Charlie Weis Sr. Criticizes Penn State's James Franklin Following Peach Bowl Loss to Ole Miss
Charlie Weis Sr. has been quick to back up his son's team around this New Year's holiday.
Weis, the father of Ole Miss Rebels offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., is the former head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2005-09) and the Kansas Jayhawks (2012-14) along with having served on staffs in the NFL. In short, he knows ball, and he didn't take kindly with some comments made by Penn State head coach James Franklin following the 2023 Peach Bowl.
Following his team's loss to Ole Miss in the New Year's Six bowl game on Saturday, Franklin seemed to blame the loss on "moving parts" within his own staff instead of giving much credit to the Rebels.
“Specifically to the game, just too many moving parts with the staff and with the players against a good team,” Franklin said. “Too many moving parts, staff and players, to have the type of success that was wanted to have today.”
Franklin also criticized the officials following the game, calling their performance "less than desirable."
"I thought the officiating was less than desirable," Franklin said. "That first drive, we have the field goal, we run a slant, (a receiver gets) turned around, but I’ll move on.
“I could list out a number of examples. That’s a big play in that game at a critical moment, starting out with a touchdown rather than a field goal is significant. But I’ll move on.”
That's where the elder Weis comes in. He shared his thoughts on Franklin's quotes from his X account over the weekend, and he didn't pull many punches.
"Congrats to the Ole Miss Rebels for their dominant [win] over Penn State," Weis said. "Surprised that Coach [James] Franklin chose not to give Ole Miss credit, but chose to blame the loss on 'too many moving parts!' Hotty Toddy! On to 2024."
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That's not where he stopped, either. Weis posted some further thoughts about an hour later on the same subject.
"Congratulating a team that defeats you means nothing if it is followed by excuses for losing like moving parts and/or officiating!" Weis said. "Any coach who is a decision maker is best to first point the finger at themselves!"
Weis has seen a thing or two on the gridiron, and he is now the co-host of "Airing It Out" on SiriusXM NFL radio. His son, Weis Jr., has been the offensive coordinator at Ole Miss for the last two seasons.