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This week Irish coach Charlie Weis has had to not only prepare for USC on Saturday but also deal with questions about his job status and other topics surrounding the ND football program, writes Eric Hansen of NBCSports.com.

What is the most valuable lesson Weis has learned from this season?
In his own words, he said: “Reflecting on this past season, I believe the most valuable lesson I’ve learned is the importance of putting yourself in a position to help where you are needed the most, rather than managing with an equally balanced approach and spreading yourself too thin.

“As we entered this year, I strived to be more balanced as a head coach, managing all three facets of the game -- offense, defense, and special teams. During the 2007 season, we were a young, inexperienced team. I felt we were non-competitive in several games and all three facets of the team contributed to this. After our struggles, as the head coach, I envisioned being more involved in all three facets rather than primarily with the offense.

“This season, the defense has proven to have made considerable progress and has put us in a position to be able to win every single game. I have been pleased with Corwin (Brown) running the defense with guidance from Jon (Tenuta). The successful relationship between these two has allowed me to not have to spend time equally on defense as the other two facets, instead shifting my time first to special teams and most recently to offense.

“Though I have seen considerable improvement on offense and special teams, I feel my time is best spent in these two areas, where I have built considerable expertise during my coaching career. Until we are performing at the highest level, I owe it to the team and the coaching staff to concentrate on these two areas, while also overseeing the program as a whole.”

What is the most painful lesson Weis has learned this season? 
The answer is somewhat surprising, but certainly timely and it underscores how not normal this USC week really is:

“The most painful lesson I’ve learned,” he said, “is how people care very little for the personal side of the sports profession. Far too many fans look at college players as men, not young adults, and scrutinize them as such. Also, very little respect is paid to the personal side of coaches and their families, causing much harm that is totally unnecessary.”

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