DuckSouth.com

Posted: **Wed Jun 01, 2005 12:59 pm**

Cutcliffe steps down at Notre Dame for health reasons

By Michael Wallace

OXFORD â€” Former Ole Miss football coach David Cutcliffe has resigned as assistant coach at Notre Dame for health related reasons.

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis announced the decision at a press conference today on the Notre Dame campus in South Bend, Ind.

Cutcliffe, 50, steps down less than three months after undergoing triple bypass surgery at a Tupelo hospital to repair blocked arteries near his heart. Cutcliffe was fired at Ole Miss on Dec. 1 and hired by Weis three weeks later as an assistant head coach in charge of Notre Dame's quarterbacks.

Cutcliffe did not attend Notre Dame's spring practice sessions and spent the past two months recovering with his family in Oxford.

"Very recently, David gave me a call and told me he came to a decision that he didn't want to coach this year," Weis said in a teleconference call with reporters. "I told him to sleep on it and take all the time he needed to think about it. Yesterday, we culminated that conversation when he told me he was sure that's what he wanted to do."

Cutcliffe is scheduled to speak later today.

Cutcliffe was 44-29 in six seasons at Ole Miss but was fired after the team finished 4-7 last season, its first losing record in 10 years. Cutcliffe was named co-SEC coach of the year in 2003 after guiding the Rebels to a 10-3 record and a win in the Cotton Bowl to cap the team's best season in 40 years.

Among Cutcliffe's biggest accomplishments at Ole Miss was recruiting star quarterback Eli Manning, who set 47 school records with the Rebels and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft.

Posted: **Wed Jun 01, 2005 1:03 pm**

Cutcliffe resigns as ND assistant
Cites health concerns after triple bypass surgery

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- David Cutcliffe resigned as Notre Dame's assistant football coach and quarterbacks coach because of health concerns after undergoing triple bypass heart surgery in March.

Cutcliffe said in a statement Wednesday that he was feeling healthier, "however, it will be months before I can claim that mental, physical and emotional intensity and would never give any program less than the passion and energy it deserves."

Cutcliffe, 50, who was fired as Mississippi head coach in December, didn't take part in spring practice at Notre Dame while he recovered from his March 9 surgery.

Coach Charlie Weis said that he already has a replacement for Cutcliffe in mind, but declined to name the person until a contract was signed.

Weis said Cutcliffe told him last week that he didn't think he would be able to coach this year. Weis asked Cutcliffe to think about the decision over the weekend, and Cutcliffe then called Weis back Tuesday to submit his resignation.

Cutcliffe was 44-29 in six seasons at Ole Miss, where he coached Eli Manning. He was fired after his first losing season with the Rebels. Before that he was an assistant coach at Tennessee for 17 years, including six years as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, where he coached Manning's older brother, Peyton.

Weis received permission from the NCAA to use Ron Powlus, the school's director of personnel development, as a coach to fill in for Cutcliffe during spring practice. Weis focused on working with starting quarterback Brady Quinn, while Powlus, a four-year starter for the Irish in the 1990s, worked with the other quarterbacks.

Posted: **Wed Jun 01, 2005 3:19 pm**

The rest of the story:

A statement from David Cutcliffe:

"Everywhere I look these days I see opportunity, and I know well that many will say that I'm squandering a fantastic one today when I say that I'm resigning as quarterback coach and assistant head coach for the offense at the University of Notre Dame. Coach Charlie Weis and the university gave me the opportunity to become an integral part of one of the most storied college football programs of all time. I relished helping to develop some fine players and working side by side with Charlie and the terrific staff he put together. Poor health initiated a series of events that culminated in this decision. Through it all, no one could have asked for more support than Charlie and the people at Notre Dame gave me and my family.

"During my limited time at Notre Dame, I learned to appreciate the unique spirit inherent in this university and the people who enliven it. It's a spirit that demands full attention and boundless energy. I'm happy to say that I am on the mend and, in fact, that I am healthier since my bypass surgery than I've been in years. However, it will be months before I can claim that mental, physical, and emotional intensity and would never give any program less than the passion and energy it deserves. To do so would unfairly penalize the Irish players, staff, students, alumni, and devoted friends. As anyone who knows me can attest, it's all or nothing with me.

"I'm taking the remainder of this year to become even stronger. During that time I'm committed to growing professionally so that I'll be a better coach in the future."

These quote from Cutcliffe grabbed my attention:

"...I am healthier since my bypass surgery than I've been in years...it will be months before I can claim that mental, physical, and emotional intensity and would never give any program less than the passion and energy it deserves."

Hhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. This may explain a lot.