Charlie Weiss hire – I like, here is why…

This was not your traditional football hire. You must keep in mind, KU fans tasted a BCS win when it won the Orange Bowl just 4 short years ago. (K-State and Mizzou have yet to win a BCS game.) So our expectations were raised because Mangino proved you could do it. Then came Turner…a guy Lew Perkins felt like he had to hire to ensure no other corruption would take place inside the KU athletic department. Oh, and he seemed to have some upside. Well, obviously that backfired, in a big way. KU set multiple records last year for being one of, if not the, worst team in KU football history and one of the worst in the entire country. Turner was not Zenger’s guy, so he is out. The problem is, KU fans are pissed. They want another Orange Bowl, not to get blown out by your in-state rival two years in a row at home. So what do you do? You certainly can’t hire another coach from DII. Almost nobody hires a coach who has just been fired (ie: Jack Del Rio). There are plenty of re-treads begging for a shot (ie: Gary Barnett) but they’ve been out of the game too long and/or are too old. So what do you do? You’ve got to make a splash…you need a name… and you focus on a hire that brings you the two most important things to be successful in college as a coach. First recruiting and second a great quarterback. Think about it. Think about all the programs who have success. They are the best recruiters (chicken and egg) and all of them have an above average to great quarterback. Well guess what? Old Charlie Weiss can get into any living room of any college senior in the country. You think Sonny Dykes would have that chance or anyone else on our coaching wish list? No way. Second, you cannot argue that everywhere Weiss has been, he has had great quarterback play. Some because he can develop average QBs into above average QBs (ie: Matt Cassell, Brady Quinn) and some because he identifies talent and then knows how to develop it. I’m sold. This hire is solid and the more I analyze it, I’m not sure Leach or Fedora would have been better.

So let’s look at the number one argument from people who hate this hire. “If you can’t do it at Notre Dame, how are you going to do it at Kansas?” I think that is fair statement but let’s take a closer look. I will grant you Notre Dame typically has a top 25 recruiting class coming through the door each year before anyone even leaves South Bend to recruit. That’s the beauty of the Notre Dame job. But have you considered over the last 20 years, they have only 2 ten-win seasons? Same as KU. Weiss was just one of many high profile coaches who have found it more difficult than billed to build back up the tradition rich program. Also consider, they aren’t playing a brutal schedule either…with the service academies annually on their schedule so that’s not an excuse. Personally I think Notre Dame is just a different animal. No other program in the world is like it, for many reasons, and I think that contributes to the lack of success they’ve had. The program has just not adjusted to the current landscape.

The other thing that popped in my mind when I heard Weiss was hired was “recruiting”. Recruiting is a grind, for any coach. It is one of the primary reasons most really successful college coaches jump to the pros…because you don’t have to recruit. It takes a toll on everyone and it seems odd a guy who was last seen walking with a cane or scooting around on a Jazzy would want to jump back into the grind. But the more I think about it, I think this is really a positive. It’s hard to argue Weiss couldn’t have landed an O-Coordinator job in the NFL next year….it’s probably a standing offer from a few teams. But he didn’t do that. He wants college. He wants to clear his name and make sure everyone knows how smart he is and how good of coach he is. He’s been at multiple college programs before and he knows the recruiting grind firsthand, yet he willfully stepped up and accepted the challenge at a university that currently might be one of the hardest places to recruit to. I like it. College is all about hussle and I think Charlie just got his second wind. Plus, make no mistake, he is just the closer…the assistants do all the really tedious recruiting. The key to Charlie’s success will come down to hiring great recruiting assistants and a great D coordinator. The rest he’s already got covered in his bag of tricks.

Last thought…”if he is successful or is not successful, he’s out of here in 3 years.” That’s another common comment I’ve heard. First, that may be true, but that is not the main consideration for KU right now. We have to get this thing turned around. We had to take some risk on who we hired. The “safe” play was already made with Gill and we know how that turned out. If Weiss has success, and wants a ridiculous contract in 3 years to stay, then we cross that bridge but right now we need help. Second, if he does leave, we are in a great position to make another great hire. Third, I don’t think you can assume he leaves. He is getting older and yes I am biased but I can think of only a handful of programs in the country that would be as great of place to put your mark on if you were able to turn this thing around. KU has tradition, they have moxy, they are waiting to crown someone king. It can be done and if you are the one to do it, I think it’s real hard to leave a place that will make you God for the rest of your life. We’ve already proven that the money will be right if you are successful (and even if you are not). People think Weiss has been a quitter every place he’s gone. That’s not true. He was fired once from the program who just a couple years before re-upped his contract big-time in fear he would go back to the NFL or has taken a promotion. Can you blame him for taking a promotion? This is his shot, maybe his last as a head coach. He knows what’s involved and he knows the Kansas program from a close distance.

I like this hire…a lot. Welcome Charlie Weiss and congratulations Zenger…you just made a great hire and I, for one, am once again proud to be a Jayhawk football supporter.