Weis on the hot seat from Irish fans

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — A new billboard facing the Notre Dame campus offers a not-so-subtle reminder to coach Charlie Weis that the past two seasons have not been up to the standards of the storied Fighting Irish football program.

It reads: “Best wishes to Charlie Weis in the fifth year of his college coaching internship.” Weis said Tuesday he had not yet seen the billboard, about a half mile from his office, but had been told about it.

“Everything was great until the last word,” he said, laughing. “So tell them thanks a lot for wishing me best wishes.”

Weis is well aware that Notre Dame fans have high expectations after the Irish have gone 3-9 and 7-6 the past two seasons — the most losses in a two-year span in the 120-year history of Irish football. Those 15 losses are three more than Knute Rockne had in 13 seasons as coach, four more than Frank Leahy had in 11 years and two fewer than Ara Parseghian had in 11 seasons.

The 15 losses have wiped out most — if not all — the good will Weis built in leading the Irish to Bowl Championship Series berths in his first two seasons.

Weis has a 29-21 record, a .580 winning percentage that puts him behind Tyrone Willingham at 21-15 (.583) and Bob Davie at 35-25 (.583) and ahead of Gerry Faust at 30-26-1 (.535).

Many Irish fans are saying he needs another BCS berth this year.

While he tries to brush off the pressure, he’s acknowledged in the past that the Irish struggles have taken their toll. So Weis made some changes in the offseason, replacing the offensive and defensive line coaches, hiring a new running backs coach and taking over himself as offensive coordinator.

Weis said his focus this week isn’t on his job status but on the opponent, the Nevada Wolf Pack, who went 7-6 last season and have gone to a school-record four straight bowl games. He said it’s important for the Irish, who open the season ranked No. 23, to try to get off to a strong start.

Last year, the Irish appeared headed to an embarrassing defeat to San Diego State until David Bruton forced a goal-line fumble as Notre Dame rallied for a 21-13 victory.

The Irish are hoping for a better start this time.

“I’m not worried about hot seats, cold seats, anything,” Weis said. “I’m just worrying about trying to beat Nevada.”