LAWRENCE The son wanted to be a football coach, and the father was skeptical. Football was in the family blood, but the life comes with sacrifices. Charlie Weis knew this. And he wanted to make sure his son, Charlie Jr., did, too.

For Charlie Jr.s entire life, in places such as New York and Boston and South Bend, Ind., he had been the kid on the sidelines. Hed been in the stands for Super Bowls, watching his dad coach the offense for the New England Patriots. Hed been the son whom everybody knew at Notre Dame, the one who shared the same name as his father, the Irishs head coach; the one who often heard his family name mocked as the team struggled.

When I was younger, it was a lot harder, Charlie Jr. says now.

But the son who was always around football kept telling his dad that he wanted to be a coach, that he wanted to be just like him. If nothing else, Weis says, he wanted to warn his son. Coaching a college football team in front of 80,000 fans can be a lonely existence. And did he really want his son to endure the long days, the hours away from family, the nomadic lifestyle? Did he really want to follow his old man?

Maybe Charlie Weis couldnt give his son the advice he needed. But he knew someone who could.

Its a sunny afternoon in early August, and Charlie Weis is watching over KU football practice in Memorial Stadium. Across the field, Charlie Jr. is standing near the sideline and barking out cues for a running-backs drill. Weis, of course, is in his first full season as the Jayhawks coach, and Charlie Jr., a sophomore at KU, has taken a spot on his staff.

Officially, Charlie Weis Jr. is a student manager. But inside the program, coaches and players say hes more than that. After spending last season as a student intern at Florida for Gators coach Will Muschamp, Charlie Jr. followed his dad to Lawrence. When they arrived, Weis says, Charlie Jr. helped running backs coach Reggie Mitchell master the new offensive scheme.

Hes got tremendous knowledge of the game, KU quarterbacks coach Ron Powlus says. He knows our plays. He knows our playbook. He knows defenses. He knows coverages and fronts.

Earlier this year, Charlie Jr. helped teach KUs graduate assistant how to break down film, a skill he had learned from his dad, and Weis says his son has become the perfect go-between for players and a valued consultant for dealing with recruits.

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Weis can’t stop son from following him into coaching