OLATHE, Kan. — Christmas came early for one of the metro’s best high school football coaches.
Olathe North’s Gene Wier is joining the new football staff at the University of Kansas, where he’ll work alongside new Jayhawk Coach David Beaty.
When he took the position at Olathe North, Wier promised he’d never leave here for another high school. In a sense, he kept that promise, staying at North for three years before resigning on Monday to accept a position with Beaty’s staff at the KU.
Wier has won six state titles during two separate tenures as North coach. At KU, he’ll serve as a liaison between the Jayhawk program and high schools.
“I like what I do. I’m fortunate,” Wier said on Tuesday.
Wier says it was late last week that Beaty approached him about leaving prep football for the college ranks.
“(Beaty) said, ‘You’ve longed to do this, and you’ve longed to deserve this, and I can’t be any happier to be the person to let you have the opportunity to do this.’
Wier comes with a pedigree that would make many coaches green with envy. He took the Eagles position in 1981, and over 22 years, he won a half-dozen state titles. He returned to Olathe North in 2011 after spending nine years at a high school outside Dallas.
“For my time, and my career, this is a great opportunity. KU is the place I want to be,” Wier said.
Beatty brings Wier aboard as a boost for his recruiting efforts, hoping to give current high school coaches a name they can connect with.
“He’s been a high school coach, so he will connect,” Eagles Wide Receiver Chaz Burgess said. “He’s been around high school players, and he knows how they will respond.”
“KU has seen the need to have a person that coaches can relate to and talk to and know. They want to put their best foot forward,” Wier said.
Wier tells me the hardest part about leaving this position for the second time is the people he leaves behind. That includes his players. In 2014, the Eagles made a run at what would have been a seventh state championship for Coach Wier before falling two victories short of the 6A title.
The University of Kansas hasn’t officially announced Wier’s hire. Last week, Coach Beaty told FOX 4 News he wouldn’t announce the members of his new football staff until every position is filled.
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