Weis: 'I'm going to coach for a long time'
Wednesday, November 23, 2011 | General, Football, Scott Carter
Gators offensive coordinator Charlie Weis is winding down his first season as head coach Will Muschamp's most notable hire since taking over the program in January.
Weis said Tuesday that his work at Florida is just beginning. Weis' future apparently became a hot topic on fan message boards recently when he used a cane on the sideline at South Carolina.
Weis said recent hip pain forced him to use the cane and that he has no plans to stop coaching.
“I'm going to coach for a long time,” Weis said. “I have a kid who is a freshman in college here. Remember the reasons why I came here. So, I'll be here for a while, unless you're trying to get rid of me.
“Not to downplay it, but it's really not important how I feel. We're coaches. We're not players. I can do my job fine. I've got as much gas in the tank as I had at the start of the year. There's no less gas. I'm still running on full.''
Weis said his recent hip pain is a result of finally being able to walk normal following his recovery from multiple knee surgeries in recent years. Weis suffered the original injuries during the 2008 season when he was head coach at Notre Dame and he was taken out by a player on the sidelines during a game.
That injury – multiple ligament damage in his left knee and a broken right knee – led to other issues and he was often seen driving around the practice field last season as Kansas City's offensive coordinator in a motorized golf cart.
In the first year of a three-year contract, Weis said family played a huge role in him coming to Florida. His son is a Florida freshman and helps out in the football office and his wife is a horse enthusiast. The family settled near Ocala on a horse farm.
Weis reminded reporters that he has coached through pain before and never considered retiring to the farm for good.
“Remember, I got wiped out really bad there a couple years ago. It couldn't hurt any worse than that,” he said. “I didn't miss any time then. I stood on the sidelines with no ligaments in my left knee and a broken right knee. Maybe I'm a masochist, but it never entered my mind [to quit]. Not once.''
