope they're undefeated."

The two-time defending national champion Trojans have beaten the Irish by 31 points for three straight seasons, the last time three days before Willingham was fired.

Posted on 1/8 4:37 PM | IP: Logged

[BB73]

Hmm, new football coach talking to the crowd at a basketball game...sounds familiar.

But this speech sounded a lot less inspiring than the one I'm recalling.

As Maxwell Smart used to say: "Sorry about that, Chief".

[NOTREDAMECHIEF]

"THAT TEAM FROM CALIFORNIA" Isn't that sort of a reference to Woody?

Bill- Yeah! But if we know who MAXWELL SMART is we are both showing our age! LOL!!

[BB73]

Originally Posted by NOTREDAMECHIEF

"THAT TEAM FROM CALIFORNIA" Isn't that sort of a reference to Woody?

Not close enough, Chief. Actually using the state, which is part of USC's actual name, doesn't make it.

"That team from out west", or "That team from the west coast" would've worked.

[osubartender23]

Originally Posted by 18thAveBuck

Minter was head coach at Cincinnati for a number of years, so he has plenty of Ohio ties.

When Minter was at Cincy, he relied more on JC and out of state recruits then he did in state. I would probably say it was about 50/50 to the in state/out of state ratio.

[NOTREDAMECHIEF]

Brown Will Come To The Aid Of His Alma Mater



By ROY CUMMINGS rcummings@tampatrib.com
Published: Jan 15, 2005


TAMPA - Former Notre Dame wide receiver and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown will return to his alma mater next season. That much is certain.
What remains uncertain is the capacity and whether he'll moonlight as an NFL receiver.

``I will have some title there,'' Brown said of Notre Dame. ``And whatever the title is, it won't interfere with me playing ball - whether I play ball or do TV or whatever.''

Brown met Thursday with Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White to discuss aiding the Irish in their attempted return to prominence.

Brown's role likely will be decided during a future meeting with new coach Charlie Weis.

``Charlie's not in the loop right now,'' Brown said, referring to Weis' role as offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots. ``Once he's out of the playoffs, after the Super Bowl, we'll be able to come up with an official title and see if I can help with recruiting or be a player liaison or something so players there can have an outlet.''

Brown said it might be another month or two before he decides whether to retire as a player.

``I don't know if I'll make a decision before March or not,'' he said. ``But I do know that I don't want to end up in situation like I was in this year [with the Bucs].

``It was great to help [rookie receiver] Mike [Clayton], but a lot of people were looking at me and saying, `What are you doing for a living?'

``I even think Coach [Jon] Gruden was a little uncomfortable with it. At 39, who can make promises to a 39-year- old receiver. So I'm sure the next couple months will play itself out.''

Brown said he intends to devote a lot of time to the Irish program if he decides to retire as a player.

``If I'm not playing I can have a lot more of an impact,'' he said. ``If I do decide to play ball, then it's up to what Charlie wants me to do. After the playoffs we'll have a chance to iron some things out.''

In other Bucs news Friday, the team announced the signing of 14 free agents. Signed were cornerback Blue Adams, receivers Scotty Anderson, Adrian Madise, Terrance Metcalf, Derrick Lewis and Chris Davis, defensive tackle Delbert Cowsette, kicker Todd France, offensive linemen Jason Jimenez and Mitch White, safety Kalvin Pearson, defensive end Brian Save, long snapper Brian Sawyer and punter Brian Simnjanovski.

The most notable additions were Lewis and Madise. Lewis, who spent a week with the Bucs this season, has played in four regular-season games, all with the Saints. Madise, who also spent a week with the Bucs this season, has played in 11 games, all with the Broncos. He entered the league as a fifth-round pick (158th overall) of the Broncos in 2003

[PlanoBuckeye]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeBill73

Hmm, new football coach talking to the crowd at a basketball game...sounds familiar. But this speech sounded a lot less inspiring than the one I'm recalling.

All he hopes is that USC arrives undefeated. If they do my bet is they leave the same way they arrive.

If he had a set of JT's brass ones he would have said something like "All I have to say is the South Bend police had better have all available officers on duty that evening."

With that he implies a win will bring wild celebrating to the streets but he could also mean with another USC "bitch slap" of the Irish he will require extra protection for him and his family.