Jayhawks Football: Changes must be made in the program

If Jayhawks football coach David Beaty had any hopes of keeping his job after this year, they disappeared after this week’s embarrassment.

The prevailing thought at the beginning of the 2017 season was that we would see a different Jayhawks football team. While nobody was thinking this team would compete for the Big 12 title, there were a lot of bowl game hopes and expectations. Instead, we have been witness to one of the worst teams in college football history.

Following yet another flat out embarrassment, the Kansas Jayhawks don’t even have the feel of an FBS school right now. Shots of the sideline showed players laughing in the midst of a second-straight 40+ point shutout. That is a sure sign that the coaching staff has lost influence over the team. That falls at the feet of David Beaty.

The simple truth is that David Beaty has not done enough at Kansas for the program to overlook the last two weeks. The third year is when you are supposed to see what the future of a college football team will be. If that’s the case, then KU cannot make the decision to change coaches fast enough.

Things Are Only Getting Worse

Nobody was foolish enough to think that this Jayhawks football team would knock off TCU. However, I think everyone expected at least some signs of life after being embarrassed by Iowa State. Instead, we got just 21 yards of offense. TCU actually had more first downs than Kansas had yards.

The expectations were not set that high this year. All David Beaty needed to do was show some progress. Three or four wins, including a conference victory, would have done it. That goal seems next to impossible at this point, which is very telling.

For the two worst losses of the year (so far) to be coming at just the midpoint of the season is also a bad sign. It means that the Jayhawks aren’t figuring things out. They aren’t adjusting to things that they haven’t been doing well. That is yet another problem that falls squarely on David Beaty.

Time To Be Decisive

Nothing has gone right for the Jayhawks football program since Mark Mangino was let go. Since then Kansas has been unable to find a coach who could turn things around for the football program. The big problem with that is that David Beaty (based on winning percentages) has been the worst coach of the recent era.

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There will be some people that say it’s too early to send David Beaty packing. However, this is his third year and the players filling the top roles on the team are his guys. That includes transfer players like quarterback Peyton Bender, who has been awful.

The Jayhawks simply cannot afford to just sit around and hope things get better. When a program is this bad, you have to get aggressive. KU needs to go after someone that has a chance to turn things around. Either a proven head coach who is being ousted, or a young up and comer looking to take his next step. Something has to be done.

The state of Kansas football is as bad as it has ever been. In fact, during my research I couldn’t find any other three year stretch as bad as what we are seeing right now. The problems in Kansas fall squarely on David Beaty. It’s time for the Jayhawks to make a decision. Better to do it now and get in front of the problem.