Bleacher Report - Kansas Jayhawks Football

Mark Mangino's Attackers Are as Soft as His Midsection

Andrew Nuschler — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:01:55 -0500

I'm a little confused. No, I'm a lot confused.

One minute, these high-octane athletes are gladiators, soldiers, or any manner of rugged testaments to perseverance in the face of physical duress incapable of being understood by mere mortals.

The next, they're complaining of hurt feelings and unforgivable (imperceptible) assaults on their egos.

Of course, I'm referring to the ongoing absurdity that's befallen the University of Kansas football program and its rotund head coach, Mark Mangino.

Former players are apparently materializing out of the ether with complaints about Mangino in the wake of senior linebacker Arist Wright's formal complaint against the portly papa bear of the team. According to Wright, Mangino yelled and poked him in the chest during a team walk-through/practice.

Consequently, the University has launched an investigation into the coach's methods.

In the developing game of he-said, he-said, Mangino claims it's nothing more than bitter players coming forward to get their shot at the cameras at an opportune time. The argument is that nobody was saying a peep when the Jayhawks were cruising along as the toast of college football's early season. But once the honeymoon ended and the squad dropped five straight games, those with axes to grind found an audience of sympathetic ears.

In Mangino's world, it amounts to rats jumping off a sinking ship.

For the record, it's tough to respect a molder of young athletes that is as obscenely obese as the Jayhawk head coach. Seriously, how hypocritical does an individual have to be to demand physical excellence from his charges while looking very much like a tethered blimp with a headset?

Really, coach? You think I'm a bum for blowing that deep post? How about you give me one—ONE—sit-up? How about a push-up? How about just describing your toes without the aid of a mirror?

(Note: I have absolutely nothing against the overweight; it's the hypocrisy that bothers me.)

In other words, I have no love for the man. Nevertheless, Mangino's take rings true to me.

All of the players voicing discontent are done with football and most never amounted to much under Mangino—Raymond Brown, Dexton Fields, Marcus Herford, Wright, and some dude who transferred away from Kansas almost immediately. That's not to say these guys were total chumps, just that their careers probably didn't measure (or aren't measuring, in Wright's case) up to their expectations.

And we all know which side usually wins in a battle of "Is This Disappointment My Fault or Someone Else's?"

Coincidentally, the guys reserving comment or defending the coach are (for the most part) the ones who are still playing football and/or tasted more than a sip of glory under Mangino—Russell Brorsen, Todd Reesing, and Tennessee Titan Mike Rivera.

Obviously, though, the attack of unreasonable bias can be made on these three as easily as it can be made against those throwing stones at Mark Mangino. After all, it is no less common for those who've benefited from an association to defend it blindly.

For the tie-breaker, I return to my opening confusion.

Athletes are perceived as modern warriors because of the physical beating we all watch them endure, but also because of the savage world they inhabit for so many months of the year. Anyone who's spent time in a locker room or at a practice knows that otherwise outrageous behavior passes for normalcy—it's even considered necessary at times.

Verbal, emotional, and physical abuse don't mean the same thing in this specialized environment as they do in everyday life. Sports are barbaric in many facets.

Shoot, my HIGH SCHOOL baseball coach used to break clipboards over our heads when we weren't expecting it if we screwed up royally. In retrospect, it was pretty amazing, since he'd never fail to have the element of surprise despite the fact that we should've been on our guards.

My high school basketball coach announced to a van loaded with the entire varsity squad that one of our teammates was the biggest "p****" he'd ever seen in his life.

The kid was 16 years old.

When I was a 15-year-old sophomore on the varsity squad, we traveled into San Francisco to play one of the best teams in the city. I got dunked on by a 6'8" monster who happened to be black.

That coach's response?

I must be scared of black people, which he announced to the entire team. No mention that the dude had six inches on me, about 50 pounds, and I was trying to recover for a teammate's blown assignment.

Oh well. If you can't deal with the heat of being singled out on occasion, then play better or get the hell out of the game.

That's not to say it's impossible to cross the boundary of decency in the athletic arena. If Mangino used the non-fatal shooting of a player's sibling or the alcoholism of a player's father insensitively, he should be reprimanded (read: slap on the wrist), because there's got to be a limit somewhere.

