Now that he’s settled in Lawrence, Weis reflects on time with Chiefs

[Stewie]

Kansas’ Weis looks back on his year with Chiefs with fondness and sees good days ahead.

BY RUSTIN DODD
The Kansas City Star


LAWRENCE -- Here is Charlie Weis, leaning back in a leather chair, relaxing in an office fit for a corporate dynamo. Flat-screen TV on the wall. Hulking desk. A picturesque view of the Kansas football program just beyond his right shoulder.

If you look out this wall of glass windows, you can see Memorial Stadium, sitting quietly in the sun. If you look a little farther, you can see the roads that lead back to his old office, the one just 50 miles east down Interstate 70.

It’s been more than a year since Weis left his post as offensive coordinator for the Chiefs, departing for the same role at Florida. But Weis still has plenty of connections down the road in Kansas City — and he’s still proud of the work that was accomplished there.

“You know,” Weis says, “obviously, there’s trials and tribulations wherever you go, but I enjoyed it.”

Weis’ stay in Kansas City was brief — a one-year touchdown before his return to college. At the time, the Chiefs and Weis cited family reasons as the prime motive for his exit. Weis’ son, Charlie Jr., would be able to work alongside his dad at practice while attending school at Florida. And Weis’ daughter, Hannah, who suffers from a rare seizure disorder, would be able to attend a respected special-needs school in Ocala, Fla.

In the past, Weis downplayed a reported rift between him and then-Chiefs coach Todd Haley — a relationship that perhaps caused friction as the year went on. Still, in just one year at Arrowhead, Weis guided an offense that helped quarterback Matt Cassel — who threw 27 TD passes and just seven interceptions — make the Pro Bowl. Running back Jamaal Charles became a force while averaging 6.4 yards per carry. And the Chiefs won the AFC West after finishing just 4-12 the year before.

Those are the numbers that allow Weis to lightheartedly assume that Chiefs fans still have fond feelings of his short tenure in Kansas City. Those are the numbers that give him the confidence to slip in a sly reference toward what took place behind closed doors that season.

“When (the fans) read through the lines,” Weis says, “they can figure out the whole year that I was there. They can figure it (from) the beginning, to right through the end. They can kind of read through everything there. But I really enjoyed my experience, my one year with the Chiefs.”

Weis and Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel remain tight from their days together on Bill Parcells’ staff in New York and Bill Belichick’s staff in New England. Weis’ ties to Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli go back more than a decade. And Chiefs tight-ends coach Bernie Parmalee played for Weis with the Jets before coaching on his staff at Notre Dame. (Parmalee’s son Tre is a freshman receiver at KU.)

Despite being down the road in Lawrence, Weis may still be one of the most qualified people to assess the Chiefs’ quarterback situation. Weis spent a year with Cassel and coached backup Brady Quinn for two seasons at Notre Dame.

Even now, nearly six years after Quinn entered the NFL, Weis still has confidence in his old quarterback. Last month, they were together in South Carolina for a charity golf tournament benefitting Weis’ “Hannah and Friends” organization, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of children with special needs.

Weis was quick to mention that Quinn won the long-drive contest with a blast of well more than 300 yards.

“Brady could have been a starting quarterback for me in the NFL,” Weis says.

Weis has this conversation with his wife, Maura, all the time, he says. It’s the same conversation he had with Quinn this past weekend. He looks back at the numbers Quinn put up at Notre Dame — more than 7,300 yards passing and 69 TDs in his last two seasons — and he still believes he could have made Quinn a winner in the NFL.

“Go back and look at those numbers for the two years he played for me,” Weis said. “He was great. He wasn’t good. And I know if I had him as a quarterback, I would have felt very comfortable that I could have won no matter where we were.”

Even so, Weis says he’s not necessarily rooting for Quinn this season. At least, not in the traditional sense He still has too much of an affinity for Cassel, he says, and he thinks his other old quarterback is in position to have a solid year. And this is where Weis’ sly sense of humor comes through again.

“If I root for Brady, I’m recruiting against Matt,” Weis says, “and I won’t do that … even though he went to USC.”

Back in Lawrence, Weis sits in his office and talks about his own program.

There are plenty of other pressing concerns to worry about — recruiting, the Big 12 schedule, his defensive personnel — but he does believe the Chiefs are in good hands.

Crennel is a coach that commands respect, he says. And in the NFL, that’s a pretty good place to start.

“Romeo is very well-respected by the players,” Weis says. “Very well-respected and very well-liked. I think that anytime that you have players that want to win for you … they obviously want to win for him.”

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/12...#storylink=cpy

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by Stewie

“When (the fans) read through the lines,” Weis says, “they can figure out the whole year that I was there. They can figure it (from) the beginning, to right through the end. They can kind of read through everything there. But I really enjoyed my experience, my one year with the Chiefs.”

Translation: I'm not going to sit here and talk $3it. It was what it was. I shined two turds and made them look respectable.

[WilliamTheIrish]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Don't you think the ND Academic standards (among other things) more than offset the recruiting advantages?

IMO, it limits the recruiting greatly.

Actually Ed, it's untrue. Standards for scholarship athletes at ND are not, nor have they ever been, the same as for the general student population.

You've heard Tim Grunhard speak, correct? Grunhard was no high school scholar. Nor was Brady Quinn. Nor was Walt Patulski or Rudi. There are probably a handful of schools that do require smarter players.

Stanford and UC Berkley. Duke. I'm trying to think of a few others. Maybe Vandy.

[In58men]

You think Weis wants to come back?

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...me-in-the-nfl/


Charlie Weis: Brady Quinn could have started for me in the*NFL

Posted by Michael David Smith on July 14, 2012, 2:13 PM EDT

Getty Images
At Notre Dame, Charlie Weis and Brady Quinn had a lot of success together. Weis says that if they had had the chance in the NFL, he and Quinn would have had a lot of success together at the next level, too.

Weis, who’s now the head coach at Kansas but has previously been an offensive coordinator in the NFL with the Chiefs and the Patriots, says he knows that his offense could work in the NFL, with Quinn running it.

[themanwithnoname]

Originally Posted by Laz

no, he didn't

stop being such a big baby

he said he could win with Brady Quinn and was polite to Cassel ... that's it.

i would of much rather kept Weis,Crennel and dumped that POS Haley.

Big baby? I even say he's really not talking up either guys but rather himself, you didn't even have to read between the lines there, but then I've come to realize reading comprehension, especially past the first few words, let alone the whole first sentence is in short supply on here.

So would I in hindsight, although I wasn't sure who really deserved credit at the time. Cassel's good month in 2010 made the offense look like the one Haley ran in Arizona (with Bowe turning those crossing routes into big plays like Fitz and Boldin did). I likewise did not know who was in charge of the RB rotation, but probably should have guessed after 2009.

Originally Posted by milkman

This.

Weis talks about Quinn being great, and that he could win with him wherever he coached.

He simply says that Cassel is set to have a solid year with the pieces surrounding him.

Read between the lines.

Quinn is talented.
Cassel is limited.

I take significant issue with him saying Quinn is great, and the writer says that Weis expressed he has "too much affinity" for Cassel, enough that he wouldn't push Quinn over him. This after him talking up Quinn's numbers and how he could win anywhere with him. He didn't do the usual "Matt's a great kid and hard worker" bit that others do where you can tell they're not saying anything positive about his play. But again, really, Weis was stroking his own ego more than anything there.

Really who cares, Weis is gone, Haley's gone, and hopefully both Quinn and Cassel are gone fairly soon too (or are at least relegated to backup status).