It would be pretty hard not to call Lance Leipold’s tenure as KU football coach a success. For a program that only won 21 games in the 11 seasons prior to Leipold’s arrival, the former Buffalo head coach notched 25 wins in just five seasons. With two bowl appearances and an AP ranking as high as No. 19.
While back-to-back seasons have ended in a disappointing 5-7 record, there is still plenty of good to be taken from Leipold's relatively short time in charge.Â
There is rightly little to no pressure on Leipold thanks to his monumental turnaround of a doormat program, but that doesn’t mean that Leipold will stay a Jayhawk forever, leaving the question: who could take his post?
The Athletic predicts a fan-favorite to lead Kansas in 2030
Last week, Ralph D. Russo of the Athletic took a stab at predicting the head coach at every team in a power conference in the year 2030.Â
Russo projected that the Jayhawks' head coach will be current associate head coach Andy Kotelnicki.Â
A hero's welcome back to Lawrence
Having followed Leipold from New York to KU, Kotelnicki quickly emerged as one of the nation’s brightest young coordinators. From 2021-23, Kotelnicki’s high-octane offense propelled Kansas to its best win total since 2007 in 2023 (9). Â
Kotelnicki’s 2022 squad averaged 35.6 points per game, and his 2023 team averaged 34.8 points per game. In 2022, the Jayhawks averaged 7.0 yards per play, which established a new school record that still stands.
Kotelnicki left Kansas to join James Franklin at Penn State. In year one, the Nittany Lions went all the way to the 2024 Orange Bowl, as the Big Ten side narrowly fell to eventual national runners-up Notre Dame.
In 2025, things took a sharp downturn in form, ending with Franklin being dismissed after a 3-3 start, and Kotelnicki returning to KU.Â
Kotelnicki was first brought back with the title “associate head coach,” however, Leipold later clarified Kotelnicki’s role with the program.
“Andy will be the [offensive] playcaller…Jim [Zebrowski] will be the passing game coordinator…Andy will have the final say.”
Of course, the aforementioned piece is purely speculative, but in all honesty, it is not a ludicrous statement for anyone to make. If Kotelnicki experiences the same offensive success he did in his first go-around, then why couldn’t he be a premier candidate in the eventual replacement of Leipold?
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