Charlie Weis Charles Joseph " Charlie " Weis ( born March 30 , 1956 ) is an American football coach who is currently the head football coach at the University of Kansas , a position he assumed in December 2011 . He served as offensive coordinator for the Florida Gators during the 2011 season . For five years , from 2005 through 2009 , Weis was the head football coach at the University of Notre Dame . He has also served as an offensive coordinator in the National Football League , for the New York Jets , the New England Patriots , and the Kansas City Chiefs . Coaching career . After graduating from Notre Dame in 1978 , Weis began his coaching career at Boonton High School in New Jersey . He spent the next five seasons at Morristown High School in New Jersey as a football assistant . In 1985 , he was hired by head coach Joe Morrison at the University of South Carolina , where he served four seasons on the Gamecock staff before returning to New Jersey as the head coach at Franklin High School in 1989 . That year , he directed Franklin Township to the New Jersey state championship while also assisting in the New York Giants ' pro personnel department . Early years . Weis launched his professional coaching career in 1990 when he was named offensive assistant and assistant special teams coach under Giants head coach Bill Parcells . The Giants went on to win Super Bowl XXV at the end of that season , beating the Buffalo Bills by a score of 20 – 19 . After Ray Handley took over as head coach in 1991 , Weis stayed on as the running back coach for two seasons , then began a four - year stint with the New England Patriots . For the first two years ( 1993 – 1994 ) , Weis served as the tight end coach . In 1997 , Weis became the offensive coordinator of the Jets in addition to duties as the team ' s primary receivers coach . In his second year as offensive coordinator , the Jets finished fourth in the National Football League in offense . Weis served as the team ' s offensive coordinator from 1997 to 1999 . New England Patriots . Weis returned to New England Patriots following Parcells ' announced retirement after the 1999 season . He served as offensive coordinator under head coach Bill Belichick from 2000 through 2004 , installing the Erhardt - Perkins offensive system , and assisting the Patriots in three Super Bowl victories ( XXXVI , XXXVIII , XXXIX ) . Notre Dame . On November 30 , 2004 , after finishing its football season with a 6 – 5 record , Notre Dame released head coach Tyrone Willingham . After first choice Urban Meyer accepted the head coaching position at the University of Florida , the university ultimately hired Weis , who was named Notre Dame ' s 28th head football coach on December 12 , 2004 . Weis signed a six - year contract worth a reported US $ 2 million per year . He was the first Notre Dame graduate to hold the football head coaching position since Hugh Devore ( a 1934 graduate ) served as interim coach in 1945 and 1963 , and the first alumnus to serve as the Irish football coach on a full - fledged basis since Joe Kuharich ( a 1938 Notre Dame graduate ) , who coached at Notre Dame from 1959 through 1962 . In his first season as head coach of the Fighting Irish , Weis was widely quoted as telling his team that they would have a " decided schematic advantage " against their opponents , apparently in the belief that his schemes and strategies developed in the NFL were superior to the schemes being run by other college coaches . Indeed the team ' s play , particularly that of junior quarterback Brady Quinn and junior wide receiver Jeff Samardzija , improved greatly . Samardzija , previously a little - used wide receiver , became Quinn ' s favorite target and a frequent game - breaker , and set school records for most touchdown receptions in a season ( 15 ) , most receiving yardage in a season ( 1 , 249 ) , and most consecutive games with a touchdown reception ( 8 ) , after having no touchdown receptions in his previous two years at Notre Dame . Notre Dame lost to Michigan State in a dramatic 3 overtime loss . Weis was quoted as saying that they would never lose to Michigan State on his watch . Weis was 2 – 3 against the Spartans over his career . With a record of 9 – 2 , his team finished the regular season ranked sixth in the Bowl Championship Series ( BCS ) standings , granting them a berth in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl in Tempe , Arizona , on January 2 , 2006 which they lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes by a score of 34 – 20 . The Irish finished ninth in the final AP Poll and eleventh in the Coaches Poll . His team ' s success on the field helped make Weis winner of the 2005 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award , selected by the Football Writers Association of America . On October 29 , 2005 , barely halfway through the first year of a six - year contract , and with only a 5 – 2 record , Weis signed a contract extension with Notre Dame . The new 10 - year deal , which began with the 2006 season , and which was to be worth a reported $ 30 – 40 million , would keep Weis at Notre Dame through 2015 . During the 2006 season , Weis led the Fighting Irish to a 10 – 2 regular season record , and a second straight BCS berth , this time losing 41 – 14 in the Sugar Bowl to the LSU Tigers . This loss was the second straight bowl loss under Weis and the ninth straight bowl loss for the Irish . The Irish finished No . 17 in the final AP poll , and No . 19 in the final Coaches ' Poll . While this season could be considered a disappointment based on Notre Dame ' s No . 