College football coaching changes are in full swing, and the so-called coaching carousel should make one unplanned stop in Lawrence, Kansas.
We’ve heard the college football names – both openings and the candidates – until they are buzzing through our subconscious. Tennessee, Texas A&M, Arkansas, FSU, Jimbo Fisher, Lane Kiffin, Jon Gruden, Willie Taggart, Jeff Brohm…
The list goes on and on.
And of course, there’s always Les Miles. The Mad Hatter is generally mentioned anytime an opening comes about, and that has certainly held true in 2017. And why not? He’s a coach with a championship pedigree and is a top notch recruiter who earns the trust and respect of his players wherever he goes.
Right now Miles is living the good life, breaking down games and plays as an analyst and making his Twitter account one the best follows there is for sports fans (seriously, if you aren’t following @CoachLesMiles you’re missing out).
Kansas Jayhawks Football
Most of the coaching vacancies left have little curb appeal to someone like Miles for a number of reasons, the biggest being the amount of pressure a coach will almost immediately find themselves under to win at all costs at these schools.
Les has been there before, and paid that bandmaster. It’s doubtful he wants to jump back into the line of SEC firefights again at Tennessee, Texas A&M or Arkansas. Should Jimbo end up at TAMU and the Florida State job comes open, that would be another massive pressure cooker Miles would more than likely want to avoid.
There are no good reasons for Les Miles to show interest in any of the current head coach vacancies or possible openings.
But there’s one school not on the list which (granted this is only a “boy, what if?” caviar dream) could be a perfect fit for the school and for Les Miles.
Kansas.
Yes, the Jayhawk football program. That seemingly eternal doormat of the Big 12, whose athletic director, Sheahon Zenger, only recently gave a vote of confidence to head coach David Beaty – a coach who is 3-33 in his three seasons at Kansas, with only one conference win, a huge upset over Texas in 2016.
That was preceded by KU Chancellor Douglas Girod giving his stamp of approval to both Zenger and Beaty.
While it doesn’t seem like Beaty (or his boss) is likely to go anywhere in the immediate future, just imagine the possibilities.
Kansas would get a big name head coach who could boost recruiting, drive fundraising to improve the stadium and facilities in Lawrence (something Beaty has failed miserably at), and who would almost certainly immediately double-to-triple the Jayhawks win totals.
Miles would get a job in a Power-5 conference, and would have…let’s see…umm…ZERO pressure to win conference championships or national titles. Not that he wouldn’t try, but the pressure to get it done would be non-existent.
Can you imagine the meeting between Miles and Kansas athletic director Sheahon Zenger?
Zenger: “So coach, would you like to the job?”
Miles: “Well, what are your expectations?”
Zenger: “Think shooting for a .500 season and a handful of competitive losses is too much of a stretch?”
Miles: “Where do I sign?”
All Miles would have to do is make the Jayhawks football program respectable. Nothing more. Mark Mangino was able to do it, and certainly Miles could perform just as well as Mangino, and do it without turning the practice field and locker room into an internment camp.
Think of the “aw, crap” faces on other Big 12 coaches when they realize not only will they miss out on their annual Kansas-bye, but they’ll be facing Les Miles and his bag of tricks instead of a team that most college scout teams could beat.
As stated, it’s a caviar dream for anyone who goes down this road. It would take not only Zenger being willing to ouster Beaty, but there would have to be a lot of money talk, because one thing is for certain, Les Miles doesn’t come cheap.
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But it sure would be fun to see. Maybe a hashtag movement is what we need here. #FreeLesMiles #Miles2KU #Hatter2Jayhawks
We’ll let fans decide that one. Get on it, Twitterverse.