THE WORLD’S HIGHEST PAID INTERN
We’re trying one teeny little test post here, tempting fate to see how malicious the internet gods are today. But read a burrrrrrn like this one, and you do what you must do when someone says something horrible and horribly accurate about someone suffering through a miserable time in their lives. You share it with the world, naturally.
Charlie Weis is the world’s highest-paid intern.
Oh, Greg Couch of the Chicago Sun-Times, you burn like the sweet tang of aerosolized capiscum.
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1
Jerkwheat says:
He may be a terrible head football coach, but he always has the meeting room prepared nicely and never complains when I ask him to fetch some coffee.
November 12th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
2
formerlyanonymous says:
mgoblog is going nuts with rumor Carr is announcing retirement by monday next week.
November 12th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
3
Rival says:
Tiiiiimmmm-buuuurrrrn!!
Ya burn!
I want YouTube links a-plenty to the SNL skit featuring Alec Baldwin as Dr. Greg “Burn” Burns vs. Dave “Zinger” Clinger.
Get to it!
November 12th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
4
Edsall is God says:
uhhh i don’t get the insult. How is he an intern? Why didn’t this d-bag reporter write this after they went to the BCS the last two years?
This guy is a classic ND hater, always killing ND and Weis whenever he had a chance the last two years and now he’s stroking himself as he writes this crap. I still fail to see the logic in calling him an intern when it’s his 3rd year on the job. Yeah, it’s cute but lazy. I hate hack reporters, sorry.
November 12th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
5
Herb says:
Truth is, Weis is doing a much worse job than Ty. Why wait to can him? Don’t tell me that’s not an attractive job. Weis has reloaded the talent and set a very low bar for a coach to show improvement in his first year.
November 12th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
6
roaminggator says:
I thought Monica Lewinsky was the highest paid intern….but of course that never happened.
November 12th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
7
Raider Red says:
Should Weis be the highest weighed intern as well?
November 12th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
8
Brawndo says:
Personally, as an Illinois fan and as a Big Ten defender (harder these days, admittedly), I hope Charlie stays in South Bend in perpetuity. Nothing is more entertaining to me than to see ND get handled by middle of the pack Big Ten Teams on a consistent basis.
Give Charlie a 30 year extension, ND. Please…
November 12th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
9
pennywisepicks.com says:
As a former sportswriter, I can say that the author’s nonchalant cynicism and snideness perfectly reflect what is wrong with most sportswriting these days — it is written by people who prefer to draw a sadistic chuckle from the reader.
I do agree, however, that Weis seems over his head, and Notre Dame made a serious blunder with the contract extension. They shouldn’t have been that impressed by the two BCS appearances. Vegas wasn’t, installing the Irish as prohibitive underdogs in both games, and who knows more about these games than Vegas?
As is always the case, it is never as good or bad as it seems. What irks me is that the treatment of Notre Dame’s last two coaches has been so different. Willingham indeed should have been allowed four years. The fourth year is usually where a breakout season occurs — witness Mississippi St. this season. Maybe next year will be the year for Weis and the Irish…they certainly won’t be able to do much worse!
November 12th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
10
kleph says:
the sports economist weighs in today also. clearly they are “haters” as well.
November 12th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
11
Geaux Irish says:
#7: I can’t believe you beat SKLM to the punch on that one.
And while I’m at it, a bit of a delayed note to SKLM for a post a few threads ago. Thanks for calling off the dogs. I’ve come to enjoy your baiting of Domer newbies that don’t know your style, but I appreciate the curveball last weekend when you said (paraphrasing) that you’d hold off on dumping any further on the ND faithful.
November 12th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
12
jon says:
Geez Edsall, did a Bearcat piss in your coffee this morning?
November 12th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
13
Team Meconium says:
ABC. A, Always, B, Be, C, Closing. Always be closing. Always be closing. AIDA. Attention. Interest. Decision. Action. Attention. Do I have your attention? Interest. Are you interested? I know you are ’cause it’s fuck or walk. You close or you hit the bricks. Decision. Have you made your decision for Christ? And action. AIDA. Get out there. You got the prospects coming in, you think they came in to get out of the rain? A guy don’t walk on the lot lest he wants to buy. They’re sitting out there waiting to give you their money. Are you going to take it? Are you man enough to take it? What’s the problem, pal
November 12th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
14
Fecil says:
They were going to try running out and getting penalized after the first touchdown but by the time they scored one everybody forgot….
November 12th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
15
Eirishis says:
That statement is BULLSHIT. What good intern eats all of the donuts before the bosses get any?
November 12th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
16
Brian O'Blivion says:
The bigger they are…..well, you know the rest.