Haphazardly using such intimately personal pressure points is probably a good place for said limit.

But poking a college linebacker in the chest? Grabbing another guy by the arm? Yelling and screaming? Embarrassing players in front of the team? Give me a break.

In sports, as in life, sometimes you'll take criticism and sometimes it will be unfairly harsh. Survival depends on the ability to shed it like water off a duck's back.

From the outside, it seems like Mark Mangino is a walking opportunity to learn this invaluable lesson. It's not pleasant and it might not be the best way to teach it, but those who learned the skill seem to have been well-served by it and have moved on in life.

Those who don't seem to be complaining from their couches. Still stuck in the past, patiently waiting for a convenient chance to exact revenge.

**www.pva.org**

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Is Mark Mangino's Kansas Controversy Ready for Jerry Springer?

Denny K. — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:47:26 -0500

It's hard to believe that just a week ago the primary conversation in Lawrence about Jayhawks football involved Kansas' upcoming game against the Cornhuskers.

Beginning on Monday with Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins's bizarrely timed launching of an investigation into allegations Mark Mangino has been treating his players inappropriately, the situation has steadily progressed from bad to worse to terrible. Some former players have rushed to Mangino's defense, and others, including many who transferred from the program, have used the opportunity to air their own complaints against KU's coach.

The Kansas City Star's windy and know-it-all columnist, Jason Whitlock, probably tired from kicking the dead horse that is the Kansas City Chiefs' season, jumped onto the controversy by publishing back-to-back articles endearingly titled "Weight Issues Are Root of Mangino's Problems" and "Mangino Is an Abusive Bully."

Not looking to be outdone by another Star columnist, J. Brady McCullough put in his claim to a Pulitzer by going Woodward and Bernstein and broke the news today that, 20 years ago in a small Pennsylvania town, Mangino was widely disliked by students' parents.

Mangino himself, choosing not to stay above the fray, went on a local sports radio show and attacked the parents of his players and former players who had spoken out against him. Clearly upset by the allegations, Mangino did manage to get in some good points during his rant, including that under his leadership the football program had set records for team GPA and graduated high percentages of players.

He also rattled off an impressive list of players who support him and who, under his tutelage, succeeded at KU, including Nick Reid, Brandon McAnderson, and Charles Gordon, among others.

Regardless of who is right or wrong in this fracas, it is clear that the situation is a mess and that the blame for it rests solely on the shoulders of the Jayhawks' indomitable athletic director. If Perkins wanted to fire Mangino for the team's losing streak or the charges of misconduct, he should have just come out and done it. Mangino's buyout is only $600,000, a sum insignificant to the amount of damage the athletic department's reputation is taking on a now-hourly basis.

Furthermore, Perkins should have had the foresight to put a muzzle order on Mangino concerning the matter until a resolution had been reached. What is playing out now is a sensationalist, overhyped trial tried in newspapers and on talk radio with little regard for levelheadedness or the long-term impacts this may all have on KU's football program.

Things have gotten so bad at this point that I am thinking Perkins would probably best be able to resolve the situation if he and the feuding parties all booked a show on Jerry Springer, letting Jerry mediate the controversy to the hoots and hollers of a studio audience. I would personally love to see Mangino and Whitlock, both hefty gentleman, get into a fight after one or the other "dissed" someone.

What is really sad is that one of the only voices of reason in this entire affair has been that of senior wide receiver Kerry Meier, who attributed the controversy to the five-game losing streak and told McCullough that Mangino has "taken this program to new and great heights that I don't think anybody ever imagined.

"And if they're looking to bring somebody in to change this program around again, it's gonna be a tough, tough challenge to find somebody to do that."

Well said, Kerry. And I'm sorry this all had to happen during your and the other seniors' last season at KU after such a great four-year run.

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Who's Bad? Mark Mangino's Old School Ways Clash with New Generation

Kenny Crute — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:05:50 -0500

From the beginning of his tenure as head coach at the University of Kansas, Mark Mangino has had many obstacles to overcome, most importantly turning the fortunes of a perennial loser.

For starters, he inherited practice and game facilities that did not measure up to premier programs in the Big XII. In Austin, well, everything is bigger. Stillwater has billionaire T. Boone Pickens, and Nebraska has Dr. Tom Osborne.

