Some Stars Burn Too Bright

by Jake Hofferth

Charlie Weis. American icon. Big sexy of college football.

Why is Charlie Weis my favorite college football coach of all time? Charlie shows us that if you work hard enough and have two successful seasons at Notre Dame, you will get $30 million over 10 years. What happens after those two successful seasons? Doesn’t matter! Lets dive deeper. On paper, in 2012, Charlie Weis was supposed to be shooting for championships at Notre Dame while making $3 million a year. In reality, Charlie Weis was in Lawrence, Kansas with one of the worst teams in recent history ending up 1-11… making $3 MILLION A YEAR, courtesy of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Image from ND Athletics

Please don’t misunderstand, I love Charlie Weis. There was no way he would have been able to succeed at Kansas and that’s just the sad fact of it all. I think he is a brilliant offensive mastermind and his legacy proves that. Charlie was like Joaquin Phoenix. He peaked in the early 2000’s then had a STEEP falling off. Remember “Gladiator”? Stellar movie.

Importantly, Charlie Weis represents the induction of the “instant gratification” phase that has swept through major college athletic programs. We’ve all seen it: Lucrative, multi-year contracts where the coach underperforms to program standards off the bat and gets booted. Low and behold they end up cashing checks elsewhere. Charlie Weis will forever be my first memory of this phase; and you know what? Shame on you, Notre Dame, you didn’t deserve that majestic man anyways.

But don’t fret, and rest easy, America. Charlie Weis is probably on a beach somewhere right now getting ready for the fourth of July weekend in a XXXL Notre Dame t-shirt sipping pina colada’s with Brady Quinn. The big guy deserves it.

Image from CBS Sports

Jake hails from Chapin, SC, having the pleasure of attending USC Law with Chris Paschal. He is a big fan of FPF and glad to contribute.