Big 12 Report: League coaches react to Kansas firing Charlie Weis

Charlie Weis is no longer the football coach at Kansas, but he remained a major topic of conversation during the Big 12’s weekly coaches teleconference Monday. Weis was fired Sunday after four games of his third season.

“It’s really unfortunate that it is so soon,” Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. “You are not even halfway through the year. You wonder why it has to be that soon instead of giving a guy more of an opportunity to get things right. That is just how it goes in today’s world.”

“We are kind of at a place in our society now where it isn’t about what it’s going to be,” added Baylor coach Art Briles. “It’s what it is.”

Though his former rival coaches mostly shared remorse for Weis, his dismissal was not surprising. He won 6 of 28 games with the Jayhawks’ offense, which most expected Weis to improve given his background, sputtering the entire way. He was also uncompetitive in Big 12 games. His only conference victory came last season against West Virginia.

Coincidentally, interim coach Clint Bowen will lead Kansas against West Virginia on the road in his first game on Saturday. Mountaineers coach Dana Holgorsen isn’t sure what to expect.

“It is a little trickier trying to change things in the middle of the season than you would think,” Holgorsen said. “We have the film. We know who their personnel is and all their coordinators are intact. We would have to guess about any potential changes, and we aren’t very good at that.”

Weis was fired Sunday morning following a 23-0 loss to Texas in which quarterback Montell Cozart tossed four interceptions. A shutout loss in front of a small homecoming crowd was viewed as the final straw by athletic director Sheahon Zenger.

The coach on the opposing sideline didn’t approve of the move.

“You develop a relationship with coaches and you become friends,” Texas coach Charlie Strong said. “You hate to see this happen to anyone.”

Mixed signals

Strong opened his weekly news conference Monday by saying that Texas couldn’t get in a “track meet” with Baylor this weekend, because the Longhorns “can’t generate enough points” to keep up with the high-octane Bears.

That was a sign of respect. But Texas receiver John Harris wasn’t as kind.

“They’re still Baylor,” Harris told reporters. “Just because they started playing better, that’s good for them. We’re still Texas.”

Pretty sure that quote will be plastered all over Baylor’s locker room this week, while Strong’s will be ignored.

Tyler Lockett nabs honor

Kansas State senior receiver Tyler Lockett won Big 12 special-teams player of the week honors Monday following his big game against Texas-El Paso.

Lockett returned five punts for 143 yards and a touchdown against UTEP, adding 29 yards on two kick returns and 84 yards on four catches. He came close to adding a second touchdown as a punt returner, but it was nullified by a holding penalty. His 256 all-purpose yards led K-State in a 58-28 victory.

This is the sixth weekly conference honor of Lockett’s career. He has five career touchdowns as a return man.

Lockett didn’t return a punt or kick in either of K-State’s first two games, but he appears to have regained his top form on special teams.

Power rankings

1. Oklahoma (4-0, 1-0 Big 12): A trip to Fort Worth could be challenging.

2. Baylor (4-0, 1-0): Bears schedule has been soft, but they are firing on all cylinders.

3. Kansas State (3-1, 1-0): Wildcats stop the run as well as anyone.

4. TCU (3-0, 0-0): Horned Frogs have dominated, but Oklahoma is their first true test.

5. Oklahoma State (3-1, 1-0): Daxx Garman is Oklahoma State’s latest quarterback success story.

6. West Virginia (2-2, 0-1): Revenge should come easily against Kansas.

7. Texas (2-2, 1-0): Shut out Kansas on the road for Charlie Strong’s first conference win at Texas.

8. Iowa State (1-3, 0-2): Cyclones were no match for Baylor.

9. Texas Tech (2-2, 0-1): Red Raiders are averaging more than 100 yards in penalties.

10. Kansas (2-2, 0-1): The Orange Bowl season of 2007 seems like it happened generations ago.

This story was originally published September 29, 2014 at 2:41 PM with the headline "Big 12 Report: League coaches react to Kansas firing Charlie Weis."