Feb. 7, 2005
New Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis Sunday night earned yet another Super Bowl ring, as his New England Patriots won that game for the second straight season and the third time in four years. It’s the fourth time in his career in the National Football League he has been part of a Super Bowl champion team.
The Patriots – with Weis working his final game as offensive coordinator — defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21 in Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville, Fla. His Patriots won the Super Bowl a year ago, in a 32-29 victory over Carolina in Houston – and also won the Super Bowl following the 2001 season in a 20-17 victory over St. Louis in New Orleans.
The three victories in four seasons marks the best run by any NFL team since Dallas won the Super Bowl in ’92, ’94 and ’95. The Patriots’ combined two-year record of 34-4 over 2003 and 2004 marks an NFL record. The nine straight playoff wins by New England tie the NFL record set by Green Bay in 1961-67.
Weis’ first Super Bowl ring came in his first year as a professional assistant with the New York Giants in 1990 when they defeated Buffalo 20-19 in Tampa (he served as a defensive assistant and assistant special teams coach under Bill Parcells).
Weis and the Patriots also competed in the Super Bowl following the 1996 season, falling 35-21 to Green Bay in New Orleans (Weis was the Pats’ wide receiver coach that season).
Super Bowl XXXIX included Weis (offensive coordinator of the Patriots under head coach Bill Belichick) plus former Irish standout David Givens (a Patriot wide receiver who Sunday caught three passes for 19 yards, including a four-yard TD reception from Tom Brady for the first New England points), former Irish assistant coach Jim Johnson (the Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator; he was secondary coach on the ’77 Notre Dame national title team and Irish assistant coach from 1977-83, including defensive coordinator from 1981-83), Eagle defensive lineman Paul Grasmanis (he played for the Irish in 1992-95; he was inactive throughout the NFL playoffs this year), Patriot linebacker coach Dean Pees (he served as Irish secondary coach in 1994) and Eagle secondary coach Trent Walters (he coached the Irish secondary from 2002-03). The Super Bowl matched the Patriot offense (directed by Weis) against the Eagle defense (directed by Johnson).
His duties with the Patriots now complete, Weis is expected to head to South Bend on Thursday.