Florida Atlantic hires Charlie Weis Jr.

OU’s 2018 nonconference schedule just keeps getting more and more interesting.

Florida Atlantic comes to Owen Field for a season opener that already promised intrigue with an Owls team capable of being ranked in the top 25, with lightning-rod head coach Lane Kiffin, potentially quarterbacked by former Sooner recruit Chris Robison or former Florida State recruit De’Andre Johnson, the latter of whom was dismissed after a video surfaced of him slugging a female and who became a star of ESPN’s Last Chance U. All wrapped up in the bow of Howard Schnellenberger’s legacy, the Colonel having started the FAU program after spending just one season, 1995, as OU’s head coach.

But now it’s even better. Kiffin just hired Charlie Weis Jr. as Florida Atlantic’s offensive coordinator.

Weis is the son of the former Notre Dame and Kansas head coach. And Weis is 24 years old. Literally.

He’s 24 years old. Weis went to high school in South Bend, Indiana, while his dad was coaching the Fighting Irish. Weis was headed to the University of Texas for college, where his dad had arranged for him to work with then-UT defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.

But Muschamp became head coach at Florida, and Muschamp hired Weis Sr. as offensive coordinator after the Notre Dame gig didn’t work out. Weis reportedly agreed to the job if he could bring along his son as a virtual student assistant. Weis Jr.’s biography lists him as an offensive quality control coach at Florida.

Then Weis Jr. followed his dad to Kansas, serving as a team manager for three years.

When KU fired Weis Sr., Weis Jr. hooked on at Alabama as an offensive analyst. That’s where he connected with Kiffin, who about 13 months ago was hired as Florida Atlantic’s coach.

A few weeks ago, Kiffin lost his offensive coordinator, Kendall Briles — another son of a prominent offensive coach — to Houston U., and Kiffin replaced Briles with Weis Jr.

Kiffin, of course, has a soft spot for coaches’ sons. He is one himself. Monte Kiffin was a longtime college and NFL defensive coordinator who also was head coach at North Carolina State in the 1970s.

Lane Kiffin became Southern Cal’s offensive coordinator at age 30 and eventually head coach of the Oakland Raiders, the University of Tennessee and USC.

That’s a fast track. But offensive coordinator at 24 is jet-speed. Charlie Weis Jr. looks like the older brother on Malcolm in the Middle. Looks about 16. That doesn’t mean Weis can’t coach. But having the name Charlie Weis doesn’t mean he can coach.

Just one more interesting thing to write about next August.