Next, Coach Mangino needed to assemble a staff capable of snatching up out-of-state talent and keeping said talent away from the other suitors in the conference.

The state of Kansas is not a hotbed for football talent, so Mangino and his staff had to convince potential players that the aging digs in Lawrence were worth accepting as part of a larger opportunity to build a respectable football program.

Then there was the foregone conclusion that KU, having modest success on the gridiron, evidenced by the occasional bowl appearance, was and is in fact a basketball school.

One could think that the job required of him was in some ways no greater than that of any other newly minted BCS school coach, and it very well may not have been. So these factors beg the question: What makeup of a man could handle such a daunting task?

For starters, the guy had better be tough. His mascot is a mythical bird (Jayhawk), and he would have to stand in living rooms and sell young men on leaving their nests for the nest in Lawrence, Kansas.

He should be driven, focused, battle-tested, and stubborn enough to weather trips to harrowing places like Lincoln, NE and Norman, OK.

There are often many ways to get to most places. To have a successful football program, there may be only one. Ask any coach on any level, and they will tell you that they want a tough, hard-nosed, mistake-free team.

So when we look at these kids—and they are kids—we expect these 19- to 23-year-old, fresh off the block guys to have all of the discipline and dedication to be a full-time student-athlete in the midst of some very formative years.

We also think that these kids can do this with little outside influence or with the tools they have in the bag when they show up. Fact is, they can't. They never have and probably never will be ready to fulfill those roles without a shepherd.

When a man like Mangino, whose motives and methods are being questioned, enters the fray, we should embrace what he is doing. Whether intentional or not, Mangino is shaping the way these kids will live their lives.

It's no secret that star athletes are identified and embraced at an early age. Everything comes easy for most of them, at least until Coach Mangino comes crashing through the door.

How many young people can you think of who could use a little challenge in their lives? How do we learn to overcome adversity if we never experience it? How do we leave bad habits behind if they are never pointed out?

If we examine the history of football, pay attention to the demeanor of the game's most successful coaches. With the exception of a Dick Vermeil or Pete Carroll, these guys aren't emulating the teachings of Dr. Phil.

Look at the top programs in college football today, and you will see characters not cast too far from the likes of Mangino, Bob Stoops, Nick Saban, Bo Pelini, and so on...

The truth is, any program that has the monumental task of being rebuilt ahead of it is almost forced to find a Mark Mangino to lead the charge. As a former college player, I only wanted one thing: to enjoy playing the game I loved.

I was given the chance to play a game in exchange for a free education, which meant for me that I would have endured anything short of criminal acts to keep playing.

Don't judge Mangino based on society's overly warm and fuzzy view of the world. Know that the grumblings of a few will not measure up to the gratitude of many.

I have to run...I am late meeting Coach Saban in Tuscaloosa. We're baking cookies and singing "Kumbaya" around the campfire.

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After Fingergate, Can Mark Mangino and the Jayhawks' Season Be Salvaged?

Denny K. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:12:51 -0500

The opinion is wide spread among Jayhawk fans today that even though Mark Mangino probably did nothing wrong in Fingergate, the entire situation has been such a public relations fiasco that there is no other alternative than to banish the big guy from Lawrence forever.

Tom Keegan of the Lawrence Journal World has written that it is "difficult to see Mangino coaching beyond this season."

I disagree.

This situation began and will end with the athletic director, Lew Perkins. The original handling and advertisement of the situation by Perkins created the current blood-in-the-water feeding frenzy around Mangino.

This would all have been avoidable if Perkins had acted more professionally and kept the complaints in-house. The public revelation of these complaints have hurt Perkins, Mangino, the university, and the players.

Last year, in Bo Pelini's first season at Nebraska his team descended into a painful midseason three-game losing streak. Concerns began to circulate in Lincoln about Pelini's temperament with players and officials. Pelini went even so far as to admit himself that his sideline antics and temper were casting a negative light on the Nebraska football program.

How did the Nebraska athletic director, Tom Osborne, handle the situation? Did he announce a players only meeting to give a forum to student athletes and their parents to voice their concerns? No. Osborne spoke in-private with Pelini about his behavior. Since that meeting Pelini has been noticably more reserved on the sidelines. Issue solved.

