Perspective on Charlie Weis hiring from a USC and Kansas State fan

As a lifelong USC fan, I have plenty of experience with Weis-coached teams. When he was hired at Notre Dame he went on and on about how his "decided schematic advantage" would give the Irish an edge against every opponent and how he was going to dominate the USC/Notre Dame rivalry. Obviously, neither happened. Weis was 0-5 against USC and his best seasons were his first two (2005 9-3 2006 10-3), with Ty Willingham's players. However, I have more analysis on him as a coach than just him striking out on his two biggest goals. Fair warning: I'm exhausted from studying for finals and short on time so this isn't perfectly organized.

I think he is a solid hire for a school like Kansas. KU will see a big improvement on offense - as much as I enjoy bashing him because of the "decided schematic advantage" not working out, the man can run an offense. His schemes have nothing on the Scheme Doctor, but he does know a thing or two about playcalling and gameplanning. At the very least, KU will be good at offense and terrible at defense, which is a big improvement from where they have been the last couple years (terrible at everything). However, Weis' defenses at Notre Dame were hideous. If he has learned from his mistakes of neglecting the defense and hires a competent DC, he will turn them around pretty quick.

I don't think Weis will have a problem recruiting good QBs and offensive skill players, but he needs someone on his staff to recruit quality defenders and linemen. The most glaring weaknesses with his teams (once it was mostly his players on the field) was the offensive line and the defense. Getting the #1 QB recruit (Jimmy Clausen) doesn't do you any good if he is constantly running for his life in the pocket.

I've heard people knock his record at Notre Dame, but ND has insane expectations and stress. 6-6 seasons get you fired in South Bend. In Lawrence, averaging 6-6 with the occasional 8 or 9 win season (along with the occasional 3 or 4 win rebuilding year) should be acceptable. I've also heard the argument "If he can't win at Notre Dame, what makes you think he can win at Kansas?" This goes back to what I said earlier: if he can find a good DC, he will be successful. In my opinion, Weis' success or failure at KU hinges on him hiring a quality DC (maybe we can trick him into taking Chris Cosh while his stock is high). The offense really shouldn't be an issue. Also, it's not like Weis doesn't know how to win - remember, he has multiple Super Bowl rings so the man knows what a winning culture looks like.

Lastly, I know Weis the person (as opposed to Weis the coach, criticize him all you want) will get bashed and flamed a lot. Heard it all the time from USC fans when he was at Notre Dame and I've heard it from opposing fanbases at every one of his jobs. Hell, I taunted a KU buddy of mine the other day by telling him I hope he didn't throw out his "Our coach can eat your coach" shirt after Mangino was fired. He really is a good person though, and when I learned about that (in 2005, when he was at Notre Dame) I cut back on the personal attacks. He let a 10 year old who was dying of brain cancer call the first play of their game at Washington. He wanted a pass to the right side of the field. ND's first play from scrimmage was on their own 1-yard line, and Weis stuck with the call. The kid died the night before the game, nobody would have blamed Weis for calling something else considering the field position...yet he still honored the kid's wish, and they actually ended up getting about 10 yards on the play. I've always respected him for that.

TLDR: Weis will have a good offense, the defense will suck if he doesn't hire a good DC, just because he didn't succeed with crazy expectations at Notre Dame doesn't mean he will go 2-10 like Turner Gill, he is a good person and I believe this was a good hire by Kansas