One of Notre Dame's highest-paid employees is a football coach they fired 7 years ago
Charlie Weis coached the Notre Dame football team from 2005-2009, amassing a record of 35-27 before he was fired and replaced by current Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly.
But according to federal tax filings released by the Notre Dame on Monday, Weis still earned $2,054,744 from his former employer over the reporting period of July 2014 through June 2015. That's roughly $430,000 more than Kelly earned from the university during the same period.
In all, since Weis was fired in November 2009, he has earned a whopping $16,912,123 from Notre Dame. And because the university has scheduled "additional annual payments" for Weis through the December 2015 pay period, he is owed one final paycheck for his services in South Bend. That will put his final buyout sum from Notre Dame at $18,966,867.
Not bad for a coach who won one bowl game in five seasons with the Irish!
After departing Notre Dame, Weis bounced around college football and the NFL. He spent one season as the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, and a subsequent season as the OC at the University of Florida. Most recently, Weis spent three years at the helm of the University of Kansas football program. During his three years with the Jayhawks, the team went 1-18.
Weis is currently without a job in football. Notre Dame's recently released tax filings suggest that unemployment, however long it lasts, won't been too tough on him.