Perkins could wrap up this matter with a similar meeting as Osborne had with Pelini and a public statement of support for Mangino at the conclusion of the investigation. The 2007 Orange Bowl Champion deserves this much.

In today's fast media cycle the November drama of Fingergate would quickly blow over, and the effect on recruiting would be minimal. While it is extraordinarily unlikely that Kansas will beat Texas on Saturday, it is very likely that Kansas could defeat Missouri in the Border Showdown and make a bowl with a 6-6 record.

With a month to practice and let sores heal, the football team could cap off a mostly dissapointing year with a bowl victory for the seniors.

It was just a couple of years ago that Zach Grienke was being publically ridiculed in newspapers and on local sports radio for his anxiety issues. Look how that played out thanks to the Royals' stick-to-it-ness.

The option of standing by Mangino is still on the table for Lew Perkins this year. It is the best choice for the players, fans and university.

That said, we will have to see in coming days and weeks what Perkins chooses to do with the coach who guided Kansas to its most successful season in school history.

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Why Mark Mangino Can No Longer Be Successful at Kansas

J.D. Schaller — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:33:48 -0500

Let me first say that Mark Mangino has my complete and unquestioned benefit of the doubt.

If anything has happened that is inappropriate enough to get him fired, it should have happened sooner, not later.

Because now, thanks to the bad timing with which this entire situation has come to pass, his fate has already been decided, and this season has been nothing more than a waste of everyone's time.

There are still at least two games left, but Mangino is done.

The fact that these accusations and investigation are coming at such a crucial point of the season, especially on a reeling football team, doesn't leave many options.

The players want him out, the administration is very disappointed in him, and fans will never be able to truly support him again. It doesn't matter what results an investigation brings, Mangino can no longer be successful at Kansas.

Rumors are already circling that Mangino will be gone by the Texas game. Another story most of us have heard from news sources claims players want Clint Bowen in charge for the Border Showdown.

Me? Despite the immense respect I have for the big fella', I prefer the former. If anything is going to happen, it's always better to be done quickly and start finding the next guy in line.

The most important aspects of this little conundrum are the players. College is for the benefit of the students, and people must remember that athletes are among that group. Even if Mangino has done little wrong, it all comes down to how the athletes feel about him.

Right now, the feeling is very negative, and I have a hard time believing that the Kansas Jayhawks will compete (well) for him at all in any further contest, which is why I think it's time for Mangino's exit.

As I said before, he has my benefit of the doubt, but if the players have written him off, he's not doing anyone any good; the players, himself, or the Kansas football program.

I would not even be against seeing him step down in the midst of the investigation, and personally hand the coaching duties over in a respectable, classy, Mangino-esque manner, especially if he has a pretty good idea of how the investigation may turn out.

Sorry, Mark. For the benefit of your reputation, I hope the investigation turns out well, because I believe in you, and it's too bad that people have been so upset with your Jayhawks that they're using this as an excuse to call for your head. Those fans should be ashamed of themselves, and this matter is not about wins and losses.

It's also too bad that I'm just not important here.

If players won't play for you (no matter for what reason), you can't be a head coach. It makes me even sorrier to say that I think the entire situation would play out better if you left now instead of trying to resuscitate a team that has lost faith in you.

Give Clint Bowen the job, let him and Ed Warriner get smashed by Texas and Missouri without you, and let both sides of this fight start over next season. It's for the best.

In the meantime, maybe the silver lining is the potential for an entirely new coaching staff. I hope Lew Perkins is looking around a little for the next face of the franchise, because if he promotes Bowen again (or Warriner at all), I may transfer to Mizzou.

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Fire Mark Mangino Because He's Fat and Mean?

Denny K. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:02:49 -0500

The reason behind the Monday meeting between the entire Kansas Jayhawks football team and athletic director Lew Perkins has been finally revealed.

The day before the Colorado game on Oct. 17 (yes, over a month ago) Kansas football coach Mark Mangino allegedly poked senior linebacker Arist Wright in the chest during practice, invoking Perkins to begin a full departmental review of Mark Mangino's treatment of student-athletes.

Rumors are also circulating that Lew Perkins, much like an investigator for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, is soliciting concerns and complaints from former players' parents about Mark Mangino.