2 pre - season ranking , Weis led the Irish to its second straight season of nine wins or more , something not achieved since the 1992 and 1993 seasons under Lou Holtz . Also for the second straight year Weis put together a top 10 recruiting class , including national player of the year Jimmy Clausen . In the 2007 season , Notre Dame went 3 – 9 , with their only wins coming against UCLA , Duke and Stanford . Their loss to Navy on November 3 snapped an NCAA - record 43 - game winning streak over the Midshipmen , dating back to the Heisman Trophy - winning tenure of Roger Staubach at the Naval Academy . The team ranked near the bottom of Division I FBS in both rushing yards per game and total yards per game . Along with being third from last in scoring per game , the team was shut out twice en route to its first nine - loss season ever . Weis attributed the team ' s downfall to his own mistakes , including his failure to use full - speed practices and to develop his players properly , his installation of two separate offensive systems , one for each potential starting quarterback , as well as to the graduation of star quarterback Brady Quinn . Despite the poor season , which was Notre Dame ' s worst ever ( by losses ) , Weis nonetheless managed to recruit one of the top recruiting classes in the country . In 2008 , The Irish started 4 – 1 , but completed the regular season with a 6 – 6 record , including a 24 – 23 loss to Syracuse , the first time that Notre Dame had fallen to an eight - loss team . The combined 15 losses from 2007 – 08 marks the most losses for any two - year span . Despite speculation the university might fire Weis , it was announced shortly after the conclusion of the regular season that he would remain head coach in 2009 . Weis ' s Notre Dame squad ended the season on a positive note , finally breaking the Irish ' s NCAA record nine - game bowl losing streak by beating Hawai ' i 49 – 21 . In the process , Notre Dame scored its highest point total of the season , its highest point total ever in a bowl game , and broke 8 other bowl records . The bowl win also helped Notre Dame to a 7 – 6 final record , its 102nd winning season in 120 years of football and Weis ' third in four years . Notre Dame ended the year with a top 15 recruiting class , including signing the top defensive player in the nation . The Fighting Irish finished the 2009 regular season with a 6 – 6 record . A poor record for the season in addition to high preseason expectations for the team , including a preseason top 25 ranking , caused widespread speculation that Notre Dame would fire Weis . Weis was fired on November 30 , 2009 . He was succeeded by Brian Kelly . Kansas City Chiefs . Weis was named offensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs for 2010 . In Weis ' s first year , the Chiefs improved from a record of 4 – 12 to 10 – 6 and returned to the playoffs after winning the AFC Western Division . With Weis as offensive coordinator , the Chiefs had the NFL ' s best rushing attack , averaging an impressive 165 yards per game on the ground . Offensively the Chiefs ranked 9th in total offense , 11th in points per game , 1st in rushing , and 28th in passing . The Chiefs also sent four players on offense ( WR Dwayne Bowe , RB Jamaal Charles , QB Matt Cassel and OG Brian Waters ) to the Pro Bowl . Bowe and Charles made their first ever trip to the Pro Bowl . Weis has also been credited with the improvement of QB Matt Cassel who had a career year throwing for 27 touchdowns and only 5 interceptions in 14 games . Florida . On December 31 , 2010 , ESPN reported that Weis was targeted by the Florida Gators to become the next offensive coordinator under new head coach Will Muschamp . On January 2 , 2011 , Chiefs coach Todd Haley announced Weis would indeed be leaving for the Florida offensive coordinator position effective at the end of the season . Kansas . On December 8 , 2011 , Weis was named the head football coach for the University of Kansas replacing Turner Gill . Personal . Weis and his wife , Maura , have two children , Charles Joseph and Hannah Margaret . In 2003 , Weis and his wife established the Hannah & Friends Foundation , dedicated to children affected by developmental disorders and named after his daughter , who is autistic . In the spring of 2004 , the inaugural Hannah & Friends Celebrity Golf Classic was held to benefit the foundation . Weis told YES Network commentators at the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers MLB game on Friday , July 17 , 2009 , that his favorite baseball team is the Yankees . He was there to celebrate the announcement of the Notre Dame and Army football game to be played at the new Yankee Stadium in November 2010 . Weis was born in Trenton , New Jersey , and graduated from Middlesex High School in Middlesex , NJ . He has one older sister and three younger brothers , one of whom attended West Point . Health issues . In 2002 , Weis underwent gastric bypass surgery , after which he lost from his top weight of . When asked why he underwent surgery , Weis stated he was afraid he would " drop dead " from obesity . Because of complications from the surgery , Weis spent two weeks in a coma and nearly died . Weis was so close to death that he reportedly received the Catholic last rites . Weis later sued the doctors who performed the surgery for malpractice and lost . A major reason cited for the jury ' s decision is that Weis ignored doctors ' advice and pushed to have the operation done quickly , rather than going through a recommended six - week preoperative program . Playing against Michigan on September 13 , 2008 , one of Notre Dame ' s players , John Ryan , ran into Charlie Weis by accident . Weis tore his anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in the process and had to undergo surgery .