Kansas plucks Charlie Weis from Florida

By Adam Silverstein
December 8, 2011

The Kansas Jayhawks have hired Florida Gators offensive coordinator Charlie Weis to be the team’s next head coach, the university announced Thursday.

Weis, who has spent the last year working under Florida head coach Will Muschamp, will be officially introduced in his new role on Friday at a yet to be determined time.

Deciding to leave his job as offensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs one year ago, Weis said he chose to join Muschamp’s staff for a number of personal reasons and called the opportunity “almost a dream.” He signed a three-year, $2.6 million contract with Florida, making him the highest paid assistant in school history.

At the time, Weis explained that it was a fantastic opportunity for his family. His son would be a student assistant with the Gators, his wife would be pleased with a 10.5-acre estate in Reddick, FL with plenty of horses, and his special needs daughter could get the assistance she needed with her condition.

“This opportunity is one of those unique situations where I can go to a great institution where my son goes to matriculate and be able to spend the next bunch of years watching my son grow,” he said on Jan. 2. “He wants to coach. It took us very long to try to find a place where he could be involved with the football program in a student assistant capacity. When I finally did talk to Will, we chatted about that and then we talked about me. I had to really reflect on that, spend time with my wife and [my son].

“We talked about a whole bunch of things and at the end of the day, I don’t think anybody could understand how wonderful an opportunity it would be to be able to work at a place and see your kid on a daily basis. It’s a tough business. To go to a program like Florida and be able to be around my kid at the same time … is almost a dream.”

[EXPAND Click to expand and read the remainder of this post.]Weis was the main reason redshirt senior quarterback John Brantley returned to the team instead of transferring. He was also the catalyst that convinced freshman QB Jacoby Brissett to commit to Florida over Miami even though the Gators already had Jeff Driskel in their 2011 recruiting class.

He recently said that he had no designs of leaving UF and would remain at the school as long as Muschamp and the university would have him.

“I’m going to coach for a long time. My wife says I can’t quit,” he said on Nov. 22. “That’s not even – remember I have a kid who is a freshman in college here and remember the reasons why I came here. I’ll be here for a while unless you’re trying to get rid of me.”

Weis went 35-27 as head coach of Notre Dame and led a Florida offense that finished 102nd in total offense (334.17 yards per game) and 72nd in scoring offense (25.58 points per game) in 2011.

Muschamp gave Weis his blessing publicly while discussing his departure at a press conference on Thursday for the 2012 Gator Bowl.

“When you’re a coordinator and you have an opportunity to be a head coach, I support you 100 percent,” he said.

It remains to be seen who Muschamp will tab to replace Weis, but it is expected that he will continue running a pro-style offense. He could look for an accomplished coordinator in the college ranks or go back to the NFL once again.

Muschamp may also have to find a quarterbacks coach (a position Weis held) and replace offensive line coach Frank Verducci, who joined his staff with Weis. The two are friends and worked together previously at Notre Dame.

Florida running backs coach Brian White will be the offensive coordinator and call the plays in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 2, 2012 against the Ohio State Buckeyes.[/EXPAND]

65 Comments

  1. sjkoepp says:

    Pretty upset about this. I’m more angry than Meyer. He at least had some reasons. I can’t see why Charlie would leave such a cushy job to go to a lower program.

    • Tractorr says:

      Because he will be the head coach there…

      • sjkoepp says:

        I agree- but it’s Kansas. It’s not a big time program like Florida with ridiculous resources and potential for talent.

    • Tim says:

      You have to wonder with Muschamp’s comments, if there weren’t some heated discussions after the FSU game that lead to this. Something along the lines of, “My defense is playing their rear-ends off and allowed 95 yards of total offense….your offense is getting us killed.”

      To be a fly on the wall. I usually bang on people for having such negative comment, but it seems like we didn’t even try to use our personel this year. No bubble screens, no mixing in the spread for a year like John Fox is doing with Tebow. Seems we could have done more, but then again. Meyer and his group had the same problems last year.

      Going to be interesting to see how this impacts recruiting.

    • Gatorgrad79 says:

      Haha, Kansas must want to win 6 games or less next year. Relax people, no o e could do worse with the talent we had/have…

  2. DGLBkGATOR FAN says:

    Only thing I can assume is Weis and muschamp bumped heads too much so he decided to leave. Good luck to him in Kansas.

  3. g8ter27 says:

    I can, he sucked here and I have to wonder if Muschamp or someone else WAS trying to get rid of him. He had everything he wanted here it appeared so something changed in the past 2 weeks. Since this just broke I am not even going to make reference to the preference Kansas has for plus size coaches. Ah damnit I just did! Sorry.

