It is not a surprise that almost immediately after the last seconds ran off the clock for the Navy game the "dump Charlie" critics were again out in force. We looked bad in that game. Our offense was pathetic and our defense just didn't show up (although Coach Brown is correct in his criticisms of the cheap shots by some of the Navy defensive players — there were some leg whips that weren't called as well as numerous crackbacks). However, we had too many chances to win to end up losing.
The real question is: What is to be done? Before the student body and alumni take on the persona of the mob in an old Frankenstein movie, I would ask them to consider the following: Where are the most rabid anti-Weis remarks coming from? The answer is that the noise is loudest from the anti-Irish among the media. Mark May and his ilk, including the usual suspects at ESPN are the ones urging Charlie's ousting. This is not just about Charlie. I believe that there is a subtext to this: They want to keep the Irish football program in continuous disarray. Granted, we started this ourselves with removing Lou. Davie was hopeless. Willingham a politically correct disaster. And as a consequence, our fortunes suffered. We lost games, credibility and respect.
I believe these anti-Irish noisemakers want it to stay that way. And they know the only way that they can do this is to keep us in a state of flux through a game of musical chairs for the position of head coach.
Is Charlie the right guy for the job? I don't know. I hope so. We are beginning to come out of the hole Davie fell into and Willingham dug deeper. Charlie deserves credit for getting us back to ground level. Now let him show us that he can climb the mountain. To change coaches again now is to fall back in the hole. What we need is stability. I was here when Ara was. We wanted to win every game then, too. And we expected to, but we didn't. We lost to Purdue three times and only garnered one win against Michigan State. Losing hurts and none of us like it. Getting back on the coaching carousel might sound like a cure, but I think it will only prolong the hurting — and the losing.
Perry W. Aberli
alumnus
class of 1969
Nov. 12
