Learning From Many Outstanding Coaches Has Helped Charlie Weis Jr. Make A Name For Himself

Charlie Weis Jr. was 12 years old when his father became the head coach at Notre Dame in 2005. It was a time when he started to develop an affinity for football, a sport in which he would build his own career.

He recalls spending a lot of time in his father’s office and being receptive to the interaction between his father and the players. A young Weis was impressed with how the game plan did not always revolve around football, but life as well.

“When my father got to Notre Dame is when I really started to fall in love with football,” said the first-year offensive coordinator at South Florida. “Spending a lot of time with my dad in his office was really cool and getting to see the relationship he had with college kids, helping them grow, graduate and become the person that they can be. That was a time when it really started to hit me.”

Weis, who developed a great amount of respect for and remains in contact with former Irish quarterback Brady Quinn, was like a sponge absorbing any nugget of information so that he could better understand the nuances of the game. He certainly was not bashful when it came to asking his father why something was done a certain way, all the while becoming quite the young critic.

“I probably annoyed the hell out of him,” said Weis, laughing at the memories of how he interrogated his father. “I was probably one of his biggest critics, but I loved picking his brain while trying to figure everything out and get a good feel for what was going on.”

Jeff Scott can appreciate what it is like to be the son of a coach. The 39-year-old first-year head coach at USF grew up asking many of the same type of questions of his father, Brad, who spent three decades coaching at the collegiate level, including as head coach at South Carolina from 1994-98.

The elder Scott joined his son at USF and is serving as the program’s chief of staff.

“We have a lot of things in common growing up in a coaching household,” said Scott, who arrived at USF after 12 years at Clemson, the last five as co-offensive coordinator under Dabo Swinney. “I knew at a very young age that I wanted to coach as well. So, I think when you are around it at a young age and you know that’s what you want to do, then it kind of maybe changes your perspective and allows you to ask a lot more questions and be inquisitive about the game. Those are things that I think are very valuable as you get older and get into the profession.”

Weis’ thirst for football knowledge and attention to detail have served the 27-year-old very well during his coaching career, which now spans a decade. He started as an 18-year-old offensive quality control assistant in 2011 at Florida, where his father was the offensive coordinator. When the elder Weis took over at Kansas in 2012, Junior went along and served as a team manager for each of the three seasons his father guided the Jayhawks. It is at KU that Weis earned a bachelor’s in psychology and minored in sociology.

Weis then had an internship with the New England Patriots, was an offensive analyst at Alabama and served in same capacity with Atlanta Falcons before spending the past two seasons as the offensive coordinator at FAU under Lane Kiffin. It is coaches like Kiffin, who left Boca Raton for Ole Miss following the Owls’ Conference USA championship win over UAB, that Weis credits for what he has achieved. 

“A lot of people talk about how young I am, but I was around great coaches at a young age,” he said. “That gave me an advantage. I was around my dad and I was able to learn from him. I have been around a lot of really good people who have taught me a lot of things. I think that is a big reason why I have been able to get to where I am. I would not have been able to do it without the help of so many really good coaches that I have been able to learn from.”

During his two seasons (2015-16) in Tuscaloosa, Weis was among the many branches of the Nick Saban coaching tree. In addition to Kiffin, who ran the offense, other staff members who are currently head coaches were Kirby Smart (Georgia), Jeremy Pruitt (Tennessee), Mario Cristobal (Oregon), Billy Napier (Louisiana) and Mike Locksley (Maryland).

Weis worked with Dan Quinn at Florida and reunited with him when the latter was the head coach of the Falcons. Weis also learned from Steve Sarkisian at Alabama and in Atlanta.

“That was part of the decision process with him, obviously being a younger coach,” said Scott of bringing Weis on board. “The places he has been in a very short window in his career definitely added to his profile and experience. I think not only being around good head coaches, but also the assistant coaches that were on the staffs at all those places are guys that he was able to learn from and many of them have great reputations on the offensive side of the ball.”

In USF, Weis saw a lot of things that he liked. He got to know the Sunshine State from a recruiting perspective during his stint at FAU, so there was comfort level in that regard. Then there was the appeal of working with Scott. It added up to an easy decision for he and his wife, Jennifer, to head north to Tampa for the next chapter in his career.

“I looked at USF as a place that could experience sustained success for a long period of time,” said Weis, who in joining Scott’s staff reunited with defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer, the DC at FAU last season. “Tampa is a great place and it is easy to get to a lot of recruiting areas like Orlando, Miami, Jacksonville and even the Panhandle. The other part of it is seeing how extremely impressive Clemson has been run over the years. Obviously, coach Scott was a huge part of that for the last 12 years.”

The hope, of course, is that at least some semblance of a season will be played this year. Weis was on the field with his unit for one spring practice before the plug was pulled on all athletic activities across the country due to the coronavirus.

Communication has since been done remotely. With the help of another former FAU staff member, quality control analyst Brent Stockstill, a former Middle Tennessee State quarterback (and son of a coach), Weis has been able to keep the virtual playbook fresh while making sure his players remain engaged.

“They have a lot of resources at their disposal and I feel like it has been a very positive response from our guys,” said Weis, whose Owls averaged 36.4 points per game last season to lead Conference USA and rank 14th nationally. “Some guys probably do a better job than others depending on how self-motivated they are. We can’t mandate workouts or anything right now, so it’s kind of on them for that part of it. I think the biggest thing is they are itching to get back. They are missing their teammates and being around them.”

Scott has the best of both worlds with Weis leading the offense. Not only does he bring much to the table from learning under some of the game’s top offensive minds, but the small gap in age difference between him and the players he is commanding can be beneficial in building trust and camaraderie.

“He has the command that you want from your offensive coordinator,” said Scott. “His command in front of the room is like that of a seasoned vet. That is unique for someone of his age. Also, I think the fact that he is closer to our players’ age allows him to connect with them in some ways that maybe would be a challenge for older coaches.”

Weis misses the face-to-face interaction with the players and his fellow coaches. He has kept busy, though, working on the playbook and getting out and riding bikes with Jennifer during what have been many pleasant days in Tampa since the shutdown.

He has also spent time chatting with his father, including via Zoom.

“I talk to him everyday, talking to him about different things we are doing offensively at USF,” he said. “He has obviously done a lot in his career and he is my dad, too, so I am always going to talk to him and learn from him.”

Just like he did as a youth in South Bend.

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