Here's the deal on this: They thought all along that Urban Meyer was going to be the guy. The trip to S.L.C. that night was expected to be a formality, and they were stunned to leave without a deal. As a result, we were really poorly prepared, because we didn't believe there was a need to do much research, widen the casting net, etc.
As a result, when the Meyer deal fell through, they were scrambling and opted to consider low-hanging fruit. And Weis was probably a way better candidate than Clements, even though all of Clements teammates and coaches from back in the day have sworn up and down that he'd have been a great fit.