Sporting News’ Dave Curtis analyzes what Tuesday’s buzz means to college football.
Players taking charge
The details of the dissension involving Kansas football and coach Mark Mangino will shake out soon enough. The good bet is against Mangino—when did a “personnel matter” ever turn out positive for the personnel involved? For now, it’s safe to say this: Whatever’s going on at Kansas highlights the continuing power shift away from coaches.
Mark Mangino is feeling the heat in Lawrence, from several sources.
For years, the guys in charge of the program owned their terrain; not even athletic directors had the courage to butt into the day-to-day affairs down the hall in the football offices. Now, it seems everyone has a vote in the way things go.
Boosters speak with their wallets. Recruits speak to the media. Players speak with threats to transfer. Fans speak on message boards and talk radio and all the rest.
At Kansas, Mangino has neither fostered a dominant program (his Jayhawks are 23-39 in Big 12 play) nor conducted himself like Pete Carroll on the sideline (Mangino’s outbursts at players made the YouTube honor roll). Maybe he’s guilty of nothing more. Maybe he’s committed enough sins to lose his job. Either way, it doesn’t look as though he’s in control of his program.
Rivalry, schmivalry
Rich Rodriguez has spent much of the past two years defending his pride and his program’s …
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