As for the two BCS appearances, would ND have been in those games if they weren’t ND? Yes, this is hypothetical, but every year when they get an “automatic” BCS bid based on whatever special criteria they have, I always wonder if there was not a more deserving team. Certainly, just about any other team would have been more competitive than they were those two years.
Next year, ND travels to Seattle to play UW. Regardless of each team’s record, there might be a little interest in that game.
November 12th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
17
NDEddieMac says:
#13: I’m not sure why the blake speech applies here but I do love it so well played. Now I’m going to go back to rocking back and forth in the corner hoping this bad dream ends soon. I’m just glad last year was my senior year.
November 12th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
18
Techie says:
Time to man up and join a conference, boys. Everyone and their mother knows that w/o that little exemption clause, ND would not have played in those two BCS games. The product on the field reflected that.
November 12th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
19
Herb says:
Coffee is for closers!
November 12th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
20
CliffX says:
That writer makes some good points, but that article was definitely written on deadline. Way too many run-on sentences and one-line paragraphs.
November 12th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
21
Stacy Keibler Luvs Me says:
No. 11 – Geaux Irish: Orson tossed a slow pitch down the middle of the plate and I will to not swing away. Have a nice day.
November 12th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
22
baconboy says:
To paraphrase Spurrier, you can’t spell schadenfreude without ND.
Actually, I can’t spell it anyway.
November 12th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
23
adam says:
@herb (#5): It’s definitely a high proflie job, but (as an ND alum) I’m worried that if we can Weis nobody will want to coach at ND, having seen that Weis was fired after 2 consecutive BCS bowl berths. coaches might see that as an indication that they will be fired at ND no matter what they achieve. Also, I think Greg Couch of the Chicago Sun-Times needs to have the return key forcibly removed from his keyboard.
November 12th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
24
NewAZTiger says:
#23, if coaches are so stupid to overlook a 1 win season vs BCS wins, then they don’t deserve the job.
He’s taken a program that was average, shot it in both knees and then took it hunting with Dick Cheney. Oh, and while he was doing that, his fat ass sued someone for a botched bariatric surgery. The guy has no discipline. He’s got fat rings on his fat fingers and that got him a couple of recruiting classes. What recruits are going to bang down the doors of ND now?
November 12th, 2007 at 11:20 pm
25
PortTrojan says:
I’m with NewAZTiger,
Edsall and Adam, you’re Notre Dame and you’re 1-9! Not 4-5 with a few bad breaks. Wake the hell up. The longwinded rationalizations of Domers used to be irritating, annoying and sometimes amusing. Now it’s just pathetic. Don’t worry about the “haters”. Worry about them being right this time and take action. SC’s 38-0 victory this year was the least satisfying I’ve seen in the series because it wasn’t even a valid competition. You have a disaster on your hands. And I don’t want to hear how you already have next year’s number one recruiting class, ’cause it won’t be number one on signing day; and it won’t play like number one, two or three years out. Time to put 25 mil. in the collection plate and move on.
November 13th, 2007 at 1:44 am
26
Jeff from LA says:
Charlie has done such a job on ND that I can’t even dislike ND or its fans this season. But I guess every great program gets their own Paul Hackett sooner or later.
November 13th, 2007 at 1:47 am
27
adam says:
24&25: did you bother to read my comment? Or did you just read “ND” and think “I don’t like them! Git’im!” I don’t see any “longwinded rationalizations” there. I was just trying to have an adult conversation where one clearly was not wanted. 24, I don’t even get what you’re trying to say. My original comment was meant to question commenter #5’s assertion that coaching candidates would find the ND job “attractive”. I was expressing concern about perceived expections of ND’s fanbase vs reality. The point was that the ND job is seen as a rebuilding project and I am afraid that coaches will (justifiably) think that they will not be given the time necessary to recitify the situation based on treatment of the previous regime(s). Granted, there will still be a long list of people who would want the job, but I worry that the high-profile candidates that the school will pursue will see it as a bad career move. Before you reply: this is not a “longwinded rationalization”, this is a longwinded explanation of my original comment that you failed to understand.
November 13th, 2007 at 2:20 am
28
Scalz1 says:
I think Weis goes to Udub to win with Ty’s recruits.
November 13th, 2007 at 7:43 am
29
PortTrojan says:
Leave it to a patronizing Domer to inform you that he is “explaining” and not “rationalizing”. I didn’t think your original comment was longwinded; I find most Domer rationalizations longwinded. As far as your worry about coaches goes, most coaches accept that the landscape has changed as far as time to turn things around goes. They also would have no problem with an arrogant NFL bastard getting fired for leading the most storied progam in college football history to a 1-9 record in his THIRD season. Yes, the academic restrictions are an issue, just as a 26 million dollar football facility and a national TV contract are huge bonuses. It is still a very attractive job; just no longer the most attractive.
