Conference Independent Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis | 2009 record 6–6 Offensive scheme Pro-style | |
Head coach Charlie Weis (5th year) Co-defensive coordinator Corwin Brown (3rd year) | ||
The 2009 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Charlie Weis and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Weis entered his fifth season as head coach with the expectation from the Notre Dame administration that his team would be in position to compete for a BCS Bowl berth. Notre Dame started the first part of the season 4-2, with close losses to Michigan and USC but ended the season with four straight losses, including a second loss to Navy loss in three years. Weis was fired as head coach the Monday after the Stanford loss at the end of the season. Although Notre Dame was bowl eligible with 6 wins, the University announced on December 4 that the Irish had chosen not to play in a bowl game. Irish athletic director Jack Swarbrick hired Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly after a 10-day coaching search.
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Coaching changes
Following the 2008 season, offensive coordinator Michael Haywood left the team to become the head coach for the Miami (Ohio) University Redhawks. Following what some critics called a disappointing 7-6 season, Charlie Weis announced several major changes to the coaching staff, including the replacement of the offensive and defensive line coaches. Frank Verducci was hired to replace John Latina as the offensive line coach and was placed in charge of revamping the Irish running game as the running game coordinator. Tony Alford was hired to replace Mike Haywood as the running backs coach. Finally, Weis hired defensive line coach Randy Hart, a veteran coach at University of Washington from 1988-2008. Former Notre Dame standout and NFL veteran Bryant Young was also hired as a defensive graduate assistant with the possibility of eventually stepping in to coach the defensive line.
Graduating players
Senior safety and captain David Bruton was the only player drafted from the team, going in the fourth round to the Denver Broncos as the 114th pick overall. Five more players would sign quickly after the draft, including David Grimes with Broncos, Pat Kuntz with the Colts, Terrail Lambert with the 49ers, and fullback Asaph Schwapp and offensive lineman Mike Turkovich with the Cowboys. Defensive lineman Justin Brown and captain Maurice Crum Jr. also exhausted their eligibility.
Transfers
Tight end Joseph Fauria transferred from Notre Dame to UCLA prior to the start of the season following an undisclosed University violation that would have sidelined him for the season.
Recruiting
The Irish added 18 players to its roster with high school recruits. Included in the class were five-star linebacker Manti Te'o (top defensive player in the nation), four star runningback Cierre Wood, and five-star offensive lineman Chris Watt. The class was named No. 11 by Rivals, No. 14 by ESPN and No. 23 by Scout.
Award candidates
The following players were announced to award watch lists prior to the start of the 2009 season:
Post-season
Charlie Weis entered this season with the expectation from the Notre Dame administration that his team would be in position to compete for a BCS Bowl berth. Notre Dame started the first part of the season 4-2, with close losses to Michigan and USC. Many of their wins were also close, aside from a 35-0 victory over Nevada and a 40-14 thrashing of Washington State. Sitting at 6-2, however, Notre Dame lost a close game at Notre Dame Stadium to an unranked Navy team, 23-21. This loss was the second to Navy in the last three years, after Notre Dame had beaten Navy forty three straight times dating back to 1963. Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick, when asked about what his biggest disappointment had been that season, took a long pause, then said, "the Navy outcome." While Swarbrick clarified that he would not evaluate the football season until season's end, he stated that "Up until the Navy game we were in the BCS conversation." The Navy game, however, was the first of a four-game losing skid, as Notre Dame followed up the Navy loss with losses to a top-10 Pittsburgh team, an overtime loss to Connecticut at home, and a season ending loss at Stanford. The week prior to the Stanford game, Swarbrick announced Weis would not be recruiting following the game. Weis was fired as head coach the Monday after the Stanford loss. Swarbrick announced that wide receiver coach Rob Ianello would head football operations, including recruiting, until Brian Kelly was named. Although Notre Dame was bowl eligible with 6 wins, the University announced on December 4 that the Irish had chosen not to play in a bowl game.