Back in 2005, Notre Dame was desperate. Desperate because Bob Davie and Ty Willingham had run the program into the ground to the point where even the most steadfast fan had to wonder if the Irish could compete in the current landscape. Charlie got hired, came in with an elite NFL pedigree, a high amount of piss and vinegar, and set Irish Nation on fire with his spectacular offense and balls-to-the-wall play calling style. Halfway into his inaugural season (after taking #1 USC to the wire), then-A.D. Kevin White extended him 10 years, along with giving him a big-time buyout clause. And, nobody considered it a bad move.

Well, it turned out to be, and once again Notre Dame had to pay for a bad business decision. The buyout was thought to be anywhere from big to “astronomical”, but nobody knew for sure. Until now. Brian Hamilton at the Chicago Tribune found out for us.

Over $6 million dollars. A big and concrete number to draw the ire of ND fans who hate the fact that the University has to open its check book to a coach that flamed out and is no longer part of the program. “Wasted money”, they say. “Charlie should be ashamed to accept it”, they say.

Well, they can shove it. South Bend Blarney had 6 good reasons that Weis can keep his $6 million-guilt free. Here they are:

1.) CEO’s get paid all the time to run businesses into the ground. Once you climb the ladder to that level and pay scale (either through actual achievement, or being damn good a schmoozing), you tend to “get yours”. It’s almost like a “lifetime achievement award” more than getting paid for your success while on the job. Ask Bob Nardelli, he gets paid to run a company into the ground on a nearly-annual basis.

2.) Along with point #1, Weis had to cut his teeth under Bill Belichick. He had to work with, and act like he liked Bill every day for years. Not even Bill Belichick likes to be around himself every day.

3.) At least Charlie wasn’t being payed to golf.

4.) You ever take a job where any person can publicly berate you, call you “fat-ass” and “frontbutt” at any time, and for any reason, and you just have to take it? (And believe me, with media, and the high-profile of said job, you hear the taunts.) You would need a few million just to pay the shrink bills for you and your family.

5.) Isn’t part of the American Dream to get paid more than your worth? I was awesome in history, and am pretty sure it is.

6.) Tommy Z. says Charlie can keep his money. When he’s done pulverizing large cow carcasses with his bare fists, he’ll have a word with you if you think otherwise.

You know how recruiting classes become “one for the ages”? The kind that turn a program around, or change the trajectory of a program from good to great?

When the recruits bond and become friends with each other. I mean, you’re going to be playing with these guys for the next 3-4 years, so you might as well like ‘em, right?

With social media, all-star camps, and all-star games, recruits have a chance to bond like never before.

You know why Urban Meyer won two championships in three years at Florida? It wasn’t his coaching acumen. It was because, in the class of 2006, Tim Tebow and Brandon Spikes wanted to play together, be the leaders of their respective units (Tebow for the offense, Spikes for the defense), and they helped recruit the most star-studded class in the land. Friendship and respect was the backbone of Meyer’s success.

So, in that same vein, Irish fans should be pumped. It appears that stud California receiver Deontay Greenberry, and stud California corner Tee Shepard want to play college ball together. Shepard is already an Irish verbal, so the signs look good that Greenberry wants to be Irish as well (though it could also mean Shepard will renege).

That is correct, even the best college football players in the land know that to win it all, they need “a little help from my friends.” And it looks like that means good things for the future of the Irish.

I’ll say one thing for Brian Kelly.

He sure is aware of public perception. I mean sure like raising your arm in a button-down dress shirt while giving a presentation on a mid-July day in a room stuffed with 500 people sure.

He was spot on in making his recent comment “Notre Dame will be taken seriously when they beat an SEC team” to the Notre Dame Club of Northern Alabama.

A specific SEC team doesn’t matter (hey, we know he’s not talking Vanderbilt, here). It’s what SEC football stands for: Big. Fast. Athletic. Fast. (Did I say that already?) Oh, and fast. (Don’t think I mentioned fast yet.) In other words, the exact type of teams that have pounded over-matched Notre Dame teams for the last decade.

The few successful Notre Dame seasons of late have been defined by playing well against fair competition, winning games against some big names (Michigan, Tennessee) that ended up being in a down year, subsequently being overrated, and then being exposed by athletic teams in big games that the Irish should not have been playing in. Oregon State (led by the future Ocho Cinco), Ohio State, and LSU (an actual SEC example) all took ND to the woodshed in BCS bowls in which the Irish were beaten down by superior athleticism. The LSU game, in particular was something that never should have been. The Irish showed they couldn’t measure up when they played Michigan in game #2, and when they closed the season against a vintage Pete Carroll USC team.

That’s why even the decent Irish teams of those years have been classified as “over-hyped”. And just not good enough for the ND program.

Kelly is aware of this. He is obviously just as aware on how to shut the critics up.

Just beat a good SEC team. You know, one that’s big, fast, athletic, fast, and fast.