Tag: Charlie Weis Jr.

Notre Dame football: 11 offensive coordinators candidates to replace Gerad Parker

Who do you want to be Notre Dame’s next offensive coordinator?

Paint it any way you want it, but Notre Dame football landed great news on Monday.  Offensive coordinator Gerad Parker was named Troy’s new head coach.

No, it’s not ideal that Notre Dame will now be on their third offensive play caller in the past four seasons, but its a spot the Irish coaching staff could upgrade and now they’re forced to.

Reports are out from various outlets that Marcus Freeman has his eyes on a certain external candidate.  Who exactly that is may be remains to be seen.  And just because Freeman may have his eye on someone doesn’t mean that its all a race for one guy.

So who are some names to keep an eye on in regards to Notre Dame’s next offensive coordinator?  We’ve compiled 11.

Notre Dame vs. USF: First-Quarter Analysis

Notre Dame is off to a much better start against USF than it was against Duke.

Notre Dame is off to a much better start against USF than it was against Duke. On their first two possessions, the Irish were blessed with a short field after a face-mask penalty and a 21-yard punt following a three-and-out for the Bulls. So they barely had to break a sweat on their way to a 14-0 lead after the first quarter, which ended with them very close to another score heading into the second.

Ian Book looked very comfortable early on as almost every play he had in the quarter went for positive yardage. He capped the first drive, which began at the Notre Dame 46-yard line, with his first rushing touchdown of the season. The aforementioned short punt allowed the Irish to start their second possession in Bulls territory. Braden Lenzy cut the field in half with a 21-yard reception, and the Irish continued to march until Chris Tyree ran into the end zone from 1 yard out, giving him the first touchdown of his collegiate career.

USF threatened to make it close after Johnny Ford ran 42 yards to open the next drive. But the Irish defense held on the next series and then snuffed out a fake punt that was poorly designed from the beginning. So it goes with Charlie Weis Jr. calling the plays for the Bulls. That’s not too harsh of a statement, is it?

Notre Dame Reunion for Charlie Weis, Jr. This Weekend

The Notre Dame sideline will provide a bit of a homecoming for Charlie Weis, Jr. who returns to ND an assistant on South Florida’s staff this weekend.

It’ll be a homecoming of sorts this weekend when South Florida’s offensive coordinator steps into Notre Dame Stadium to take on the Fighting Irish.

That’s because that offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach used to roam the Notre Dame sideline for a number of years in what was his introduction to coaching.

That offensive coordinator is Charlie Weis, Jr., a young adult that Brian Kelly called a “rising star” in the coaching industry earlier this week.

Charlie Weis, Jr. to Andrea Adelson of ESPN:

Weis said that when he heard USF was working on a last-minute deal to play Notre Dame, his first thought was, “We’ve got a lot of work to do because they’re really good.”

“It’s definitely something I thought about and dreamt about: It would be really cool to go back to South Bend, a place that I love, a place that I still call home, and get to be in Notre Dame Stadium one more time,” Weis Jr. said. “I was really excited about the opportunity to go there. It’s a very special place to us.”

The piece on ESPN also goes on to tell a story of how Weis, Jr. drove from South Florida to South Bend this summer to be able to see his sister Hannah only through a screen door.  Hannah still lives in the group home and neighborhood that was established by Charlie Sr. and his wife through Hannah & Friends.

The rise of Weis, Jr. may come as a surprise but after leaving Notre Dame he’s seen a lot in the football world as he’s had stops at Kansas, Florida, Alabama and Florida Atlantic as well as spending time with the Falcons and Patriots in the NFL.