Kansas football loses fifth assistant coach this offseason

Kansas football lost yet another assistant coach this offseason when running backs coach Tony Hull announced he’d be leaving the Jayhawks yesterday.

Another one bites the dust. Tony Hull is the fifth coach to leave the Kansas football program so far this offseason, leaving head coach Les Miles to fill out the staff with his personal choices. It isn’t extremely surprising to see so much turnover after a new head coach’s first season though.

After Ed Orgeron’s first season as a full-time head coach at LSU, he lost four assistants including his offensive coordinator, despite winning nine games. So don’t be too nervous Kansas football fans, the Beaty era guys are heading out, and it allows Miles to fill the staff with his own personnel.

Here are the assistants that have left so far, and their replacements:

• Tight ends – Jeff Hecklinski, replaced by Joshua Eargle
• Safties – Clint Bowen, replaced by Jordan Peterson
• Strength – Zac Woodfin, replaced by Ben Iannacchione
• Special teams – Mike Ekeler, replaced by N/A
• Running backs – Tony Hull, replaced by N/A

The loss of Hull goes beyond losing just a coach though, as he was one of the best recruiters on the staff. Hull was a big part of getting two of Kansas football’s highest-rated recruits: four-star prospects Pooka Williams and Corione Harris, both out of Louisiana.

Williams has gone on to have an extremely successful career as a Jayhawk, notching two First Team All-Big 12 selections in his freshman and sophomore seasons. Now that the Jayhawks’ chief Louisiana recruiter is gone, the pipeline to Lawrence may be closed.

Here’s Hull’s Twitter announcement:

There’s still no word yet on Hull’s next destination, but it’s safe to say that it will probably be leaked soon, if not announced.

Losing Hull was a blow to Les Miles staff, but the key members are still in place. Both offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon and defensive coordinator D.J. Elliot are still on the staff, and so is renowned wide receivers coach Emmett Jones.