Charlie Weis to be named Gators OC Monday

By Adam Silverstein
January 1, 2011

Updated Jan. 2 at 6 p.m.

Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Charlie Weis has accepted the same position with the Florida Gators, and the University of Florida will officially announce the agreement on Monday, according to multiple reports.

Weis, whose Chiefs currently boast the No. 9 offense in the NFL, was the Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach from 2005-09 and has four Super Bowl rings including three with the New England Patriots. He is a terrific play caller and showed recruiting chops during his time at Notre Dame.

Beginning his career as an offensive assistant with the New York Giants under head coach Bill Parcells, Weis was a position coach until 1997 when he was hired as the New York Jets offensive coordinator. He held that job with the Jets and later coached the Patriots offense until 2004 when he left for Notre Dame.

New Gators head coach Will Mushcamp, who said at his introductory press conference that he prefers to run a pro-style offense and wanted an offensive coordinator with professional experience, fulfills both of his requirements with Weis.

With Kansas City set to participate in the playoffs one year after a 4-12 season, Weis will stay on as long as necessary. Some reports have Weis earning near $1 million in his new position with UF, though that figure is unsubstantiated at this time.

Notorious for his somewhat rough personality, it was rumored that Weis had a falling out with Chiefs head coach Todd Haley. However statements from Haley on Sunday after Kansas City’s regular season finale tell another story.

“Charlie Weis is moving on. He’s going to go to the University of Florida as a coordinator. There was obviously a lot of speculation on that. Charlie and I, the Chiefs, we had a bunch of real productive conversations this weekend – really productive. This is a bitter sweet deal for me, as the head coach, because Charlie was someone I was obviously really excited to have in here.

“With that being said, Charlie is a family guy. He has a situation, a family situation, where he can go to Florida and be with his son, who is going to get into coaching. Without talking personally about Charlie, this is a great situation for Charlie. And I respect it 100 percent and we respect it 100 percent. Again, I was really excited to get Charlie here. Charlie’s been a big part of what we’ve done this year and he’s going to continue to be a big part of what we do this year.

“Charlie is a professional. He’s been through a similar situation back a few years ago where there was some potential distractions that could have been distractions that he, being a professional, did his job to the fullest and helped the team win a Super Bowl. I have the utmost confidence that that’s what will go on.”

Weis’s son will be attending Florida perhaps as soon as this spring and will likely work as a student assistant on the football team with hopes of eventually earning a coaching job.

Muschamp and athletic director Jeremy Foley were both attendance at the 2011 Outback Bowl on Saturday to watch Florida prevail 37-24 over Penn State.

The Sporting News initially reported the agreement between Weis and the Gators.

Photo Credit: Bill Haber/Associated Press

10 Comments

  1. Gatorbuc15 says:

    Great news! I really believe that he will fix our offense’s woes.

  2. Ken says:

    Great work last year Adam, Happy New Year! Here’s to many more for the best Gator website!

  3. David says:

    Great news. To echo Coach Corso, I’m only concerned about
    the personalities working together!

  4. Gatorgrad79 says:

    Adam, amazing year reporting on all things Gator! Not sure
    who would measure these things, but you deserve some type of award
    for your herculean efforts to be timely, relevant, ACCURATE, and
    entertaining, without bias!

  5. Mr2Bits says:

    I’m all in. Sure he may have a brash personality but so
    does Saban and company. These kids take it in strides and know they
    will be wearing OB n hopes of making it to the next level. The
    staff we are assembling will do just that. Going to be great to see
    the fun and gun show up again.

  6. Aligator says:

    Thanks for all of your excellent work on this
    site!!

  7. Drew 4 Orange & Blue says:

    I think this is a great hire and should only help
    recruiting especially traditional running backs!!! If we can
    replace the holes on the OL Weiss will have the weapons to make
    this offense dangerous.

  8. Jesse C says:

    It is a interesting hire for sure… I just hope he can utilize the playmakers’ strengths (i.e. small & speedy) that we currently have. On another note, I hope Brantley transfers… he does not see the field well and makes poor decisions among other things. I am looking forward to see what Driskell can do or how Reed may progress with more time under center. Will Loeffler be retained as QB coach or will Weis handle those duties?

  9. g8trpls says:

    In response to all these comments..Adam does a great job,
    no doubt. Coach Corso is a senile old man, nothing more. Brantley
    please leave….great hire can’t wait to see the results on the
    field.

  10. Drew 4 Orange & Blue says:

    Let me also say I think WM having the courage to go for a Charlie Weis speaks volumes about him….first coaching job and he isn’t intimidated in bringing in the ex-coach of Notre Dame and a Super Bowl winning OC…I love it….and I still don’t understand the hate for Brantley….just let the kid be…I hope he comes back

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