For those of us that think the decision on Weis and his staff hasn’t been made yet, yesterday wasn’t a day to support that theory. Let’s lay out the pieces and see if we can see if the puzzle is starting to reveal itself.
1) Weis isn’t staying out west to recruit California.
Last season, Weis stayed in Southern California after the disheartening loss to USC and recruited blue-chipper Shaq Evans. That was the sign most of us needed to know that Weis was being retained, and after a tense few days, athletic director Jack Swarbrick announced that Weis would be returning for the next season.
Monday night I started hearing whispers that Weis would be returning with the team after the Stanford game, not staying out Weis to recruit in California, where blue-chippers Dietrich Riley, Anthony Barr, and Hayes Pullard live.
I could think of a thousand reasons to explain Weis coming back to South Bend, but the most obvious one includes a “close the door” sit down with the boss.
2) Media access to the assistant coaches and players was cutoff just hours before session.
After last week’s interview with Brian Polian, many of us figured out that the coaches saw the writing on the wall. Add in the fisticuffs with the team’s starting quarterback, and the obvious firing squad these players and coaches would be walking into, and it made sense to give them a break. While I would’ve liked to listen to Jon Tenuta or Eric Olsen one more time, there was zero chance we would’ve gotten anything out of them other than dissecting what tense they used when talking about Charlie Weis or their time in South Bend, and there was really no upside to them meeting with a press corp just mining for a quote.
3) The Clausen family sold their house in South Bend.
Uh-oh, Irish fans. According to Brian Hamilton of the Chicago Tribune, the Clausen family looks to have accepted an offer on the home they purchased in South Bend. Hamilton quotes Century 21 real estate agent Kathye Curry in breaking the news yesterday. Everybody knows if Kathye Curry is involved, this thing has gotten serious. (Just kidding...)
Still, for those of us who thought Clausen might return next fall, you’ve got to wonder if the Clausen’s will be willing to put up with the ridiculous price gauging that goes on at local hotels during game weekend. But if you’re looking for a ray of hope, the house had been on the market since July, and I don’t think any of us were certain that Jimmy was a first rounder this summer.