(UHND.com) — A NFL.com article published earlier this week reported that the buyout clause in Weis’ contract is only 1.5 million and that it must have meant that Weis positioned himself to leave for the NFL. The writer however reported this without knowing much about the situation or listening to what Weis has said about leaving for the NFL because Charlie has said in the past he came to Notre Dame to retire.
On the day he was announced as the head coach of Notre Dame, Weis said during his press conference that “When I come here, I don’t come here to leave and take a job in the NFL in three years. This is not a stepping stone. This is an end-all for our family. We come to Notre Dame, it’s with the intent of retiring here. That’s why we’re coming here.”
From day one Weis clearly stated that there is no other job he would leave for. Some people are saying he will leave for the Giants in a couple years if Tom Coughlin were to leave or be fired, but as Weis has said before “my NFL career is over and I’m the head coach of University of Notre Dame full time until the day I retire, and that’s what my intent is.”
Most of the people writing about Weis to the NFL rumors or announcing them over talk radio fail to realize that this job is just as good as an NFL head coaching job to Weis. The head coaching position is one of the most high profile jobs in America and in many cases is a more prestigious position job than a lot of NFL head coaching gigs.
Weis also has a special place in his heart for Notre Dame, his alma mater. “If you’re going somewhere, you should go where you feel that both you and your family can be part of something special, and I can’t think of any other place better to be part of something special than this place,” were Weis’ words during his introductory press conference.
Everything Weis has done and said since he has become the Notre Dame coach suggests he plans on ending his career under the dome and has given no reason for anyone to think he’d leave.
It is also not far fetched that the “rumors” of Weis leaving for the NFL might be coming from people who to put the thought in high school recruits’ minds. Because of Weis pedigree and his close ties to the NFL, opposing coaches will try to use this against Weis and Notre Dame every chance they get.
Weis has also pointed out in the past that if he really wanted to be an NFL head coach, all he had to do was wait a couple months and he could have had one. “I would not be taking this job and I would be waiting till the season ended in the NFL and try to get one of those jobs. I’m here because I want to be here. I’m proud to be here.”
People will say money can change all this and that if an NFL team would throw a ton of money his way he would leave, but I just don’t think this is the case with Weis. I expect Weis to retire at Notre Dame as he has said because he hasn’t said anything else to make me think otherwise.
