Notre Dame fires Charlie Weis

SOUTH BEND, Ind., Nov. 30 (UPI) -- Notre Dame announced Monday it has fired football Coach Charlie Weis, who was under contract for six more years.

The Irish have a 6-6 regular-season record for the second straight year. This season's schedule ended with four straight defeats, including a 45-38 loss to Stanford Saturday.

"We have great expectations for our football program, and we have not been able to meet those expectations," Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick said. "As an alumnus, Charlie understands those goals and expectations better than most, and he's as disappointed as anyone that we have not achieved the desired results."

Swarbrick said assistant Rob Ianello will be in charge of the team until a new coach is hired.

Weis, formerly the offensive coordinator of the NFL's New England Patriots, signed a 10-year contract during his first season at Notre Dame. The contract was to have run through 2015.

"We have established an evaluation process for all of our athletic programs that, in the end, results in a recommendation from Jack to me," said the Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame's president. "I accepted Jack's decision and look forward to working with him on selecting a new head football coach who is the very best choice possible for the university and especially for our student-athletes."

Notre Dame has won 11 national championships, the last in 1988.