Charlie Weis wants to know why people don’t like him. And to remedy the situation, the Notre Dame coach is taking steps to improve his public image.

Matt Hayes of SPORTING NEWS catches up with Weis and his attempts to change people’s negative perceptions about the Irish gridiron leader. And in order to deal with the problem, Charlie had to realize that he had one:

“The biggest problem I have,” Weis says, “is people who don’t know me, who have never spoken to me, think I’m an a$$hole.”

So, the coach went to Dr. Richard Pierce, a revered history professor at Notre Dame, to help figure out why he has such a bad reputation in some circles:

“Charlie didn’t understand what got him in trouble were offhand comments and people’s perceptions,” Pierce says. “Those interactions you have with people — be it the media, a campus police officer, a food service worker — spread like a virus. And he had no way to combat it.”

Maybe that’s why after two straight BCS bowl appearances to begin his tenure at Notre Dame, one bad season raised bad feelings across campus. Or maybe those two BCS games simply hid something that was there from Day 1.

“I don’t care that they said it, I care why they said it,” Weis says. “If I said something to insult someone, I owe them an apology. I’m not a monster; I’m a husband and a father.”

At least Charlie’s trying to change his ways, so he won’t have to change jobs.

But Weis can do all he wants off the field - the only thing that matters for Notre Dame fans is what’s on the field. If the Irish didn’t have such a lousy season last year - including a loss to Navy for the first time in 44 years - there wouldn’t be worries about Weis’ perceived bad behavior.

A 3-9 record and a 12-0 record is the difference between being arrogant & being confident.