  4. Matt says:

    This is absolutely stunning. We can’t hold on to a single recruit. Now this guy bolts for, Kansas!
    What the hell is really going on in Gainesville?
    I’ll admit I was underwhelmed with the offense but thought lets get the guys for the system.
    Please tell me what have we become other then a laughing stock?!

    • g8ter27 says:

      A lot better in the long run offensively. Weiss did nothing this year with the talent he had and rubbed several players the wrong way for no apparent reason. All he did on the sideline was stand with his cane while our offense went 3 and out and then went and sat down and talked to nobody while the defense was on the field. He always appeared disinterested and whatever the reasons were for all of it, it is better to move on with a high energy OC. We will be fine and i feel better about our offense already.

  5. Matt says:

    Adam please find out the inside scoop this is nuts. Now we are going to have Urban and Charlie taking our recruits…We now need to replace two key coaches quick to hold another class together!!

  6. Matt says:

    By the way I sure hope we let Kansas pay for his hip surgery and not UF! Thanks for nothing Charlie!

  7. Matt says:

    We thought recruiting and keeping players was hard now this happens. This has the potential for ending very bad with a long turnaround time to get thd ship right.

    • Mr2Bits says:

      The recruits don’t care. DJH posted that he didn’t care and was a Gator for life and that we could put it on his momma. Everyone needs to step away from the ledge. Charlie didn’t really bring a blazing offense and seeing this makes me think he didn’t really give a rats ass about us this year.

  8. dp says:

    Reasons Adam? This article gives none.

  9. Tractorr says:

    I really have no idea what to think anymore about the program. I don’t know if this is all just a series of events that will work themselves out or not. I don’t know if it is Meyer’s fault, or Muschamp’s fault, or anybody’s fault. The only thing I know is this puts us back another year because now we have another year of learning for an offense great.

    I do think this says one thing about Weis, he just does not understand the college game. He is a brilliant NFL coach and he got Notre Dame offense rolling once he got the roster filled with future NFLers, but the fact of the matter is Vanderbilt and Kentucky do more with less year in and year out on offense than Florida did this season.

    • g8ter27 says:

      Absolutely, and we are better for him leaving in my opinion. I would almost guarantee we are better offensively next year.

  10. Luke says:

    I never liked him until he put on Orange and Blue, so I guess it’s back to Gator Bait!

    Seriously, though, we look like a program in shambles, our recruiting will suffer this year, and we’ll have a long road ahead, BUT, any former Head Coach that’s in an assistant role has to listen to “good” programs when they call.

  11. Deuce-Five says:

    I hope a lot of people are happy now since they’ve been calling for his head for months now

  12. Nick says:

    Lets be honest here, this is saving Foley from having a very awkward meeting next year after yet another season of pathetic offensive production.

  13. Gatorfan33 says:

    Adam any word on if Muschamp plans to promote from within or hire from outside the program?

  14. Aligator says:

    Who knows maybe he will bring in a young gun who knows how to use this talent and we can be respectable again?
    He is more of a head coach type anyways. He is too old to sit under a young guy at this point? Still a surprise ..

  15. chigator says:

    Dream Candidates: Josh McDaniels (imagine that open passing attack in college) and Brian Schottenheimer (ex-Gator QB). I also think that we should give Kerwin Bell a look as a co-coordinator or QB coach. I think this is an excellent opportunity to bring in some real Gators…

    • Tim says:

      Funny you should say that, I was actually thinking that last night. I was watching something about Tebow on ESPN thinking that I bet Josh McDaniels is laughing his butt off right now. He’s the only one that got it right about Peyton Hillis and Tebow. Could be interesting. I like the thought of Kerwin as a #2 to avoid the issues we had this time and to have someone in place for the next time.

      Nice Chitown.

    • Gatorgrad79 says:

      McDaniels as OC and Bell as QB coach….Dreamteam!

  16. Tim says:

    I know people are going to toss out the Kerwin Bell name, but if you are a kid being recruited, you weren’t even born when Kerwin played. you don’t know anything about him. A kid from NC or NJ isn’t going to come to Florida to play for some guy they’ve never heard of. You’d have to think he’d make an impact hire….but then…look where that got him this time….dang…now I know why these head coach guys make so much money.

