The Gold Standard -- abandoned by most of the world in the 1930s -- has been an article of faith in South Bend, Indiana, for almost a century. Mere winning records and second-tier bowl games? Not good enough for Fighting Irish fans. No college football program has produced more national championships, more All-Americans, and more Heisman Trophy winners than Notre Dame. But recently, not so much: no national championship since 1988, only one All-American since 1994, and a combined 11–12 record in the 2003-2004 seasons. So out went Tyrone Willingham, fired just three years into a five-year contract, the first Irish coach ever to be dismissed before the end of his deal. In came Charlie Weis, a forty-nine-year-old Notre Dame grad with no head coaching experience but four Super Bowl rings as an assistant coach. Weis proved, in the space of a single season, to be a football maestro with a hard edge, a brilliant mind, an affinity for detail, and an uncanny sense of how to motivate people. He returned a program mired in the blahs to its rightful (and historic) place among college football’s elite. This book takes you inside a season unlike any other in Fighting Irish history -- and inside Weis’s master plan for restoring the Gold Standard in South Bend.
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Book Description
From the most storied school in college football history . . .
Editorial Reviews
From the Publisher
From the most storied school in college football history . . .
The Gold Standard -- abandoned by most of the world in the 1930s -- has been an article of faith in South Bend, Indiana, for almost a century. Mere winning records and second-tier bowl games? Not good enough for Fighting Irish fans. No college football program has produced more national championships, more consensus All-Americans, and more Heisman Trophy winners than Notre Dame. But recently, not so much: no national championship since 1988 and a combined 11–13 record in the 2003-2004 seasons. So out went Tyrone Willingham, fired just three years into his tenure, the first Irish coach ever to be dismissed before the end of his original deal. In came Charlie Weis, a forty-eight-year-old Notre Dame grad with four Super Bowl rings as an assistant coach. Weis proved, in the space of a single season, to be a football maestro with a hard edge, a brilliant mind, an affinity for detail, and an uncanny sense of how to motivate people. He returned a program mired in the blahs to its rightful (and historic) place among college football’s elite. This book takes you inside a season unlike any other in Fighting Irish history -- and inside Weis’s master plan for restoring the Gold Standard in South Bend.
About the Author
One of the foremost authorities on Notre Dame football, Tim Prister, forty-six, has been writing about the Fighting Irish since 1980. He served as editor of Blue & Gold Illustrated for twenty seasons before being named senior writer for the publication in 2003. He also covers Notre Dame football and basketball for the Indianapolis Star and Athlon magazine. He joined IrishIllustrated.com of the Rivals Network in July 2006. Prister authored the book What It Means to Be Fighting Irish in 2004. He coauthored The Best of Blue & Gold Illustrated in 1990 with another longtime Notre Dame football historian, Lou Somogyi.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
84 of 96 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
What a joke.,
By Michael B. (CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The New Gold Standard: Charlie Weis and Notre Dame's Rise to Glory (Hardcover)
Notre Dame hasn't won a bowl game in twenty years. They've been embarassed by top competition for the last five or ten years. They have the lowest ranked offense in the Division 1-A this year, with a grand total of -14 yards rushing through week 3. They have, perhaps, the worst offensive line I have ever seen a prominent program allow onto the field. Charlie Weis lied to QB Demetrius Jones (promising him the starting job, then handing it to Claussen), then threw a temper tantrum and refused to release Jones from his scholarship when he transferred. Where is the "decided schematic advantage" promised by Weis when he took the job? Where are the recruits? A lot of teams have to play underclassmen, but they manage to score an offensive touchdown within the first month of the season.
Oh, and Charlie Weis likely was the benefit of the Patriots' systematic and illegal cheating.
24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
On his own players now...,
By
This review is from: The New Gold Standard: Charlie Weis and Notre Dame's Rise to Glory (Hardcover)
This is a book written before the facts were in. Not only is Coach W destroying what great progress Tyrone was making, but it is heading way, way down in the wrong direction. Weis did manage to take ND to two BCS games, but both were undeserved berths - the team was wiped all over the field each time.
Year one, Weis did fine... 9-3 - using Tyrone's players. Year two, not so bad, though easier schedule 10-3 overall.. again using Heisman Candidate Quinn... another Willingham recruit. Now this year, 2007, Charlie stands on most of his own scheme and own players. What do we have? 1-6 through first 7 games. One of the worst offenses in the country, if not the worst. Probably the worst defense. Lies to media and players. Five players have left the school. Players have been charged with crimes. Plenty of "going on 4th and 6 from your own 22 yard line" in the first half. Also, plenty of suing Doctors for your hogie addiction.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
The Price of Gold has Clearly gone down,
This review is from: The New Gold Standard: Charlie Weis and Notre Dame's Rise to Glory (Hardcover)
Go Navy! Why would you write this book in the first place? "The New Gold Standard"? On what how to ruin a program? Or is this season part of his master plan: to win a bowl game? Well Notre Dame fans you have him for ten more years. Maybe in that time he will win one meaningful game. He has the same record that Ty did when he was fired, but I guess you would not want to think about that when you have the self proclaimed smartest man in all football.
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