Jimmywocki

I'm like you that I heard today that the Washington Redskins were speaking with Mike Shanahan about their head coaching position.  Problem is, they don't have a vacancy!  Last time I checked Jim Zorn was still the coach of the team.  Is Mike thinking of an assistant coaching position?  I don't think so.  Memo to Dan Snyder - treat people with respect!  I'd hate to be Jim Zorn right now, prepping for this week and presumably the rest of the season while vultures circle overhead.  Dan, get your house in order.  If you don't like the coach you have, fire him or put him on notice that he'll be replaced at the end of the season.  Only then is it prudent to enterain other coaches.  Coaches get fired all the time and not always for the right reasons.  He'll get over it.  I'm sure you will too.

This should be a sign for Shanahan that there's something rotten in the bog off the Potomac. 

ESPN Deportes has finally arrived to San Diego, one of the largest spanish speaking cities in the USA.  It came to America's Finest City after making inroads in such hispanic hotebed places as Washington State, Wisconsin and New Hampshire.  Why it took so long is nary impossible to understand, as ESPN Radio (AM800) was actually broadcast from a tower located in Tijuana Mexico.  For many, the irony is easy to appreciate, given the large number of hispanics, the love of socceri in the city, and the baseball team actually being named after the spanish work for father.  I'm just glad it's here.

Now that Charlie is back in South Bend, he needs to do get busy doing what many coaches do at this time of year - he needs to start packing.  Though Notre Dame hasn't yet made an announcement, Charlie is booked on the next flight out of town, the blame of a college football franchise that has crumbled further since Tyrone Willingham left town squarely on his back.  What happened?

First, ND has no idea what it wants to be.  It can be a football power or a top flight academic institution, and there are successful sports cases of colleges adopting either strategy.  Duke is a top flight academic school, yet still fields competitive sports across their campus.  Florida has eschewed academics to have great sports, and won an NCAA and a BCS title in the same year.  Kudos!  ND hasn't made a decision yet, and the decision should be made before Charlie gets fired.  Charlie has graduated 96% of his players, a figure that actually leads FBS schools nationally.  If academics are a priority - keep Charlie!

Of course, non of us are that naive to assume that it's about academics.  It's about losing 4 straight to end a season, and it's about 3 disappointing seasons in a row.  Charlie is on the hook because his team mysteriously sucks.  If you tell ANY fan that their team is going to have 4 years of top flight recruiting classes, a Heisman candidate at QB, the most veteran offensive line in college football history and two standout WR's, you'd be wiggly with excitement.  And yet they underachieve, and they've underachived since Bob Davie left the program. 

The real knock on Charlie Weis is that he loses games despite making the grades academically, despite being a great recruiter, and despite having some top tier talent.  The reason here is coaching.  He's a lousy coach.  He picks lousy assistants.  His players don't get any better.  His teams are not mentally tough.  This is how you lose games, this is how you lose a team, this is how you lose a job.

Now get packing.

As the Patriots prepare for Monday Night's showdown with the Saints, they will be preparing to face their 7th (thats right, 7th) undefeated opponent of the season.  So far, they've faced the Bills, Jets, Falcons, Ravens, Broncos, Colts and now the Saints - teams that were a combined 30-0 when they faced the Patriots.  In those games, New England is a modest 3-3 with the 3 losses all on the road.  Similarly, they get the Saints also on the road, in a game that is being hyped as the first great matchup on Monday Night Football in awhile.  Having dug around the 'net for a bit, I couldn't find any records regarding how many undefeated opponent a team has faced, but it's plausible that we're in record territory here.  So, sit back and watch the Patriots face yet another unbeaten and understand that this test regardless of the outcome will make the team stronger and more resilient, and more able to handle the adversity that playing into December and January demands.