Kansas Football Rumors: Who will take over for David Beaty?

Former LSU and Oklahoma State coach Les Miles is rumored to be front man for the Kansas football job. Is he the right guy at the right time for the Jayhawks?

What many had expected all along was now becoming fact in the minutes following the Kansas Jayhawks‘ loss to visiting Iowa State. This was a game that saw home Jayhawks fans greatly outnumbered by Cyclone fans, giving the game almost a Chiefs feel with the levels of red and yellow in the stands. Losing led the Jayhawks to fall to 3-6 and it was time to make it known a change was coming.

As is often the case, as soon as the official announcement came down, the guessing game of who would be the next coach started up. The top of the list is Les Miles, the former grass-eating LSU coach that was fired (but not really) and re-hired (but not really) in 2015 after his players carried him off the field only to find himself actually fired in 2016.

Now, two years out of the game, his name finds itself at the top of the names mentioned for the Kansas job. Is he the right guy? My answer is maybe.

Is he or should Miles be the first call? No. Miles is 65 years old, and after being named the head coach at LSU in 2005, where recruits were plentiful and the stadium was jumping, it is infinitely easier to recruit to LSU than it will ever be in Kansas. While Miles has name recognition, that alone doesn’t win football games, and may not even be enough to get the players needed to step on campus.

Another issue is that he’d have to put together a top notch staff if he were to take the job. Does he have the contacts of people willing to be a coordinator at Kansas? A job that will focus more on player evaluation and development then recruiting rankings the Jayhawk job is a grind. Will Miles be up for the job?