CaptainHook Posted December 12, 2004 Share Posted December 12, 2004 (edited) Charlie Weis is to become the new Notre Dame football coach, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports. Sources close to the university have confirmed that the New England Patriots offensive coordinator has agreed on a six-year contract that will pay him approximately $2 million per year. Weis will fly to South Bend after Sunday's home game against the Cincinnati Bengals and meet with the Fighting Irish football team that night. A press conference to introduce Weis will be held on Monday. It became clear on Saturday that Weis had become the target of Notre Dame's search to replace Tyrone Willingham, with controversy still swirling over the coach's firing after just three seasons. Notre Dame, which interviewed Weis this week, also interviewed Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Tom Clements on Thursday night. Notre Dame officials called Clements, a former Fighting Irish quarterback, on Saturday morning and told him he was no longer in the running for the job and negotiations with Weis began. The report is "nothing that we would comment on," Patriots spokesman Stacey James said. Weis will be the first Notre Dame alumnus to coach the Irish since Hugh Devore was interim coach in 1963. Devore replaced Joe Kuharich, who was from South Bend and a Notre Dame grad. Ara Parseghian, who became coach in 1964, was the first Irish coach in 45 years who had not played for Notre Dame. Weis didn't play for the Irish either, but he did graduate from the school in 1978 with a degree in communications and education. He taught and coached high school in New Jersey from 1979-84 before taking an assistant's job at South Carolina for four seasons. He returned to coaching at the high school level for one year before joining the New York Giants' pro personnel department in 1989. Weis was hired by the Giants as defensive assistant and assistant special teams coach in 1990, earning his first Super Bowl ring. When Ray Handley was named coach of the Giants in 1991, he named Weis running backs coach. Weis worked for the Patriots from 1993-96, coaching tight ends, running backs and wide receivers. In 1997, Weis was hired by New York Jets coach Bill Parcells, who asked former Giants offensive coordinator Ron Erhardt to groom Weis as the Jets' offensive coordinator. In 1998, he was named Jets offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach. He has been the Patriots' offensive coordinator the past five seasons, earning two more Super Bowl rings. He is credited with helping to develop quarterback Tom Brady, tight end Ben Coates, running back Curtis Martin, wide receiver Terry Glenn and former Notre Dame receiver David Givens. link I for one am very surprised by this. Surely he would be offered a NFL head-coaching spot this year. Why Notre Dame? Good hire for the Irish though. Edited December 12, 2004 by CaptainHook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Czarina Posted December 12, 2004 Share Posted December 12, 2004 This is a really huge loss for the Pats. Charlie deserves his shot as head coach, though. Just never thought he'd go to the college level. Then again, he's been passed over by all the teams looking for a new head coach for the past few years. It was a great move for Pete Carroll to go to USC, though, so who knows? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHook Posted December 12, 2004 Author Share Posted December 12, 2004 I think a head coaching job in the NFL would have been his after this year though. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHook Posted December 12, 2004 Author Share Posted December 12, 2004 (edited) Local news reports that he will meet with the team Sunday night and be announced as the coach Monday?? That can't be right, can it? Surely he would finish the year with New England, right? Is he going to coach ND in the bowl game? Edited December 12, 2004 by CaptainHook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max Posted December 12, 2004 Share Posted December 12, 2004 (edited) Local news reports that he will meet with the team Sunday night and be announced as the coach Monday?? That can't be right, can it? Surely he would finish the year with New England, right? Is he going to coach ND in the bowl game? 605661[/snapback] I am guessing that if he is indeed the new coach at Notre Dame they would want him to start asap for recruiting purposes. Edited December 12, 2004 by max Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donutrun Jellies Posted December 12, 2004 Share Posted December 12, 2004 I am guessing that if he is indeed the new coach at Notre Dame they would want him to start asap for recruiting purposes. 605840[/snapback] Hey, the Steeeeelers will take any advantage they can get ... I still think ND made an error dumping TW, but here's hoping this works good for Weiss -- as a Steeler fan married to a Patriots fan, I like what I've seen of him. Go Charley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Czarina Posted December 12, 2004 Share Posted December 12, 2004 Local news last night said there were still a couple issues to be ironed out. Presumably when he'd start is one of those issues. He's supposedly going to be working on putting a staff together this week. I have a hard time seeing the Pats let him leave before the end of the season. That wouldn't be right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msaint Posted December 12, 2004 Share Posted December 12, 2004 Weis was never passed over, really; he's typically coaching deep into the playoffs/Super Bowl, when most teams are conducting interviews/trying to trump each other with high-profile coach signings, so he's been the victim of his own success, as the old chiche goes. Same goes for D Coordinator Romeo Crennel. Yes, he's going to finish the season with the Pats, acc'd to the Globe today. And why Notre Dame? As the link above says, he's a Notre Dame grad, has always been a ND football nut, and was mostly responsible for the Pats grabbing fellow ND alum David Givens, who has turned out to be a draft-day steal, IMO, and apparently played a big role in vouching for Weis back at their alma mater, as did other non-ND players he's helped turned into stars, like Brady, Curtis Martin & Damien Woody. He's extremely respected by other players/coaches around the NFL. Yes, I would have liked to see him get a rightful shot with an NFL club, but he apparently wanted to go back to his roots and help rebuild the golden domes. It was only a matter of time before we lost him (Crennel will go soon, too, I think), but it's a price the Pats pay for having such great success the past few years. Not surprising. Good luck, Charlie. Thanks for helping us win two rings and confuse NFL defenses for the past few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jengel61 Posted December 12, 2004 Share Posted December 12, 2004 alright charlllllllliiieeeeeeee............. its good to see the good old notre dame may not bee to far off from the promiss land afterall........first the sox win and now this......wow......it will be a huge loss to our playcalling in beantown though.....shart beantown baby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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