Surprise! Notre Dame Fires Charlie Weis

Don't feel bad for the guy. He'll walk away with millions and likely step right back in as an offensive coordinator in the NFL. And there's sure to be no shortage of suitors.

Charlie Weis is out as Notre Dame head football coach, a source close to the program told the Daily News.

AD Jack Swarbrick has decided to make a change after Weis finished the season with a 6-6 record and four straight losses to Navy, Pitt, Connecticut and Stanford.

Weis coached Notre Dame for five years and leaves with a 35-27 record. He has told friends in South Bend he has at least six offers from NFL teams to become their offensive coordinator.

This past weekend against Stanford Weis refused to do halftime and postgame media interviews. He reportedly cleaned out his office Thursday before the team left for the West Coast. Weis is not the only one apparently leaving. Junior quarterback Jimmy Clausen was seen giving his football helmet to his familly following a 45-38 loss to Stanford in which he threw five touchdown passes, a strong indication he will declare for the NFL draft.

All signg point to Cincinnati Coach Brian Kelly as the odds-on favorite to get the job. In addition to being undefeated this season, Kelly also has what Weis never did before he got this job: prior head coaching experience.

Good News: Atlanta Gets College Football Hall of Fame

Bad News: Construction is expected to be completed in 2012, just in time for the end of the world.

The College Football Hall of Fame hopes to draw far more visitors than it ever did in South Bend by moving to a new facility next to Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta.

Hall of Fame officials held a news conference Thursday to formally announce their move to Atlanta. A new building will be constructed alongside the park and is expected to open in 2012, within walking distance of popular tourist attractions such as the Georgia Aquarium and World of Coca-Cola.

The current college football HOF is in South Bend, IN, near Notre Dame University because somebody in their infinite wisdom thought that it would attract a lot of visitors. Notre Dame? Are you serious? Have you looked at their stands during a game? If it wasn't for the fact that they snookered NBC into a long term television contract I doubt any of us would ever see their games except to watch to see which team is beating the stuffings out of the "perennial powerhouse" on any given Saturday.

Oh yeah....Go 'Ramblin Wreck

RIP, Dick Lynch

You likely have to be a New York Giants or old-time Notre Dame fan to know who Dick Lynch is, but since I happen to be both, I wanted to note his passing today. Prior to this season I can't recall him not being on the radio call for the Giants and his absence was noticeable. Lynch was also personally affected by the 9/11 attacks, as his son Richard was killed that day.

Dick Lynch, a former Giants defensive back and radio broadcaster for the team whose association with the organization spanned 50 years, has died at age 72, three people with knowledge of the situation said Wednesday morning.

Lynch had been absent from work throughout the preseason and the first three games of the regular season battling a long illness.

The Oceanside native played at Notre Dame and was a Pro Bowler for the Giants in 1963, when he led the NFL with nine interceptions. After spending 1958 with the Redskins, he was a Giant from 1959-66, and became a favorite of co-owner Wellington Mara.

He began as a radio analyst in 1967.

One of Lynch's sons, Richard, died in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center, an emotional blow after which he never was quite the same, friends said.

Lynch had an unorthodox style in the booth that annoyed many purists but endeared him to many fans, particularly older ones.

"I Thought I Was Going to Die"

Dropping in the polls pales in comparison to the drop in altitude for the USC Trojans Thursday night.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- The plane carrying USC's football team to South Bend plummeted during a severe thunderstorm, forcing the pilot to abort his first landing attempt.

There were about 125 people, including 82 players, on the chartered flight Thursday night for the cross country trip for Saturday's game.

"That was terrifying," fullback Stanley Havili told the Los Angeles Times. "I thought I was going to die."

Some passengers were thrown from their seats by turbulence as lightning crackled around the storm-tossed plane, USC sports information director Tim Tessalone told The Associated Press on Friday. Safety Taylor Mays was screaming.

"It was a little bit of a roller coaster drop there for a minute," Tessalone said. "We had some people fly out of some seats. Everybody is fine, but it was a frightening little dip there."

The pilot aborted the approach and circled around the storm before landing without incident about 20 minutes later to the relief of the shaken team and the spouses of some staff members also on the flight, Tessalone said.

More from the LA Times.

USC players and team personnel were still talking about Thursday night's harrowing plane ride into South Bend, which featured a major drop during a lightning storm.

Several passengers were thrown from their seats and hit their heads on the ceiling during an initial approach that was aborted before the plane circled and landed safely.

"There was a bunch of guys that couldn't wait to get down that ramp and get their feet on the ground," Carroll said. "Some of the guys were kissing the ground.

"We're thrilled to be here. I don't know if anybody's going to get on the plane on the way home, though."