Following Florida coach Will Muschamp at the podium Monday afternoon, Charlie Weis appeared to have all the intensity of a Sunday drive.
Weis cracked self-deprecating jokes, gave a reporter a pop quiz and made light of past missteps in his first press conference as the Gators’ offensive coordinator. He even referred to Tom Brady as “Tommy,” explaining that is what friends call the three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback.
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of UF’s coaching change as the team begins spring practice today is the transition to a pro-style offense. But after one year running the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense and five as the highly scrutinized head coach at Notre Dame, the pressure is off Weis in his new role.
“This is Coach Muschamp’s offense, not Charlie Weis’ offense. This is the University of Florida, this is not Charlie Weis’ offense,” Weis said. “I’m just trying to get us back to winning on a regular basis, and I think we all want the same thing.”
Making the move back to the college game wasn’t a difficult decision for Weis, who was primarily motivated by his family. He left Kansas City for Gainesville to suit his wife, Maura; daughter, Hannah; and son, Charlie Jr.
His son will be a freshman at UF this fall and hopes to pursue a coaching career, which will begin as a student assistant for the Gators. Maura is what Weis called “a horse person,” so the family will fittingly buy a home in Ocala.
But Hannah, a 15-year-old with special needs, may have had the biggest influence in Weis’ decision after a rocky adjustment to Kansas City.
“I had decided during this football season that we had to bring Hannah back to South Bend sometime late spring to get her back into her normal comfort zone,” Weis said. “She had a really rough year. Sometimes when you move, you forget about things that are really important in life.
“The fact that I can take care of my wife and my daughter and my son and kind of mesh everything together, it’s really as simple an answer as that one.”
Although there were plenty of personal benefits in accepting Muschamp’s offer, the Gators will likely reap the greatest rewards from the move.
The four-time Super Bowl champion brings a lengthy resume, a great deal of offensive expertise and an impressive presence on the recruiting trail — all of which Florida greatly needs after a disappointing 2010 season.
“Part of buying in is instant credibility, and he brings instant credibility as a football coach because of what he’s accomplished,” Muschamp said. “Our players understand what he’s talking about is good and it works, and it’s worked before, and it will work again, and it will work for us this year.”
Weis said he plans to use the spring practice season as a chance to mentally and physically challenge the Gators to see if they can handle the new offensive scheme, but he knows he is inheriting a roster full of players recruited to run the spread.
UF’s offense will involve more under-center, pro-style packages, but Weis said his philosophy is equally predicated on formations and personnel.
“It all depends on what you have and who you have. That’s what you do, and that’s yet to be determined,” Weis said. “I have not seen these guys put a football in their hands yet.
“But I can tell you this: We’ve got a bunch of guys that can run. I’ve seen that in the time I’ve been here. I think [Jeff Demps’] 6.53 60 meters, I might be able to figure out something to do with him.”
Weis also thinks he can make use of quarterback John Brantley, a more natural fit for Weis’ offense than Urban Meyer’s. Brantley isn’t guaranteed a starting spot, Weis said, but he has the experience and ability to thrive in the Gators’ new system.
“He’s not super athletic, but then, Tommy Brady was not super athletic,” Weis said. “I’m not comparing John Brantley to Tommy Brady, but just because somebody says you’re not super athletic does not mean you can’t be a front-line quarterback.”
Weis recruited Brantley while he was at Notre Dame and admitted to already taking a few “Jersey swipes” at the quarterback for choosing a spread-option system in the first place.
But Weis spoke more glowingly about Florida’s program and history — particularly as it related to his long journey to Gainesville.
“When you get beat on the recruiting trails a whole bunch of times, which I did, and [Meyer] ends up winning two National Championships and I get fired, I think maybe I came to the right place,” Weis said. “That’s pretty simple. No one ever said I was stupid.”
