The Charlie Weis era began on a wintry Sunday night with flurries flying in South Bend.

The next day—December 13, 2004--- brought just as much bluster from the new Irish head coach as he was introduced to the media.

“You're a 6-5 football team and guess what, that's just not good enough,” Weis said that day. “It's not good enough for you, and it's certainly not gonna be good enough for me.”

He promised an end to mediocrity.

“If you think they hired me here to go .500,” Weis continued. “You've got the wrong guy.”

He promised things would change.

“You are going to have a hard working, intelligent, nasty football team.”

All those words and promises came in that first press conference. For the next two years that's mostly what we got--beginning on a sultry night in Pittsburgh and continuing in game two with a big upset in Ann Arbor.

And rolling into a game for the ages against USC---a game so good that it earned Weis a long-term contract extension just six games into his career even though his Irish lost.

Things were good for Charlie Weis at Notre Dame.

He put together a 19-and-6 record in 2005 and 2006 and stacked up two BCS bids behind an offensive juggernaut packed with stars.

But those stars graduated and the cupboard had not been re-stocked.

Weis refused to say his team was rebuilding.

“May god strike me dead if I ever use that word,” Weis said at Media Day entering the 2007 season.

It was worse than rebuilding. A three-and-nine season in 2007 had Irish fans muttering a lot of choice words. It was the first time Notre Dame ever lost nine games in a season. They even lost to Navy for the first time since 19-63.

Still, 2008 started with hope. A young squad with a lot of raw talent started to mature and the Irish got off to a four-and-one start. That era of good feelings didn't last. By November the Irish faded again.

A stunning loss to Syracuse and yet another blowout at the hands of USC had the Irish at six-and-six and some calling for Weis' head.

But his bosses decided to stay the course and this year it began to look like things may be back on course.

Early in the season Weis' cardiac kids just kept winning the close ones.

They were six and two on Halloween with BCS dreams. Little did they know another November nightmare was set to unfold.

It was set in motion by another home loss to Navy. Three weeks later the Irish finished the month 0-4. Weis knew that wasn't good enough.

“If they decide to make a change I'd have to say I'd have a tough time arguing with that,” Weis said a day after losing to UConn in the final home game.

On Monday in the Gug, there was nothing to argue. 6-5 or in this case, 6-6, was not good enough.

[Sunday night] I made a recommendation to Father Jenkins that we take our football program in a different direction by replacing our head coach,” Swarbrick explained in front of a capacity crowd of media of members from all over the country.

Now the Charlie Weis era that began with so much promise is over

And again--five years later--it's November 30th and the Irish are looking for a new head coach.