Two weeks ago, Kansas University football coach Charlie Weis stood on the home sideline at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., and openly rooted for the team with which he won three Super Bowl rings in nine seasons as an NFL assistant coach in the AFC Championship game.
As those New England Patriots prepare to take on the New York Giants at 5:20 tonight in Super Bowl XLVI, Weis won’t be anywhere near the field and his allegiance won’t be nearly as easy to determine.
“I will be watching the Super Bowl, 7:30, though,” said Weis, who will be on vacation in Puerto Rico, with his wife, Maura, when the big game kicks off. “It’s an hour later there. As a matter of fact, I know where I’ll be watching it from. I can picture my seat right now. Overlooking the ocean, drinking a couple Diet Cokes, maybe a glass of ice water or two.”
Despite his fondness for New England quarterback Tom Brady, his close relationship with Patriots coach Bill Belichick and his love for team owner Robert Kraft and his family, it’s no slam dunk that Weis will be pulling for the Patriots in this one. After all, on the other sideline will be the organization that gave the New Jersey native his first shot at coaching in the NFL in 1990, when he joined Bill Parcells’ New York Giants coaching staff and helped lead the Giants to a victory in Super Bowl XXV.
“I worked for both organizations, won rings with both organizations and have a lot of friends with both organizations,” Weis said when asked who he would be rooting for tonight. “I obviously have some very close personal friends with the Patriots, but I’m just gonna watch the game and whatever happens, happens.”
