Charlie Weis is heading back to college.
The Florida Gators have confirmed the hiring of Weis as their new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Will Muschamp, according to the Associated Press. The Gators also added Seattle Seahawks defensive line coach Dan Quinn as their defensive coordinator and line coach.
Weis will finish out the season as offensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs, and told reporters that he will not let his new job distract him from the Chiefs' current race toward a wildcard playoff berth.
"I will do everything I can to help the Chiefs be successful,'' Weis said on Sunday. "I'm working for the Chiefs as long as we can make this work. Now that we're in the tournament, I'm hoping we play until February."
The Chiefs could potentially play the Patriots in the second round of the playoffs, but they will have to get through the Baltimore Ravens this weekend in the wild card round.
This isn't the first time Weis has left the professional game to coach at the collegiate level. In 2004, Weis was named head coach at Notre Dame and stayed through five-plus seasons with the Fighting Irish before he was fired in November of 2009. He was named the Chiefs' offensive coordinator for the 2010 season.
Weis told reporters that his previous experience in transitioning from the professional to the collegiate game will definitely help him this time around.
"I've gone through this once before, so I have a very good reference on how to separate family business from work," he said. "Fortunately, after going through it the last time, I had a very good experience. You go to work, you work all day. You do everything in preparation [for the game] and at the end of the day, if there's something else that has to be done, that's the time you do it."
The Gators also announced the hiring of Frank Verducci as the offensive line coach and running game coordinator and George Wynn as the director of football operations for Muschamp's staff.