With a game against Texas looming on Saturday and after five straight defeats, beginning with Colorado, the Kansas football program appears dangerously near the precipice. As much as a losing streak can put strains on a football team, it cannot be understated how much a semi-public athletic department investigation (filled with media leaks) into a coach's conduct can cut the legs out from under a coaching staff.

We can only imagine the damage this is doing to Mark Mangino and Kansas's reputation on the all-important recruiting trail.

Meanwhile, since the news broke a litany of the usual suspects in the area have been calling for Mangino's head. In today's Kansas City Star , Jason Whitlock, who devotes a high percentage of his columns to advocating the firing of this or that local sports figure, argues that Mangino is simply to fat and mean to continue as Kansas's coach.

Whitlock, who apparently is gifted with the ability of psychiatric diagnosis from afar, writes that Mangino is a deeply unhappy person because of his weight and that "every problem" Mangino has had at Kansas can be "blamed on his weight."

Interestingly, Whitlock believes that all overly obese people are similarly pathologically unhappy and consequently mean to the people in their lives. I, for one, would like to see Whitlock explain his views to Oprah.

This is a sad chapter in Kansas Jayhawks history. I have a hard time understanding the need for this investigation now, other than that it is intended to publicly humiliate Mangino and give Perkins' cause to fire him.

Oh yes, have you heard, under Mangino's contract, which runs to 2012, if Mangino is fired with cause, the school will not have to buy him out. If I was legal counsel for the university though, I would advise Perkins to proceed cautiously.

The complaints against Mangino, that he poked a player in the chest, that he is mean and that two years ago he was fined by the Big 12 for complaining about calls, could very well be viewed by a jury as not substantial enough to let KU off the hook. Especially considering the state of college football today, with all sorts of confrontational coaching styles being celebrated across the land. Including at KU, prior to this season.

When asked why he thought his behavior was being investigated, Mangino responded that he he did not think anyone would be complaining if the Jayhawks were 5-1 in the Big 12 instead of 1-5. He is exactly right.

Not to mention the basic fact that no matter the coach, there will always be fans, players, and parents who are rubbed the wrong way and become alienated from coaches and schools. I am sure you could even find former players who hate such lovable personalities as Lou Holtz if you looked hard enough.

Different players respond to different coaches in different ways. Someone who may thrive under a Pete Carroll may struggle under a Mark Mangino, Bobby Knight or Bill Parcells, and vice-versa. College football and the education of young men will be better off if a diversity of coaching styles, including confrontational ones, is allowed to continue to exist.

Lew Perkins should think twice before he fires Mark Mangino. Before this week Mangino, the 2007 Coach of the Year, had brought a degree of success and stability to one of the Big 12's traditional football cellar dwellers.

It takes a real optimist and possibly someone who is delusional, to believe that a new coach could replicate Mangino's success. 2009 has been a tough year for the Jayhawks, but they are not the only team in the Big 12 to fail to live up to expectations.

You don't see Oklahoma's athletic director investigating Bob Stoop's personality. And frankly, Mangino has done as much for KU as Stoops has for OU. Winning the Orange Bowl for Kansas is comparable to winning the National Championship for Oklahoma.

Lew Perkins should be careful what he wishes for.

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Why Is Lew Perkins Airing This Dirty Laundry Now?

Denny K. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:18:23 -0500

Yesterday, current Kansas football players met with Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins to discuss concerns about Mark Mangino’s treatment of players. The breaking of this news has led to rampant speculation in different media outlets that Mark Mangino's job may be in jeopardy. Mangino has had to fend off charges that he has "lost" the team after this news and a five game slide.

All of these developments should beg the question about why this information was made public by Lew Perkins. Kansas has to play Texas on Saturday and despite players' and coachs' claims that this news is not a distraction, it is a distraction. Rumors are also circulating that Perkins may meet with former players' parents to hear their complaints about Mangino. If this is so then it is hard to comprehend why this matter was not dealt with earlier when the Jayhawks were winning or could not be dealt with later during the offseason.

For my part, I hope that the public revelation of this meeting by Perkins is justified. Right now the jury is still out. The Orange Bowl winning coach Mark Mangino has earned the benefit of the doubt at Kansas and he should be treated with the utmost respect. Mangino is not today and has never been a casual laid back Pete Carroll-type player's coach, and that is fine. Mangino's chewing out of players who hot dog it and his tirades against officials are breaths of fresh air to the majority of Jayhawk and college football fans.

