Three uncomfortable truths about the 2019 Kansas Football season
3. Kansas football has many, many, many Miles to go
Last night was very reminiscent of the David Beaty era: Awful decisions from the QB, timeouts called at bizarre times, and poor play from the offensive line.
Kansas may have replaced Beaty with an accredited head coach, but the product on the field has not changed much in the aftermath. HOWEVER, this isn’t necessarily a knock on Les Miles.
It’s important to keep in mind that almost all of these players were recruited by Beaty, not Miles.
Les Miles is a coach that wants a hard-nosed, physical brand of football that emphasizes running the ball first. He may have capable running backs, but the offensive line is not good enough to out power teams. In addition, Stanley doesn’t possess the passing consistency to take the pressure off the run game.
The players Beaty left Miles aren’t the type of player fans will see at Kansas three years from now.
Rebuilding a program is almost never successful in year one. Here are year one results for a few coaches who have successfully rebuilt a struggling program:
Bill Snyder, K-State 1991: 1-10
Mark Mangino, Kansas 2002: 2-10
Mike Leach, Washington State 2012: 3-9
Matt Campbell, Iowa State 2016: 3-9
Les Miles, Oklahoma State 2001: 4-8
Sometimes it takes two years, sometimes it takes five; the point is, rebuilding a program like Kansas is really hard and takes a lot of patience from fans.
Of course, that doesn’t make Saturday’s loss feel any better. The team and the coaching staff performed horribly against an opponent who likely won’t finish in the top half of a mid-major conference.
If a similar loss happens in year three and beyond, then fans should be beyond livid at the coaches.
Fans of the Kansas football program are all tired of hearing this, but they have to give their head coach time to prove his worth. It’s become a trite request by now, but unlike the Kansas coaches before him, Les Miles has successfully done this before. Trust him.