Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/462058
UNDER THE DOME "By the way a defense lines up, he can call out where the play should go and where a certain person should go or where the quarterback should throw the ball," Irish sophomore running back Darius Walker said. "Then when we run the play, it works out exactly like he said. That shows how he knows the game inside and out." Weis also is described as having an "I refuse to lose" aura because of his background, highlighted by one Super Bowl ring while working for Bill Parcells with the New York Giants and then three (2001, 2003 and 2004) in four years as Bill Belichick's offensive coordinator at New England. "It's really important for the attitude of the head coach to permeate through the team," Weis said. "I've taken what I've learned under the two Bills — Belichick and Parcells — and I've tried to copycat the things I think have worked the best. "The team has to have the personality of the head coach. I think they're on their way to getting what I stand for, therefore there's a better chance of that relationship coming to fruition." 5 Years Ago: March 26, 2010 Spring practice opens under first-year head coach Brian Kelly after the previous regime under Weis finishes 16-21 his last three seasons. The new boss senses a lethargy while constantly emphasizing a faster pace. "We stink right now," he said after the March 31 session, the fourth of the spring. "We're just so far from where we need to be in terms of attention to detail." Finding a quarterback to operate the offense is another major issue after the early departure of Jimmy Clausen to the NFL. Junior Dayne Crist is coming off ACL surgery, classmate Nate Montana is a walk-on and Tommy Rees is an early enrollee a few months out of high school. — Lou Somogyi