    • G2 says:

      You are right, Kerwin’s not going to pull any recruits although he might be a great OC. If we don’t hit a home run here, get the hot guy to replace Weis, we are screwed.
      This whole thing is almost funny. What more can happen? Urban crashed the program but had the good sense to eject before it hit rock bottom. Now he’s taking coaches, recruits etc. to OSU.
      Think the pro style change was a mistake in the first place, now we have a chance to right the ship. Otherwise we are going down!!!

    • chigator says:

      I just dont agree with you. If we hire to please recruits, we are inviting the same entitlement issues that lead to missed practices and transfers. I think it is time UF makes a hire based upon his potential impact on the future of the program… short term fixes are only going to lead to more issues like this.

    • CeeThree says:

      I think it’s funny you actually believe that, you couldn’t possible be more wrong. Kerwin Bell can’t recruit because people don’t know who he is? What? Urban Meyer came to Florida from UTAH! He’d been on the scene in popularity (if even that, no one on the east coast same many, if any, Utah games) for less than 12 months.

      The position being hired is a called a COACH. We need someone who can COACH offense. The position isn’t GUY WHO RECRUITS WITH HIS NAME. Muschamp, Lewis, Robinson, Durkin, and Young can recruit. Gus Malzahn and Chad Morris came from HIGH SCHOOL. Chip Kelly came from NEW bleeping HAMPSHIRE. You think kids knew who they were?

      We need someone who can flat-out draw up some plays, and let that do the recruiting. Point to the big fat numbers on the scoreboard instead of the name on the office door.

      How the heck did the big name work out last time? He showed up, made a cool million, recruited with his huge name a single player, ONE, Jacoby.. called the snap and squat (Brantley shotgun, looks down field, falls on ground to avoid hit), punted a bunch, then peaced out. You can have your stupid big names and Josh McDaniels garbage (that’d be a disaster).

      Kerwin Bell is perfect. Why? He can coach offense. High school, college, pro, pop warner, video games, I don’t care. And you know the best part? NO ONE KNOWS HIM! You think that’s a negative, it’s what we need, a small guy who can flat out put up yards and will actually stick around for a couple years. This program is so desperate for stability it’s not even funny, and you all want the “big name” who is coming here with an eye on every job that pops open instead of what’s best for UF. Gahhh.

      • Jesse says:

        I believe Kerwin Bell was the one that made Brantley a star in HS. He must be some kind of miracle worker. Nice work on your whole comment, I agree 100% (it would be a 1000% if I was Muschamp).

  17. CH says:

    Any chance he hires Muschamp as his defensive coordinator?

  18. Matt says:

    I’m open to GOOD candidates which would preclude Schottenheimer!! Bell might not be bad but we definitely need a directionand soon.

  19. Gator John says:

    Muschamp made a big deal last year of hiring coordinators with NFL experience. Will be interesting to see how this plays out, especially in recruiting.

  20. Chad Dickinson says:

    I’m concerned this is going to adversely affect Brantley’s player development !?!

  21. Big Slank says:

    Kerwin Bell or Brian Schotty?…We need a Gator again!

  22. Cline says:

    Cant’t take the heat in the swamp!

  23. Joe says:

    Keeping things interesting this year, aren’t we?

  24. ulysses1221 says:

    Could Charlie Weis had been the reason that Mike Davis ended his recruitment?
    I never liked Charlie Weis and the way he ran this offense. We looked weak and slow.
    Glad his gone and i hope that Will hires someone that will bring some energy and emotion to this offense.

  25. Matt says:

    Yeah that whole Davis recruitment is yet another mystery/disaster this year had brought us. As far as it being Weiss fault it wouldn’t surprise me.

  26. aziatic41 says:

    Losing Weis doesn’t hurt anything. Weis was not the right fit for a place like UF. Expectations we’re too high for him here. We need an OC who can create explosive-type splash plays. Weis doesn’t have that mentality or arsenal in his play calling to create those explosive plays. Weis prefers to nickel and dime you all the way down the field and then score, the way he did in the NFL at New England.

    I’d like to see us bring in a young fresh minded OC who can create those explosive plays and consistency to our offense. As far as Weis going to Kansas, I’m not surprised at all. Someone as arrogant as Weis is not going to settle for being an college OC. Whether we would have won a lot or games this year or not, Weis was going to leave no matter what. This is the danger of bringing in well known NFL coordinators. College are going to always come after these guys for their head coaching vacancies.

    I would put money on it that Weis and Muschamp bumped heads multiple times during the season. Muschamp is an aggressive guy and Weis is arrogant, so there’s no way they didn’t clash with all the losses they suffered. Also Charlie seemed to be not interested in the overall team’s play this year. If he wasn’t calling plays he would not even watch the game. He would just sit down on the bench with his head down. Doesn’t surprise me that Weis left

    • Mr2Bits says:

      This is the best post I have seen on here in awhile.

