Should Weis’ Replacement Be Catholic?

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Yesterday’s firing of Charlie Weis as head football coach of Notre Dame is no surprise. The man did not win enough football games in his five years at the school. In fact, his winning percentage was worse than his two predecessors. So now the country’s most famous Catholic institution of higher learning needs to find a replacement for ‘ol Charlie. Is it necessary that his successor be Catholic?

I can hear the guffaws already, but let’s examine this question more closely. Losing too much is a sufficient and necessary cause to be fired at Notre Dame. But it’s not the only consideration in hiring a new coach. Moral integrity and probity is a key consideration. Imagine if the Irish’s next coach was found to be abusive toward players or engaged in shady recruiting practices. Lou Holtz was accused of both in the late 1980s and early ‘90s, and they likely were key reasons he quit the job in ’96.

Academic integrity is another key factor in hiring the school’s next football coach. Consider if Weis’ successor was found not to have graduated his players. For decades, more than 90 percent of ND’s football players have graduated.  If only three-quarters or half did, that low figure would be a problem. Nobody – not the faculty, not the alumni, not the subway alumni, not the students – would be happy.

Being a practicing Catholic has not been as important as moral and academic integrity. Nobody complained that Davie or Willingham were Protestant. And certainly nobody complained that Ara Parseghian, perhaps the greatest Notre Dame football coach of all, was Presbyterian. They were virtuous men who, if not likable in the case of Davie and Weis, graduated their players.

But shouldn’t the religious faith of the next football coach at Notre Dame be a consideration? The coach of the Fightin’ Irish is more than a football coach, moral guardian, and academic watchdog. He’s also a rough symbol of lay American Catholic manhood. He’s what thousands of Catholic high school football coaches aspire to be. He sets an example that being Catholic matters. The fact that Weis received last rites could only have helped his cause in getting the job at Notre Dame.

I know it’s easy to exaggerate the importance of whether Notre Dame wins or loses on the football field. And my endorsement of the idea that the coach’s faith is important does not mean I endorse a religious test for public office. But let’s put it this way: If I had to choose between Brian Kelly over Gary Patterson, two of the most talked about successors to Weis and equally qualified candidates, I’d go with the Irish Catholic.