Kansas fires AD

#1

05_never_again

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#1
Only posting this because I read this quote and thought "Is there any school that is good at contract management?"

The firing comes a year after Zenger received a four-year extension on his contract and an increase in base pay to $700,000 per year. The university will pay Zenger more than $1.4 million under that contract.

I know Kansas isn't a football school, but the two football coaches this guy hired (Weis and Beaty) have gone a combined 9-55 (2-44).

Kansas Jayhawks fire athletic director Sheahon Zenger
 
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#2
#2
Weis ran that program so far in the ground by not recruiting that Beaty never had a chance. Old Charlie rode that Tom Brady gravy train about as hard as anyone could for a couple of major paydays.

A couple of names floating around the local sports talk are Dave Doeren, from the Kansas City metro area, and Jim Leavitt (DC at Oregon). I don't believe Doeren would take this job, but Leavitt would be a good hire, with his prior ties to the Big 12.
 
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#3
#3
Weis ran that program so far in the ground by not recruiting that Beaty never had a chance. Old Charlie rode that Tom Brady gravy train about as hard as anyone could for a couple of major paydays.

A couple of names floating around the local sports talk are Dave Doeren, from the Kansas City metro area, and Jim Leavitt (DC at Oregon). I don't believe Doeren would take this job, but Leavitt would be a good hire, with his prior ties to the Big 12.

No way either of those guys would leave for that job.

Beaty was Texas A&M's WR coach before taking that job and had some ties to Kansas (was previously a co-OC and WR coach there). That's how far down they have to go to find someone to take that job. That is a difficult job under the best of circumstances. I'd much rather have the Ole Miss job, sanctions at all, than Kansas.

After they let Weis go, I'm sure they talked to some Big 12 coordinators who all told them no.
 
#5
#5
No way either of those guys would leave for that job.

Beaty was Texas A&M's WR coach before taking that job and had some ties to Kansas (was previously a co-OC and WR coach there). That's how far down they have to go to find someone to take that job. That is a difficult job under the best of circumstances. I'd much rather have the Ole Miss job, sanctions at all, than Kansas.

After they let Weis go, I'm sure they talked to some Big 12 coordinators who all told them no.

It all depends on who the next AD is, but Leavitt is not a stretch by any means. He got run out of USF 8 years ago for grabbing a player by the throat. He did a great job there. He has been rumored to be the "coach in waiting" at K-State. I think he would take a Power 5 job if offered.
 
#10
#10
I didn't think they cared about football


Actually, they do. Problem is they have never brought in someone that knows how to build it up, and there aren't many HS powerhouse programs around Lawrence. I am not sure how many deep pocketed donors they have, but getting KU prepared facilities wise might be tough. With little to no strong history to loosen purse strings, it would take an AD with some strong sales experience to get things rolling.

I have some distant family from there, and they would love for somebody to elevate that program. But if they get somebody good, there's a good chance he gets poached. I think Vandy has 5X the chances at a conference title than KU. But if they get the right support? Maybe. I think I will see a real live unicorn first.
 
#11
#11
Actually, they do. Problem is they have never brought in someone that knows how to build it up, and there aren't many HS powerhouse programs around Lawrence. I am not sure how many deep pocketed donors they have, but getting KU prepared facilities wise might be tough. With little to no strong history to loosen purse strings, it would take an AD with some strong sales experience to get things rolling.

I have some distant family from there, and they would love for somebody to elevate that program. But if they get somebody good, there's a good chance he gets poached. I think Vandy has 5X the chances at a conference title than KU. But if they get the right support? Maybe. I think I will see a real live unicorn first.

People have different definitions of "elevate the program." They've won 3 games the last 3 seasons, and they were last bowl eligible in 2008. Elevating that program, in their eyes, probably means having a shot at making a bowl at the of the year.

They've always been a basketball school and always will be. I don't know how many deep pocketed donors KU has either (it might be more than you think), but when they open their pockets it's for basketball, not football.

I do feel bad for Beaty - he has an impossible job, but at least he also seemingly has no expectations. Better than being in a tough job with expectations that are out of whack.
 
#12
#12
Would they take Butch Jones ?

As much as I'll get blasted for this, that would be a good hire for them. He'll recruit somewhat well and get them in position in the next 3-4 years to bring in a real X and O coach to see if they can compete with the big boys.
 
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#13
#13
As much as I'll get blasted for this, that would be a good hire for them. He'll recruit somewhat well and get them in position in the next 3-4 years to bring in a real X and O coach to see if they can compete with the big boys.

Butch would do fine there.
 
#14
#14
As much as I'll get blasted for this, that would be a good hire for them. He'll recruit somewhat well and get them in position in the next 3-4 years to bring in a real X and O coach to see if they can compete with the big boys.

I think he's better suited for a mid-major conference, but he'd be better than Beaty or Weis. Put this in perspective; Beaty has only 2 years of experience as a coordinator (and one of those was as a co-OC) at the college level, yet he's currently the head coach of a P5 program. The majority of his previous experience at the college level is coaching WRs. Butch would bring 11 years of head coaching experience and mid-major conference titles to that job.

I know nothing about college football coaching, but it seems like it would be really difficult to make the jump straight from position coach to head coach. Dooley did that too. The Mizzou OC job he just took is the first coordinator job in his life.
 
#15
#15
Kansas should throw the bank at Gale Sayers and hire him as AD!
 
#17
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#18
#18
That football program is toxic...Only those desperate to give it a whirl dare take that job.

Mangino had it set up - then there were some crybaby players that couldnt take the harsh discipline he doled out -- Thats Butches style too - so maybe he wouldnt last there
 
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#19
#19
Mangino had it set up - then there were some crybaby players that couldnt take the harsh discipline he doled out -- Thats Butches style too - so maybe he wouldnt last there

That is true!..He took them to their first Orange bowl in decades.
 
#21
#21
Mangino had it set up - then there were some crybaby players that couldnt take the harsh discipline he doled out -- Thats Butches style too - so maybe he wouldnt last there

That was also a firing of convenience too though. He had slipped back to 5-7 (still a lot better than the current state they are in) by the time they fired him and could have used it as an opportunity to secure a cheaper buyout.
 
#22
#22
That is true!..He took them to their first Orange bowl in decades.

Yes, he took them to their third Orange Bowl (first since 1968) and 11th and 12th bowl games in the program's overall history. The 2007 season also saw the school's 3rd top 10 finish in the program's history.

It's a very bare program with a very low ceiling; what he did there was extraordinary but that level of success was never going to be sustainable (resource-wise, pipeline-wise, etc).


It creates an interesting comparison with some of the programs that they held as their main rivalries.
 

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