Who Should Kansas Football Hire to Replace Les Miles?
Kansas head coach Les Miles is no longer with the Jayhawks. The two sides “mutually parted ways” late on Monday night. Now the question is: what direction do the Jayhawks go? KU has been the worst Power 5 football program for a decade, so it won’t be an easy sell. But as is always the case, money talks.
The Heartland College Sports staff put together its choices for who KU should look to hire next.
Derek Duke: Jeff Monken
I seriously don’t know what to think of this Kansas job anymore. It’s a complete dumpster fire and it needs someone who has time and patience to turn this program into the right direction. I couldn’t decide on one candidate so I have two that come to mind. Two years ago, I wanted someone on the up and coming to take over but now my thoughts have shifted as bit.
Jeff Monken at Army should get a look. He has really turned that football program around into a respectable one up there in West Point. He has won at least nine games three times in the past four seasons and is a man who has the time and patience for the job. And of course, his triple option style is different but I think it would be a good change of pace until Kansas can field a team worthy to run a new school type of offense.
Lastly maybe take a page from the past. Bring back Mark Mangino. He was the last man to win at Kansas and why not give the man another opportunity to come back? Plus, we need another picture to top that one of him in the Orange Bowl.
Matthew Postins: Bill Clark
There are plenty of coaches out there deserving of a head-coaching job, but Kansas needs someone with a track record of rebuilding a program from practically nothing. That coach is Bill Clark. Clark took over at UAB in 2014, a year after leading Jacksonville State to an 11-4 season and an appearance in the FCS quarterfinals. At UAB in 2014 he went 6-6 … and then the Alabama board of trustees killed the program. Killed. It. For two years Clark had nothing to do as boosters tried to save the program. They did. And all the while, Clark had to recruit football players on a promise that the program was coming back and that he could make them respectable. He’s done much more than that.
After five seasons at UAB, Clark is 40-22, with four bowl appearances (one was canceled due to COVID-19), three Conference USA title game appearances, and two Conference USA titles. He is the right guy for the job. Now the Jayhawks just have to convince the Anniston, Alabama, native that Lawrence, Kansas, is the right place for him.
Pete Mundo: Tom Herman
Crazy? Sure, maybe. But why not? It’s Kansas football. After getting fired by Texas, Tom Herman recently took a job as an analyst with the Chicago Bears, which isn’t exactly a long-term play for him. Herman is still young enough and hustles enough to understand that turning around Kansas will take time and the University of Kansas higher ups should understand that and allow him to recruit and rebuild. Herman’s tenure at Texas wasn’t bad and I thought he deserved one more year. I understand he wore out his welcome, but maybe getting fired by a blue blood and having to hit the reset button will bring along some humility as well. Plus, Herman was at his best at Houston when his team was the underdog and had a chip on its shoulder. That will be the case every week at Kansas. He had a harder time motivating the five-star guys. This might be a good fit for all involved. Plus, “Tom Herman: The Big 12 Revenge Tour” has a nice ring to it, no?
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