Maybe it was fitting that UConn hammered home the final nail in Charlie Weis' coffin, as it relates to his coaching career at Notre Dame.

Because losing to UConn only reinforced the perception by many that for past three years, Weis has been running a con job himself. That since 2007, Weis has been not much more than bluster, bluff, smoke and mirrors.

But hardly anyone is buying into the Weis con now. There's just no getting around one glaring and irrefutable fact. When it comes to running the show, Charlie is way over his head. He's over-matched. A competent play-caller he may be but as far as being a successful head honcho, forget it! The guy simply doesn't bring enough to the table. There's just no gravitas there.

As recently as last week, there were a few delusional souls, including some who report on Notre Dame football, that still thought Weis was a good fit for the Irish. In spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Charlie still had a smattering of supporters who remained convinced he could get the job done. Though their rationale for keeping him on-board was flimsy and a monumental stretch, they seemed earnest in their belief. 

But after yet another in a long string of games literally given away during the Weis era, any backing Charlie may have had has all but evaporated.

Time to face reality here. Let's dispense with the soft soap and the niceties. The con is over and the jig is up. Flat out, when it comes to getting his Irish to play winning football, Weis is totally lost. Charlie just doesn't have what it takes to succeed in South Bend. Weis' struggles have been so constant and so inexcusable, he's darn near accomplished the impossible. He's actually made failed predecessors Bob Davie and Ty Willingham look good by comparison. And that's a pretty neat trick in itself.

Those who stubbornly defended Weis, even as the losses continued to mount, offered up what they believed were legitimate reasons why he should be retained. Among the foremost of these were recruiting, graduation rate, X's and O's acumen and rapport with his players. It's quite revealing that hardly any mention was made of the bottom line,  his dismal record. His protectors tended to ignore that most inconvenient truth. To them, it was if winning games was almost incidental.

One need not strain his brain too strenuously to shoot down these supposed Weis positives.

Yes, to a certain extent Weis has upgraded the talent pool and brought in some dynamic studs like Jimmy Clausen, Golden Tate, Michael Floyd and Kyle Rudolph. But please note on which side of the ball the aforementioned do their work. On the defensive side, where the Irish have been woefully deficient, Weis has clearly missed the mark, linebacker Manti Te'o not withstanding. It's impossible to excel without a reasonably stout defense and Weis was an abject failure at building one. He should have made fortifying his defense his top priority because when the slogging gets tough, that's where football games are won and lost. Offenses are for show but it's the "D" that gets you to the payoff window.  

One other point as it relates to recruiting. The haul you bring in may be highly rated but that's immaterial if you don't coach those players up and get them top perform at a high level. If the material at ND is as good as advertised, Weis has flunked at getting anywhere near the most out of them.

The graduation argument to bolster Weis is almost laughable. To begin with, Weis isn't going to any classes for his charges. And he sure isn't taking any of their tests. Nor is he doing their studying or spending any time in the library. When it comes to getting credit for his team's collective GPA, Charlie merits little praise. For years and under many different coaches, the Irish have excelled in the classroom and been among the nation's best at securing degrees. So please, let's dispense with giving Weis a big pat on the back for merely maintaining the norm.

Another area where Weis is overrated is with his play-calling. Admittedly, he is very solid in this regard but he's hardly a genius. And his decision making inside the red zone is highly suspect. 

Sure, Weis has good success advancing the Irish from between the 20's but once they get into scoring territory, they often bog down. Why? Because he repeatedly gets conservative and stubbornly revisits plays that aren't working. 

A classic example of this came against UConn when on at least four occasions with 2nd and approximately 5 yards to go, he opted to run every time. And this with a suspect ground game. As one might guess, the results were abysmal. Virtually no gains were made and forced to throw on third down, Clausen couldn't convert. The effect of these misses was pronounced.

For someone reputed to be so sharp, Weis is often predictable and easy to decipher. And adjusting at halftime isn't one of his strong points. Though he's an able offensive mind, he certainly doesn't provide the alleged schematic advantage he claimed to possess when he first set foot on campus. If the main reason you hold onto Weis is because of his game planning, that's not an overly compelling justification to do so.

Finally, we're told Weis has great rapport with his players. That not only do they relate to him but he has their utmost respect as well. This may all be true. As a sign of both solidarity and support for their beleaguered coach, senior captains Eric Olsen and Kyle McCarthy linked arms with Weis as the three led the Irish onto the field before the UConn tilt. During the week leading up to the game with the Huskies, standouts like Clausen and Tate stood up for their coach and expressed genuine affection for him. 

But you know what, and this may sound like a harsh assessment, but it all meant very little. It came across as a bunch of lip service and not much else. Because if the players truly had Weis' back, if they really bought into him as both a coach and as a person, the proof would manifest itself on the field. They would move heaven and earth to win for the guy. Sorry but that just isn't happening.

Instead, this team constantly commits stupid and crushing penalties, is often undisciplined, gets frequently pushed all over the place and seems incapable of seizing the moment when games are there for the taking. These negatives are hardly a ringing endorsement for your coach. What good does it do if you claim to love the guy but can't win for him?

Somehow there's a definite disconnect there. So, scratch that argument.

But I suppose none of that matters anymore. Be you defender or detractor, supporter or critic, Weis is walking his last mile this week versus Stanford. Athletic director Jack Swarbrick already has one hand on the plug and the other on a phone ready to speed dial prospective candidates like Cincy's Brian Kelly. 

For Charlie Weis the jig is up. His bluff has been called. The con is over. Let's hope when he walks away, he'll have the good sense to be circumspect when he does so. Because from Weis, we've already seen and heard enough!