The way things stand now these recent events certainly give the appearance of an athletic director piling on a coach who is suffering through a difficult season. The Jayhawks were expected to be better this year, but the example of the Oklahoma Sooners should remind us all that regardless of your talent at skill positions without a formidable offensive line and defense a hopeful football season can quickly unravel. That certainly appears to be the situation in Lawrence this week.

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Lew Perkins Calls Secret Meeting: Is Mark Mangino's Job in Jeopardy?

J.D. Schaller — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:46:26 -0500

Last night, Monday, Nov. 16, a meeting was called between the University of Kansas football players and athletic director Lew Perkins to discuss concerns about head coach Mark Mangino.

The Lawrence Journal World stated that the parents of former players were also present and allowed to discuss their opinions on the issue as well.

This is all horrendous news for the Kansas football team, which is already reeling into the football abyss. The last thing any team needs before it faces the undefeated Texas Longhorns is more problems.

Yet, just like the fights before the Jayhawks' first Big 12 road game and loss against Colorado earlier this season, problems seem to find the football team, anyway.

My initial reaction to a rumor about a player meeting with Perkins was simply that Perkins expected better results, as did we all, from the Jayhawks this season. I've often heard opinions that Perkins and Mangino have never been on particularly good terms, and it is also important to remember that Perkins did not hire Mangino.

It wouldn't surprise me if maybe Perkins simply called the meeting to get the general outlook on Mangino, possibly looking for a little extra incentive to bring in his own guy. It sounds low but this is still a business and Lew Perkins is boss.

Why would Perkins want to toss Mangino, though? Despite the rumors, I've never seen any proof of negative relations between Perkins and Mangino.

Our current head coach is also the man who brought an Orange Bowl victory to the program and the most prominent success Kansas football has ever had.

Plus, Perkins has shown his support by extending Mangino's contract not just once, but twice. In both 2006 and 2008, Mangino's contract was extended, and it currently sways to the tune of approximately $2.3 million.

Then again, that's a lot of money to pay a coach, quality or not, who may turn out a losing record this season with arguably the most talent he's ever had. That could be inspiration enough for Perkins to start looking for a reason.

This is the situation I was sincerely hoping for, actually, but it now appears things may be far worse.

The Lawrence Journal World also stated that the content of the meeting was believed to be over specific incidents or the general relationship between Mangino and a specific player.

In fact, even more recently, 810 Sports Radio Kansas City cited comments from several people such as Mangino himself, Todd Reesing, and others.

What can be pieced together at the moment is that there have been allegations towards Mangino's inappropriate treatment and even excessive physical contact of a player. Senior linebacker Arist Wright's name seems to be most closely linked to the story at this time, although nothing has been officially released about the possible victim or who inspired Perkins to call the meeting in the first place.

The fact that parents of former athletes were present at last night's meeting is raising questions about potentially similar situations that have occurred in the past as well.

A number of players are calling for immediate action, too. Because the investigation will be a process, Mangino will likely have the opportunity to guide the Jayhawks through Saturday's contest with Texas (for whatever that opportunity is worth).

Defensive coordinator Clint Bowen, though, will be on alert, because some very influential athletes are calling for him to take over the head-coaching duties A.S.A.P., for the Border Showdown with Missouri at least.

Let me point out that I am, in every way, an avid Mangino supporter. The other day, I wrote an entire article vouching for the safety of his job during these turbulent times and bashing his coordinators instead.

It's extremely difficult for me, however biased, to believe that Mangino has ever mistreated a player in any sort of overly inappropriate manner.

The more I've thought about it, though, all I ever hear about Mangino is how tough a football coach he is, and that he's a fierce critic. Coming from a football coach, this can sometimes be positive, but it's not unheard of for an intense coach to go overboard.

Also, any good KU fan knows that his doghouse has a tight cage around it. Jeff Spikes recently fell in for a time but his services were necessary to save Todd Reesing's health from Nebraska wrecking ball Ndamukong Suh. Anthony Davis is another guy who fell in early, yet managed to work his way out again.

