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Now in his sixth season at Toledo, co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Robert Weiner has earned a reputation as a superb groomer of young signal-callers.
Weiner has spent the past four seasons working with senior Tucker Gleason, whom he also coached at Tampa Plant High School in 2018-19. Gleason flourished in 2024, his first as QB1, throwing for 2,808 yards and 24 touchdowns. He led Toledo to an 8-5 record and a victory over Pittsburgh in the GameAbove Sports Bowl, throwing for a career-best 336 yards and two TDs on 26-of-50 passing in a 48-46, six-overtime thriller.
Gleason completed 60.5% of his passes, finished second in the MAC in total offense (264.3) and third in passing yards (234.0), while Toledo as a team led the league in passing offense (254.2). Gleason also engineered a 41-17 victory at SEC member Mississippi State, completing 23-28 passes for 285 yards and three TDs.
Prior to Gleason’s emergence, Weiner helped guide Dequan Finn into one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the Mid-American Conference. Finn took over as Toledo’s starting signal-caller midway through the 2021 season, completing 57.6 percent of his passes and throwing for 2,071 yards and 18 touchdowns with only two interceptions to rank fourth in the MAC in passing efficiency (149.3). Against Eastern Michigan, Finn completed 30-of-45 passes for a career-high 461 yards and three touchdowns. The 461-yard total is tied for second on Toledo’s all-time list.
Finn earned second-team All-MAC honors in 2022, leading Toledo to a 17-7 victory in the 2022 MAC Championship Game, earning Offensive MVP honors. He also led UT to a 21-19 victory over Liberty in the 2022 Roofclaim.com Boca Raton Bowl and was named Offensive MVP of that contest as well.
Finn completed a career-best 59.7 percent of his passes in 2022, throwing for 2,660 yards and 23 touchdowns. On the ground, Finn set a single-season UT quarterback record with 631 rushing yards and tied his own single-season record for most rushing TDs by a QB with nine.
Finn was even better in 2023, earning first-team All-MAC honors and the Vern Smith Award (MVP). He ranked first in the league in passing efficiency (151.04), passing yards (2,657), touchdown passes (22) and total offense (247.7). At the end of the season, Finn was at or near the top of several UT career ranks, including first among Toledo QBs in rushing yards (1,840) and rushing TDs (25), and his 7,074 passing yards ranks fifth. Finn was also a preseason watch list selection for the Maxwell Award, Manning Award and Davey O’Brien Award.
In 2020, Weiner mentored a pair of quarterbacks—Eli Peters and Carter Bradley—who showed tremendous improvement from their previous seasons. Peters completed 68.2 percent of his passes, nearly a 10-point jump from 2019. He had games of 339 yards passing (Western Michigan) and four touchdown passes (Bowling Green).
Bradley stepped in when Peters went down with an injury, and finished third in the MAC in passing efficiency. He threw for a career-high 432 yards and three TDs in a win over Northern Illinois. The 432-yard total was the seventh-most in Toledo history and the most by a MAC quarterback in 2020.
Weiner is also considered one of the top recruiters in the nation, ranking as the No. 4 recruiter in the Mid-American Conference for the Class of 2022 by 247 Sports.
Weiner came to Toledo after 16 seasons as the head coach at Plant High School in Tampa, Fla. where he won four state championships, had two runner-up finishes, and earned 14 consecutive district titles (2005-2018). Weiner and former Rocket quarterback Phillip Ely teamed up to win two of those state titles in 2008 and 2009. Plant also won state championships in 2006 and 2011.
Other notable quarterbacks Weiner coached during his tenure include Aaron Murray (Georgia, 2010-13), Robert Marve (Miami (Fla.) 2008/Purdue 2010-12), Jordan McCloud (USF 2018-20/Arizona 2021) and Tucker Gleason, a current member of the Rockets.
Plant’s record during Weiner’s tenure was 172-37-1 with a 42-10 record in playoff games. He was twice named the Florida Dairy Farmer’s All-Classifications High School Football Coach of the Year, winning the award in 2006 and 2008. Weiner is one of only two high school coaches ever in the state of Florida to win that award twice.
Weiner began his coaching career at his high school alma mater, Tampa Jesuit High School, where he served as an assistant coach in football, basketball and baseball from 1989-2003. He moved on to Crystal River (Fla.) High School, where he was the head baseball coach from 2003-04, before accepting the head football position at Tampa Plant in 2004.
Weiner graduated from Boston College in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in English and secondary education. He and his longtime girlfriend Tonya Thomas have homes in Toledo and Tampa.
Robert Weiner’s Coaching Experience
2020-25 Toledo – Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2004-19 Tampa Plant High School – Head Coach
2003-04 Crystal River High School - Baseball Head Coach
1989-2003 Tampa Jesuit High School - Assistant Coach