      People need to step back and realize Charlie did not meet Gator expectations and is just not a right fit. I have thought this all year but kept telling myself to give him time and I was crazy. He did jack shiz this past year and we all wrote it off as change. People who think this will affect recruiting are wrong. Following certain players on twitter will tell you most of our current players like Debose are excited for the change. Other recruits like DJ came out and said it doesn’t matter and they are a Gator for life, we can put it on their momma. If you think Weiss was a recruiting genius, again wrong. Brissett is the only recruit he can put his stamp on.

    • CeeThree says:

      someone with a brain.. for a second I thought this comment section was a migrated from the GSMB.

  27. John S says:

    Damn man, I’m pissed. I didn’t like the hire to begin with, but with how this all played out, it’s the worst possible situation. I like Kerwin, we need someone who will stay for a while and really develop an offense instead of just blowing it up. A pass happy spread can work with great receivers.

    I feel sorry for Muschamp, he plays nice with Urban and gets screwed, then he hands over his offense to Weis and gets screwed. Doing it the right way is hard with all these A-holes in the game.

    Please recruits hang on for a bit, we’ll find someone without a FUPA to prepare you.

  28. ncgator says:

    Good riddance Charlie. Don’t let your fat ass get stuck in the door on your way out.

  29. Daniel M. says:

    I guess Mr. Weis just likes to freeze his ass off. This whole year was another head scratcher. He was driving the offense ya know. I do remember seeing early games where he and Brantley and Driskel and Brissett were all hanging out together on the sideline. I thought that looked like UF’s future. I thought wrong.

  30. jay d says:

    this is just the start of the shit storm thats about to hit gator football for who knows how long…….first a 6-7 season, yes I said 6-7 season because we will lose to ohio state, then weis jumps ship along with some players & recruits, next season will not be any better and we will be back to square one… once JF realizes muschamp wasnt ready to be a head coach at a major program like florida….brace yourself gators…..ive said it before and I will say it again….our arrow is pointed down!!

    • Tractorr says:

      Even the Zooker got 3 years. The only chance that Muschamp gets fired next year is if we miss a bowl and if we hire someone even remotely competent to run the offense that won’t happen.

    • Jortskin says:

      It is pointed down if we dont nail this hire. This could be a good thing. The offense sucked anyway. Its the perception of things falling apart that looks bad. Forget the pro style, lets score some points!

  31. Joe says:

    Does anyone else get tired of all this speculation and prognostication?

  32. Joe says:

    The situation is obviously not optimal. We are all feeling the instability of the program in Meyer’s wake and this only makes matters worse in that regard.

    Having said that, I think we’ll move on in a better direction. Weis is sub-par as a college coach and shows very little charisma or character. It benefits us to look for younger OC’s.

    We have clearly seen a shift in the football landscape both in college and the pros. I believe it will only continue in the coming years. The best offensive minds today are the ones who have the revolutionary schemes. Played out offenses only work against inexperienced and unprepared coaches. We don’t have any of those in the SEC.

    We do need a quality OC. It is paramount for any program but obviously even more so at Florida. I really believe we’ll head in the opposite direction this time, going from the old veteran OC to the young gun with upside a la Urban Meyer.

    I also want to say we’re going to win against Ohio State, none of our players or potential recruits are going to leave for any reason related to Charlie’s departure and Muschamp will be a fantastic coach once we have a like-spirited driven OC in the house!

  33. Sroode21 says:

    Bring back the ZOOKER…… What’s the worst thing that can happen, he will recuite a bunch of great players and someone else will win with them…aka Turd-ban Myer…. THE FIGHTING ZOOKERS. (special teams only tho)

  34. Sroode21 says:

    Oops I spelled recruits wrong and Meyer sorry….was excited about the ZOOKER……

  35. DakotaGator says:

    O.K. he’s gone. Let’s talk about candidates!

  36. NYCGator says:

    Time to bring a real Gator back to the program, enough with the flashy flavor of the week hires.

    oh well, at least we can cut the food budget in half for next season.

  37. chigator says:

    Another name to throw out there…. Jeremy Bates. He hits to pro-style attack that Muschamp desires and has some experience at USC. Also, his father coached here in 1990 and his brother is one of the more recognizable former Gators. Thoughts?

  38. HardToKillGator says:

    Wonder if Weis rented or bought his wife’s horse farm?

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