You're Not A Man Unless You're A "Man"-gino!

You've seen pictures of him.  You've seen parodies of him.  But, in the end, he was the national coach of the year of the upstart, Orange Bowl champion Kansas Jayhawks.  However, can lightning strike twice for this man-beast?

So, what is next for this former "oft-ridiculed" coach?  Will he bring Kansas football back to national prominence (as if it ever was)?

Or, are they destined to remain in the basement of the Big 12 north?  (Note:  The Big 12 North is slowly, yet surely, climbing from the basement of the Big 12 conference...aka Big 12 North = child, Big 12 South = parent)

Let's look at what the Jayhawks have done since winning a BCS bowl for the first time in its history (okay... laugh now, as the BCS has only been around for what, seveb years?).

The Good

Well, what can you say about the draft/recruiting class of the Jayhawks?  Again, Mangino looks to have gotten a few starters (Crawford and D'Cunha) as well as some "mystery" 3 star talent that, let's face it, Mangino has a way of developing.  (See Aqib Talib, Anthony Collins, and a LONG list of others).

He has been compared to the Billy Beanes of the world in finding talent from cities such as Waxahoochie and Tallequah, Wichita Falls and McPherson.  He's gotten Kansas to be looked at first now by some potential prime-time talent instead of having to feed off of leftovers from the rest of the Big 12 schools (aka Texas, Oklahoma).  So, here's to you, Mr. Mangino, a nice frosty brew as you've got the Crimson and the Blue finally looked up at in means of talent, rather than eating scraps.

The Bad

With prosperous times come perilous times.  But, look at it this way, at least other teams are looking at Kansas' talent, especially in the coaching ranks.  Gone is Coach Bill Young, to teach at the fledgling University of Miami (not of Ohio) and show them how to play defense again at that once good school.  What does that mean for the Mighty Manginos?  Well, not much, as the assistant defensive head coach, who has been around for a bit, will step up to fill the gap.  I don't believe any major scheme changes are going to take place this year, so the same rock-solid defense that was there before should still be there.  And there are some new coaches up and coming in the ranks, but let's face it, Mangino is still there, and he's pure genius (not the Val Kilmer kind though).

However, the biggest blow is in recruiting.  They lost a top recruiter in the Texas area as he left to join the Bo Pellini staff at Nebraska (bring it on!).  While losing a recruiter that knows an area is bad, losing that person to a fellow conference school stinks even more.

The Buffet Closes

Okay, so, in wrapping up these buffet of knowledge I have bestowed upon each of you fellow avid readers, a list.  Yes, what kind of sports afficionado would I be if I didn't offer up some sort of list.  This one, however, is a safe one, as my hiatus from writing needs to let me knock some rust off before I parlay in the much more controversial lists that I have envisioned. *pondering as I bring out a crystal ball for my reading*

The Big 12 North Standings (circa 12/1/08)

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