Charlie Weis won’t address his future at Notre Dame

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis indeed batted down question after question aimed at examining his tenure to date and the pressure upon him, with the Irish sitting at 6-3 and starting a challenging three-game homestretch Saturday at No. 8 Pittsburgh. He did take time to shoot down the idea of perception — specifically what people outside the program may think about him. “I think I should be more concerned with how I’m perceived by the people who do know me than the people who don’t know me,” Weis said. “That’s really what’s important in life, not the people who don’t know you. It’s the people who do know you. “People don’t know you, why do I care what they think? Really, what do I care? If they don’t know you, they’ll have an opinion based off of what? They don’t know. If they know you and they don’t like you, that’s a different problem.” – Chicago Tribune

Open Season on Charlie Weis

Let the free-fall begin. After Saturday’s 23-21 loss to Navy, Notre Dame can officially be described as a football program in turmoil. Speculation about coach Charlie Weis’ position on the imaginary bun warmer will come from all the directions. That comes with the territory,” Weis said. “The sad part about it is that’s this job every week.” No sympathy. Notre Dame coaches aren’t supposed to have two losses to Navy on their permanent record. It hasn’t happened since Joe Kuharich (1960-61), and that didn’t turn out well. With Pittsburgh, Connecticut and Stanford left, and a best-case scenario of the Gator Bowl as the prize for winning out, motivation has sailed away. It’s a season that’s sinking fast. This has all the makings of “abandon ship” time… This one will linger. Michigan? Faded already. Southern Cal? Excused. This one, though, won’t go away. It’s one that will be on the top of the pile come review time. ND athletic director Jack Swarbrick will keep this one in his top right-hand drawer. It could be a deal-breaker. – South Bend Tribune

Pressure Builds on Steve Kragthorpe

As the rest of the Big East jostles for position and a possible league championship, the (Louisville) Cardinals are sinking fast. The conference’s only team with no more than a single victory, Louisville has lost three straight to Kentucky, Utah, and Pittsburgh. And it appears to be getting worse as the season develops. Likely favored in just a couple of games the rest of the way, Steve Kragthorpe will have a tough time winning enough games to improve his job security. – CFN

Steve Kragthorpe Needs Quick Turnaround to Save Job

It’s not a make-or-break game for University of Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe when Pittsburgh visits Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium on Friday night. But if the Cards can’t end their seven-game losing streak against Football Bowl Subdivision teams in the sold-out Friday night national TV game, you’re going to hear some cracking. And if they can’t do it next week at home against Southern Miss, you’re going to hear some more. No, it’s not a make-or-break game. But you could call it a make-or-break fortnight. Because at some point, without something good happening soon, there are going to be too many pieces for Kragthorpe to pick up. A great many fans believe there are already. You won’t hear that opinion from any official quarters, nor, frankly, should you expect to. UofL athletic director Tom Jurich is doing what he is supposed to do. He is supporting the guy he hired. He is giving him all the resources he needs to win. His conclusion on the program’s progress, or lack of it, isn’t likely to come with nine games left in a season. – Louisville Courier-Journal