November 13th, 2007 at 11:22 am
30
NewAZTiger says:
Adam, if Weiss stays there much longer, the rebuilding job will require All the King’s Horses and All the King’s Men.
You’ve had better recruiting classes than Ty, and worse performances year after year. If that isn’t coaching, then what is?
For example, UGA and AU both have 2 freshmen playing on the O-line, multiple freshmen on O and D, and they still manage to play good football. Oh, and they were out-recruited by ND the last 2 years as well.
November 13th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
31
adam says:
PortTrojan, it’s hard not to be patronizing when clarifying a relatively simple statement. You make a good point, and hopefully future coaching candidates will perceive the situation as a problem with Weis, rather than one with ND.
NewAZtiger: I think you’re finally starting to understand my original post. I don’t think many rational football fans would argue that ND’s struggles are almost entirely due to coaching inadequacy. I’ve noticed that many programs are succeeding with Freshmen at key positions, which calls Weis’ ability to develop players into question.
November 13th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
32
Brian says:
Here’s the problem with writers like this and short-sighted, ill-informed opinions. They over-simplify things.
Here are the facts. Notre Dame is in the worst season in its illustrious history. Some of it is the fault of the laziest coach in college football who refused to recruit for three years (those classes were ranked reasonably, but they lacked any significant linemen..which we can all agree is the MAJOR problem at ND this year). And some of it is Weis’s fault.
You can’t argue that AFA or Navy was more talented than ND, no matter how little talent Ty brought in. So you can’t blame it all on him. But you also can’t name me a team that is playing with less experience and fewer upper classmen than ND is this year either.
But here are the differences between the two that lead to the different treatments:
1. Weis works hard. Ty did not. It’s a well known fact that Ty averaged 72 holes a week DURING the football season. He would check into the golf course on campus using a pseudonym so as to protect his anonymity. Weis is in his office at quarter to five EVERY morning.
2. Weis is recruiting. He has the number one class in America at this point coming in. You don’t fire a coach..any coach when that’s the case. You chance losing those recruits. And that could be devastating…beyond this one year debacle. Ty, on the other hand left him with a team that had fewer than 75 scholarship players. By contrast. After the University of Miami endured the second strongest penalty in the history of the NCAA, they were left with 75 scholarships.
3. Weis’s record is the same as Ty’s or one worse, I’ve lost track. But a much better measure of success is successful seasons. Now you can argue that ND didn’t deserve to go to the two BCS bowls until you’re blue in the face. They were 9-2 and 10-2 regardless. Those are successful seasons. Further, the 9-2 season was one in which most pundits predicted us to be 6-6 at best. Ty on the other hand, won with Bob Davie’s recruits (hey if you can argue that Weis won with his, than you can’t deny that either) and then won 5 and 6 games. That’s not a blip. That’s a pattern of mediocrity. Add to that the lack of any recruiting..and well..you figure it out. I’ll freely agree that if Weis wins fewer than 8 games next year, he should and will be fired.
4. Weis is learning and willing to change things. In year two he fired and re-hired his defensive coordinator. There will be more changes this year. These include a willingness to accept blame (he does that every week, but the media takes one quote in the 11th game and makes it seem as if he throws his players under the bus) and a willingness to admit wrong. The only reason we know he’s changing his practices is because he’s said so. Let’s contrast that with Ty. In year three, Ty was told that he needed to replace his offesnive coordinators or he wouldn’t be asked back. He refused citing loyalty..the same loyalty that he DIDN’T show when he moved to Washington and refused to take along the same coordinator that he was asked to fire. He also routinely (and still does) threw his players under the bus. One of his famous quotes was, “I don’t have a bad day.” This came after he ALWAYS blamed “execution.” He still does. ASk Washington fans.
Now that I’ve written a novel, I won’t get into the ridiculousness of saying that ND has the only easy way into the BCS when Michigan could back its way in despite losing to any team that’s worth a damn and that Florida St. made it at 6-5(I think) last year.
November 13th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
33
NewAZTiger says:
So you’re telling me it took Weiss 3 years to discover he didn’t have an O-line?
November 15th, 2007 at 7:47 am
34
Brian says:
No, I’m telling you that he recruited a ton of Offensive linemen in these bottom two classes. But they’re frosh and sophs. And that’s where the lack of experience and age is being felt. Lineman generally (and please don’t cite me isolated incidents) aren’t ready to play until their junior years.
ND has one fifth year senior at center, two very low talent upper classmen (Ty’s recruits that, though untalented still start becuase they’re simply older and more physically developed than the 19 year olds that Weis recruited) and two underclassmen that are talented….but underclassmen.
That said, if the line still struggles next year, we don’t even need to revisit this subject to agree that he sucks.
November 15th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
35
NewAZTiger says:
Actually, he swallows – everything he can get his hands on.
November 16th, 2007 at 10:44 pm