There are several new faces to be found in each and every conference within the college football landscape, so it’s a nice time to gauge how each of the coaches fit within their new digs. Bill Connelly of SB Nation recently posted his look at the safest and riskiest bets among the new coaches, and the Kansas Jayhawks ended up setting the bar for the latter — not exactly what they had in mind when they named Charlie Weis head coach for certain.
But these things are rather subjective and Weis’ hire has been polarizing since the beginning. Sheahon Zenger calls it a “relevant” hire while others dismiss it based on Weis’ recent track record of a subpar Florida offense and his tendency for moving on rather quickly.
Connelly writes, "Unlike Mora, Charlie Weis does in fact have a track record at the collegiate level. The problem: said track record isn’t actually any good. An incredible success as an NFL offensive coordinator, Weis won 19 games in his first two seasons as Notre Dame head coach, and he reeled in a series of highly-rated recruiting classes. But when Tyrone Willingham’s recruits cycled out in South Bend, so did the wins. Weis went just 16-21 from 2007-09 and was fired. After a successful year as offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, Weis went to Florida to coach for Will Muschamp in 2011, and an already disappointing offense tumbled from 53rd in Off. F/+ to 72nd.
“A supposed offensive mastermind known for proclaiming that Notre Dame would have a “decided schematic advantage” when he came aboard," he continues, “Weis’ college offenses have just once ranked better than 60th in Off. F/+ since Brady Quinn and Jeff Samardzija left South Bend following the 2006 season — Notre Dame ranked 114th in 2007, 63rd in 2008 and 12th in 2009. (Meanwhile, his final four Notre Dame defenses ranked 41st, 38th, 49th and 75th in Def. F/+.) Now he inherits a Kansas squad almost entirely bereft of playmaking ability on either side of the ball. He will receive a level of patience he was not privy to at Notre Dame, but patience alone won’t make him successful. (And this says nothing of the potential health-related issues Weis brings to the table.)”
Anything is still possible and Weis is already out reaching for top shelf recruits. If he can turn things around in Kansas, Weis’ reputation is the type that will quickly be restored.