While Wildcats give thanks for '09 season, Jayhawks thankful it's near end

November 23, 3:21 PMKansas City Sports ExaminerCharles F. Rouse III

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Longtime K-State head coach Bill Snyder seemingly picked
up right where he left off in his second go-around leading
the Wildcats football program.  AP photo/Nati Harnik.

What a difference a year – or two – makes. When this time rolled around the last couple of years, you will recall, the Kansas and Kansas State football programs were headed in opposite directions.

That disparity was most pronounced in the 2007 campaign, a year in which the Jayhawks and Missouri Tigers  found themselves battling it out, right down to the bitter end, not only for border rights but for the Big 12 North title, the conference championship and the opportunity to be in the conversation for the biggest prize of all, the BCS National Championship.

Meanwhile, Kansas State’s experience during that time was almost the polar opposite. The ‘Cats finished 2-6 and fourth in the Big 12 North in football in 2006 and 3-5 and tied for last place in the North the following year. In both years, they were 5-7 overall, but not really considered in the same class as their local conference rivals.

Embattled Kansas head coach Mark Mangino says he's
focused on Saturday's game with Missouri and nothing
else right now.  AP photo/ Erich Schlegel. 

Then came 2009. The first signal of serious change sounded in Manhattan when, immediately following the 2008 season, K-State officials announced that legendary, record-setting coach Bill Snyder was coming back to lead the struggling football program.

Coming into the 2009 season, Missouri had suffered graduation loss and NFL defections to key personnel from its two-time, defending Big 12 North-championship team. Kansas, however, was returning most of its offensive firepower from its 2007 and ’08 teams and, as a result, were the odds-on preseason favorite to claim the North crown this season in what was anticipated to be a close battle with Nebraska. Kansas State entered the season with a projection of a fourth- or fifth-place finish in the conference’s North division by the media.

The good news for the Wildcats and their fans was that former coach Bill Snyder, who experienced unprecedented success in leading K-State football from one of the biggest laughing stocks in the country to a nationally recognized program in his first 17-year stint with the team, was back, again, in his familiar position on the Wildcat sidelines. The bad news was that he was inheriting a team possessing limited talent and not of his own making.

RB Daniel Thomas (8) was one of the many bright spots
for K-State football in the 2009 season. The 'Cats
finished the year in second place in the Big 12 North
Division.  AP photo/Dave Weaver. 

We should have known better. In his first season back, the Big 12 coaching patriarch accomplished just what K-State school officials and the Wildcat faithful followers had hoped for: returning Kansas State football’s competitive status and standing within the Big 12.

Kansas State’s loss at Nebraska this past weekend not only cost the Wildcats the Big 12 North crown and the opportunity to play the highly ranked Texas Longhorns in the Big 12 Championship game, it also ended their season (K-State has six wins, which ordinarily would make them eligible for a postseason bowl; however, two of those wins are against Division I-AA opponents). Nevertheless, everyone associated with the K-State program can proudly hold their head high. And the players, coaches and Wildcat fans should feel very good about the collective accomplishments of this team.

For his part, Bill Snyder should be the hands-down choice as Big 12 Coach of the Year.
 

What a difference a year makes. While things have clearly begun to turn around in Manhattan, down the road about an hour’s drive east, a former Coach of the Year, both nationally and in the Big 12, is on the verge of being run out of town.

Kansas head coach Mark Mangino, who less than two years ago led the Jayhawks to a BCS Orange Bowl win over a highly regarded Virginia Tech team and a No. 5 national ranking by the Associated Press, is currently under heavy fire and an internal investigation by an independent panel over his behavior and conduct in his interactions with student athletes.

The troubles surrounding the Jayhawk football team have been brewing for a number of weeks now. The slide began with the team’s first loss of the season at Colorado after going 5-0 to that point, leaving KU one game away from bowl-eligibility for a third consecutive year and the fourth time in the last five years. Since the Colorado game, the Jayhawks have lost to five more Big 12 opponents, dropping them from first-to-worst in the North and a record of 1-6 in a matter of just a few weeks.

