Lance Leipold is someone we have spoken about ad nauseam. The Kansas football coach has overseen the rebuild of two of collegiate football’s most dormant programs. After being hired by Buffalo, Leipold turned the Bulls into their first-ever 10-win season in 2018, along with their first-ever AP ranking in 2020. Leipold then took the Kansas job, where he has turned a program that had compiled just seven wins in the four years prior to Leipold’s arrival, into a team touted as the 16th-best team in the nation according to the College Football Playoff.
Now, this article probably does not come out at the best time, as there were some questionable calls in Kansas’ loss to Missouri last weekend, but thanks to this piece compiled by the Sporting News, Leipold could be tipped to one of the biggest jobs in the nation.
In The Sporting News article titled “Billy Napier replacements: Ranking Florida's best coaching candidates, from Dan Lanning to Lane Kiffin,” Leipold was among the candidates.
“Leipold had a dominant record at Wisconsin-Whitewater in Division III from 2007-14. He was 109-6 with six national championships. He’s 61-62 between stints at Buffalo and Kansas, which might seem great until you consider the programs. He can pair quarterback play with a strong running game, and at 61 years old there is time for one more big move. Is that the best long-term option for Florida? Kansas is 1-1 and has faded a bit the last two seasons.”
Current Florida coach Billy Napier has endured a… tumultuous tenure with the Gators, which has seen Napier total a 20-20 record, including a recent loss to USF, which has only ramped up the pressure on the former Louisiana coach.
Leipold will be discussed in conversations for several premier jobs across the nation, and his track record of turning around programs deserves it.