Notre Dame Keeps Weis, Though Season 'Fell Short'

"It absolutely didn't happen," he said.

Weis has seven years left on a 10-year contract signed midway through his first season, but some fans had been clamoring for his firing after the Irish got off to a 4-1 start this season and finished 6-6.

A 24-23 loss to lowly Syracuse, Notre Dame's first defeat against an 8-loss team, and the blowout against USC left many Fighting Irish fans seething.

The Irish have lost 15 games the past two seasons, the most by Notre Dame in a two-year span.

The former New England Patriots offensive coordinator has a record of 28-21 in four years, a .571 winning percentage. That's slightly worse than his two predecessors, Tyrone Willingham and Bob Davie.

Weis, though, also led the Irish to BCS bowls in his initial two seasons at Notre Dame, first to the Fiesta Bowl then to the Sugar Bowl. The Irish are expected to go to a lower-level bowl this year.

Davie got the Irish to the Fiesta Bowl in 2000, Notre Dame's only BCS appearance in his five years as coach. The Irish went to the Gator Bowl during Willingham's first year as coach 2002 and went to the Insight Bowl three weeks after he was fired in 2004.

The decision to keep Weis is the first big decision in Swarbrick's tenure. He said he's aware some fans are upset, but he said people would be upset no matter what he did.

"Decisions about our programs are ones I'm asked to make and I make them in the best interest of the student athletes," he said.

Swarbrick said it was clear the decision was his to make while consulting with Notre Dame's president, the Rev. John Jenkins.

"There's been speculation in the past that hasn't always been true at Notre Dame," he said.

He was referring to then-athletic director Kevin White indicating at a news conference in 2004 that the decision to fire Willingham was not his.

Swarbrick declined to talk about the goals for 2009, saying it would only add to the speculation about Weis' job security. But he said he's not worried about Weis' ability to deal with the speculation and pressure.