College Football 2018: Grading every new Power 5 coaching hire
8. Kansas Jayhawks
New Coach: Les Miles
Departed Coach: David Beaty
Winning at Kansas is tough, and while David Beaty left the Jayhawks in a better place than he inherited them, it’s still tough to justify keeping a coach who went 6-42 over four seasons with a 2-34 mark against Big 12 opponents.
The hiring of Les Miles to replace him was met with some surprising criticism. In fairness, Miles certainly fits the definition of a retread hire, but he has only been out of coaching for two seasons and his lows at LSU were never at the level of Mack Brown’s lows at Texas.
In particular, Kansas fans seemed to be frustrated with the decision. But what were they expecting from this hire? Frankly, they should be thrilled to death that a former national championship-winning coach would even have interest in the position; there certainly wasn’t coaches lining up to stand in front of the firing squad in Lawrence, the next of the sacrificial lambs in the ever revolving door of whipping boys who have stood on that sideline.
Miles, in the very least, brings legitimacy to a program that has been the laughingstock of the FBS for the last several years. His sheer presence on the sideline will have people talking about Kansas football again, which increases their chances of bringing in more talented players due to a shift in national perception.
The Jayhawks have been bereft of success, thirsting to escape the cellar of the Big 12. This season, a win over a directional Michigan team was celebrated. Even if Miles is a complete dumpster-fire in Lawrence, and I’m certainly not convinced he’ll put together sustained success, what’s the risk?
When you are already at the bottom, there’s no room to fall further; you might as well swing for the fences and hope you hit a home run.