Remember Raimond Pendleton and the infamous penalty-on-the-punt-return rant he got from Mangino? He got tossed in the dumps shortly after (as a sophomore) and remains there to this day as a senior.

How about Carmon Boyd-Anderson and Donte Bean? The two had plenty of potential to be contributors right now but instead transferred as their opportunities in games mysteriously disappeared midway through their freshman season in 2007.

Remember Gary Green? At one time he was touted as the best all-purpose running back recruit in Kansas' history, but had very limited opportunities as a freshman. He was tossed around from position to position until graduating last summer.

I guess Mangino does have a tendency to be a little harsh on specific individuals, but still, from the bottom of my heart, I hope this meeting was nothing more than an athletic director's evaluation of a struggling football team's head coach.

For KU's sake, for Mangino's sake, and for our football program's sake.

It sadly doesn't appear as if that is the case, however.

I have absolute and complete faith in our old head coach and he will always be one of my favorites. However, if something did happen and action absolutely needs to be taken, I hope that action is taken soon, even if it does mean Clint Bowen will get a temporary promotion.

In fact, the sooner this issue is resolved, the better.

Texas isn't about to wait around for the Jayhawks or Bowen.

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Not 'Suh' Tough; Kansas Offensive Line Looking Okay

J.D. Schaller — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:30:20 -0500

It's getting harder and harder to pick the positives out of Kansas football.

Especially after a game like yesterday's when the Jayhawks had every opportunity to be victorious, yet they were squandered.

It's amazing to realize that had either of two specific penalties been avoided by Mark Mangino's defense, the result would have been a fourth down, a punt, and one more opportunity for the steadying Jayhawk offense to win the game.

However, things didn't work out, and Kansas will move on. They'd better do so quickly, too, because Texas will try to extend the Jayhawks' losing streak to six next Saturday.

If there's one positive that can be taken away from yesterday's contest with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, though, it has to be the play of the offensive line.

Sure, one could argue that Nebraska rarely sent added pressure and that offensive coordinator Ed Warriner got the ball out of Reesing's hands quicker this week.

Well, duh. Nebraska rarely sends more than four, as the Cornhusker defensive line is one of the best in the nation and needs little additional help.

Plus, Reesing had been getting smoked by defenses for four consecutive weeks; Reesing should've been taking five-step drops or less a month ago, and Nebraska should have expected it.

What really impressed me, though, was that the offensive line even managed to help produce a little run game. Jake Sharp at least found his way back to the line of scrimmage this week, and Toben Opurum had himself a nice game before suffering a small injury after his first drive though.

Kansas is probably near the bottom of the charts in terms of rushing yards on first downs, but on third and fourth down, the Jayhawk offense looked positive at worst. In fact, Opurum converted on one huge third and two even-larger fourth downs all on the same drive.

Coming against such a stout defensive line, this gives me some real confidence in the Kansas offensive line led by do-it-all-junior Brad Thorson, and should give Warriner a little more faith, too.

I, for one, would certainly like to see Opurum get a few more chances to follow the big fella's up front and try to wear out the Texas defense, just like Nebraska did to us (Did you see how well their front five pulled and led? Those guys book with the best of them.). What have we got to lose?

Lamarr Houston and Sergio Kindle are mean, but I think Nebraska's front four are tougher.

Let Opurum start and hit that front four early. Maybe Reesing's air attack will have a little more mustard late in the game, if it matters by then.

I would also like to point out that if nothing else, running eats up a lot more time than a dropped pass does. Even if Kansas still suffers from repeated three-and-outs, at least the defense wouldn't be on the field quite as long.

Bowen's defense has been picked on recently for being gashed, big time, by running backs late in close games. I know the defense needs to pick it up, and I'm certainly not defending Clint Bowen, but part of the rushing defense woes are due to the passing offense.

I'm not saying the Kansas offense has to lose it's identity; I just want Warriner to adjust his priorities.

Give the offensive line a chance to control the game next week, give the defense a break or two, and give Opurum the ball.

This is no longer the high-powered Big 12 to which Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Texas Tech set the curve those few years ago. This is Texas and Nebraska's games now, and Kansas needs to adjust accordingly.

The key to the all-terrain vehicle that is tough, grind-it-out football is the offensive line. Let's hope Kansas' can get the Jayhawks started up again.

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