SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Charlie Weis arrived at Notre Dame flashing Super Bowls rings and talking about outscheming opponents. He leaves one of college football's most prestigious programs without even matching the records of the two men who were fired before him.

Athletic director Jack Swarbrick announced the decision to let Weis go yesterday, and said during a campus news conference that the school has not contacted any potential replacements.

The search for a new coach will begin immediately and will be finished "as fast as we possibly can," Swarbrick said.

Notre Dame (6-6) finished the season on a four-game losing streak that made Weis' firing seem inevitable, though the athletic director insisted it wasn't.

"For many of you who may have thought that was a foregone conclusion, I would say to you that the decision was harder than you might have thought, principally because of the man it involved," Swarbrick said, adding there was a huge gulf between the coach's brash image and personal style. He said Weis called him yesterday to see how the AD was doing.

On Sunday night, Swarbrick recommended to the Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame's president, that Weis be let go with six years left on his contract. Weis finishes with a 35-27 record in five seasons, third-worst among coaches who worked at least three years at the school.

Assistant head coach Rob Ianello will step in for Weis until a new coach is hired.

Center Eric Olsen said he was heartbroken.

"It's tough for me with my personal relationship with coach Weis," he said. "But I know he's going to be fine."

Among the top names mentioned, Florida's Urban Meyer and Oklahoma's Bob Stoops already have said they plan to stay where they are. In a press conference yesterday, Stoops said: "I'm going to be at Oklahoma next year, so I can't be at two places at once."

Cincinnati's Brian Kelly has also been mentioned, along with Stanford's Jim Harbaugh and TCU's Gary Patterson.

ELSEWHERE

Florida State: Bobby Bowden says he has not made a decision about his coaching future at Florida State and plans to meet with university officials again today. The Tallahassee Democrat and ESPN.com are reporting Bowden is expected to announce his retirement.

La Salle: La Salle, a private university in Philadelphia, will pay $7.5 million to provide care to a football player who suffered a severe brain injury in a 2005 game. The family of Preston Plevretes, 23, of Marlboro, N.J., settled its lawsuit against La Salle yesterday. Plevretes was injured when he took a hit while covering a punt in a game at Duquesne.

BYU: Quarterback Max Hall apologized for comments he made after the host Cougars beat in-state rival Utah. After BYU's 26-23 overtime win Saturday, Hall called the University of Utah and its fans classless and said the school deserved to lose.

Nevada: Running back Luke Lippincott is out for the bowl season because of a broken toe. Lippincott, a senior, suffered the injury Nov. 21 against New Mexico State.