Kansas football could see a more traditional coaching-style following former OC Dearmon’s depature
Following former Kansas football OC Brent Dearmon’s exit from the program, it’s time for fans to realize that head coach Les Miles could be looking for a more traditional playbook.
Kansas football has already seen an eventful start to their offseason. Between the expansive 2021 recruiting class and OC Brent Dearmon’s recent departure, it’s safe to assume some noticeable changes are coming Kansas’ way.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we’re going to see anything astronomical from the program next season. This is a tough slate for the Jayhawks, one that they’ve been scaling for over a decade now.
Promoted to the Jayhawk’s OC position in 2019, Brent Dearmon wasn’t a bad fit for Kansas’ then veteran offense. Eventually, the talented athletes lingering from the David Beaty era have all since walked the hill.
This issue was evident in 2020, as the Jayhawks failed to post a win on their season. Along with one of the worst offensive performances in just 9 games, Kansas ended up saying goodbye to the young and eager Brent Dearmon.
His departure comes as a result of many factors. Between his settlement with the university and family concerns, his relationship with head coach Les Miles stands out.
Following Dearmon’s acceptance of a new position with Middle Tennessee, he had commented on coaching discrepancies between himself and Coach Miles. At 67 years old, Les Miles has seen a lot of football, and sticking to his guns is a safe call. After all, it won him a national title in 2007.
However, a lot has changed since Coach Miles’ days over a decade ago in the SEC. The whole scope of college football has changed. More specifically for Kansas, recruiting has changed.
With a solid deal of recruits, head coach Les Miles is surely looking to keep as many within the program as he can. This will prove to be a tough task considering the transfer portal has become much more fluid than some fans have hoped.
Replacing Dearmon, Coach Miles hired someone with a respectable amount of experience but that isn’t necessarily what has fans so skeptical.
The uneasy feelings come from his ability to fully immerse himself in the program, as the relationship with student-athletes has become such an integral part of the game. While this was likely taken into account with the hire, I’m convinced Coach Miles had other motivations.
Hiring DeBord gives Coach Miles a level of comfortability when play-calling, following the pair’s years of experience working together. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as having coaches on the same page would normally be ideal.
The only fear I think fans have is that Kansas struggles to work with this kind of offense, and more importantly, whether or not it can find success in the Big 12. The Jayhawks have a lot of young talent at their disposal, and if they can get this kind of play down pat, there might be a shot.
While we’d all love to Kansas succeed running a much more traditional playbook, we also have to understand who’s calling out the plays here. Both Coach Miles and new OC DeBord are 65+ years of age.
It’s hard to place an estimate on how long this duo will be in Lawrence. There’s a lot of factors that could change the newfound arrangement. In the best case scenario, they can work their coaching style into this offense and channel some success, something fans have been waiting on for a while.