At the root of the issue is whether there is sufficient proof to remove Mangino from his head-coaching position for cause, based on the terms in his contract, or whether he is being thrown under the proverbial bus as a quick fix to the real problems affecting the sudden downturn of the Kansas football program,

It’s unclear when a decision will be rendered regarding Mangino’s future at Kansas, but an announcement could come as early as this week, according to some sources, With the annual Border Showdown with archrival Missouri coming up this weekend at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, it is likely that KU Athletic Director Lew Perkins, who was not in that role when Mangino was hired in 2002 to lead the Kansas football program, will wait until after Saturday’s game to make any kind of formal announcement on Mangino.

Current and former Jayhawk players have come forward recently, acknowledging that Mangino has been physically and verbally abusive in his treatment of some players.

The 53-year-old Mangino, whose very large physical size has also drawn much public criticism and concern, served as an assistant coach under Snyder at K-State from1991-1998, and at Oklahoma under Bob Stoops for three years after that before accepting the head coaching job at Kansas, beginning with the 2002 season.

Mangino has always been known as a serious, highly disciplined, hard-nosed coach who works players hard and strongly believes that good things come to those who work hard, have a good mental outlook and are willing to give of themselves and do what it takes to win. But those who have worked with and along side the KU coach in his past stops also are quick to point out that Mangino stands behind his players and cares a lot about them and their lives, both on and off the field.

As a present example, the Jayhawks will take off Thanksgiving Day from their regular preparation this week for Missouri, and Mangino is encouraging players within a two-hour driving distance to go home and enjoy Thanksgiving with their families and take teammates with them. “No player spends the holiday alone,” Mangino told reporters covering the team. “My coaching staff and myself, we’ll bring them to our homes and have holiday dinners so no player will spend the holiday alone.”

Don’t for a minute believe this is just a PR response to recent events. It’s no different than the way he has approached similar situations throughout his coaching career.

What’s bothersome about the current firestorm around Mangino and the Kansas football team is, when the Jayhawks were winning, you didn’t hear about any of this. But when a team isn’t winning, and falls upon tough times like Kansas has this year, everyone starts pointing fingers and looking for villains on whom to pin the blame.

It’s difficult to see how Mangino can survive this situation, or if he even wants to, given all the water that already has gone under the bridge and the collateral damage that’s been done.

Mangino has a lot of personal pride, as do most of the head coaches who reach the Division I level, and he’s shown throughout his career that he’s not a quitter. So it’s hard to speculate how long he would be willing or able to hold on in the unlikelihood he would be afforded the opportunity to stay at Kansas. You’ve got to believe that recruiting would be severely compromised.

With 50 wins in his eight years as Kansas head coach, Mangino has the second most wins in KU football coaching history. His 2007 Orange Bowl team finished with the most wins in a single season (12) in the school’s 119-year football history.

If Mangino is terminated for cause, or in violation of the terms of his $2 million-a-year contract, which has three years remaining, he would receive a buyout of $600,000, according to a story in The Kansas City Star. If cause cannot be proven, however, the KU head coach would be entitled to an additional $6 million in salary.

Considering the economics of the situation, especially if Mangino is dismissed without cause, you’ve got to ask the question: Who could Kansas bring in – or who would be willing to come to basketball-dominated Lawrence, Kan.? – who would produce better on-the-filed results than Mangino?

In his tongue-in-cheek column in the November 23 issue of Sporting News magazine, Will Leitch reflects on the notion that coaches are hired to be fired. He offers the humorous story of a college football coach who, upon being replaced after compiling a painful record of 1-31-1 over a three-year period, said: “The only difference between me and General Custer is that I had to watch the films on Sunday.”

I’m afraid, sadly, that Kansas University officials have backed themselves into a corner in which there is no good way out – for either side.

For more information:

Kansas University athletics

Kansas State athletics