June 8, 2008 -- SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The public perception of Charlie Weis is that he's embattled, under excruciating pressure to win now or else.

After all, his Notre Dame Fighting Irish finished last season an abysmal 3-9 and that included - gulp - losing to lowly Navy for the first time in 44 years. Weis, too, relinquished his play-calling duties to his offensive staff in the spring.

So all the signs from outside of the Golden Dome seemingly pointed to a coach under siege.

But then why did Weis look and sound so relaxed and confident as he spoke to The Post in an exclusive interview Friday inside his impressive corner office? Why was Weis, with his shoeless feet propped up on his desk, looking not like a coach under fire but one very much at ease and in control?

Because Weis, who yesterday hosted his annual fund-raiser celebrity golf tournament for Hannah and Friends, named after his special-needs daughter, has a plan and he's supremely confident in that plan.

"Do I look like I'm an embattled guy?" Weis said as he leaned back in his chair. "Look, I was given the same advice by several very, very, very good coaches (Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Andy Reid to name a few) . . . Establish a plan, decide what it's going to take for you to get to the top and stay at the top and then don't deviate from that plan.

"That's the direction we're going. Are we there yet? How could you say you're there when you just finished a season when you went 3-9? But I can say that acquiring good talent puts you in the best position to be successful."

Weis pointed to three consecutive top-10 national recruiting classes as the talent boost that has a good chance, according to some insiders in the industry, to return Notre Dame to national prominence within a year or two.

As for the shift in play calling, Weis, said, "I've been with this offensive staff for three years. They know what I'm thinking and think the way I think." He insisted this change had been on his mind before last year. Conversations with Belichick and Reid convinced him he was going to have to let the play calling go for the good of the big picture.

"I went to (Belichick) and I wanted to know how he went from being the best defensive coordinator in football to allowing Romeo (Crennel) and Eric (Mangini) and Dean Peas to run the defense?" Weis said. "I asked him how do you cut the cord? How does Andy Reid let Marty Morningweg call the plays when he's always been the play caller?

"The bottom line from both was they believe it gives you the opportunity to be a better head coach.