Notre Dame Has Paid Charlie Weis Almost $15M Since Firing Him In 2009

Charlie Weis was a pretty bad college football coach, and he’s still reaping the benefits.

After a successful tenure in the NFL that saw him win three Super Bowls as the New England Patriots’ offensive coordinator, Weis was named the head coach of Notre Dame, a title he held from 2005 to 2009.

The Fighting Irish went 15-21 over Weis’ last three seasons, and he was fired after the 2009 season. Pretty rough, right? Apparently, not so much.

According to the school’s federal tax return, Notre Dame paid Weis nearly $2.1 million for the 2013-14 reporting period, significantly more than it paid any current member of its athletic department, USA Today reports.

In fact, Weis has earned this paycheck every year since he was fired and received an initial payment of more than $6.6 million when Notre Dame let him go, according to USA Today, bringing his total earnings from the school to nearly $15 million. He’s scheduled for additional annual payments through December 2015, meaning he could earn roughly $19 million from the school when all is said and done.

Current Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly, meanwhile, took home about $1.2 million in 2013, a number that actually dropped from $1.5 million in 2012 because he received less bonus pay. Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick made about $1.3 million in total compensation in 2013, according to the report.

Notre Dame isn’t the only school paying Weis boatloads of money not to coach its football team. Weis was fired from Kansas in the middle of his third season last fall after compiling a 6-22 record, but the Jayhawks still owe $5.6 million of his current contract.

Thumbnail photo via Mark Dolejs/USA TODAY Sports Images