During the press conference Friday addressing the hiring of his new football coach, Kansas athletic director Sheahon Zenger said, in explaining his somewhat stunning decision, “I set out to find the best, and I found Charlie Weis.”
Before he ever coaches a game, the former Florida offensive coordinator and Notre Dame head coach will be paid like one of the best in his conference as well.
While the contract is not yet finalized, Zenger confirmed that Weis’ contract will be for five years and reside in the very ritzy neighborhood of $2.5 million a year pre-incentives. Weis’ predecessor, Turner Gill, earned just over $2.1 million during the Jayhawks’ two-win 2011 season.
Weis would become the third-highest paid head coach in the Big 12, behind only Texas’ Mack Brown ($5.19 million in 2011) and Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops ($4.075 million). Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy earned $2.1 million this year, although he’s in line for a revamped contract and will likely leapfrog Weis at some point early next year.
The numbers thrown out by Zenger means Weis will more than double what Paul Rhoads ($1.1 million) made at Iowa State this year.
In addition to the generous annual salary, Weis’ contract also calls for another perk: Weis’ wife and special-needs daughter will remain in Gainesville but will have unlimited access to chartered flights to Lawrence throughout his time with the Jayhawks. Additionally, Weis’ son, Charlie Jr., transferred from UF to KU yesterday and will likely serve as a grad assistant under his father.