If the plan is to hire outside the program here are some names being mentioned in coaching circles who are interested in the job.
Lance Leipold- Head coach Buffalo. Won six national titles at Wisconsin-Whitewater and took over Buffalo where he is 30-16 in his last three seasons. Buffalo is one of the tougher jobs in the country and he has been to three straight bowl games. Sources have told Jayhawk Slant Leipold has researched the Kansas program with several people and believes you can win in Lawrence. Was a finalist for the Illinois and Vanderbilt jobs.
Willie Fritz- Head coach Tulane. A Shawnee Mission Northwest grad and has won at every level he’s coached. Like Leipold, he’s done good things at Tulane, which is a tough place to win. He’s 29-33 at Tulane and has been to three bowl games. Fritz has looked at the Kansas job as a place he would like to be. He still has family in the area and sources have told Jayhawk Slant he would listen.
Jay Norvell- Head coach Nevada. Norvell is 25-22 since taking over at Nevada in 2017. He has taken the Wolfpack to three bowl games. Sources have said he likes Nevada and would make sure the job is right to leave. He was an assistant at Nebraska and Oklahoma when KU had a run of bowl games under Mark Mangino. He has seen the program encounter success.
Jeff Monken- Head coach Army. Monken is 49-39 at Army and has been to four bowl games. Before taking the Army position he was the head coach Georgia Southern building them into a winning program. When he left Fritz took his place at GSU. He is known for his option style offenses that he ran at Georgia Southern and Army.
Troy Calhoun- Head coach Air Force. Calhoun is 101-72 as the head coach at Air Force and has been to 10 bowl games in 13 years. Calhoun has run the option at Air Force but his offensive knowledge goes beyond that. Before taking the job at Air Force he was the offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans. He has also run traditional offense at Wake Forest and Ohio. Calhoun has been linked to Kansas openings in the past.
Kevin Kane- Assoc HC/LB Illinois. Kane played linebacker at Kansas when the program was in the beginning stages for Mark Mangino. He’s from Kansas City and is familiar where the program was and saw what it took to turn it around. Kane has been the DC at Northern Illinois and SMU. He would be very interested in the job.
Chris Creighton- Head coach Eastern Michigan. Like many on this list he knows what it takes to turn a program around. His first head coaching job was Ottawa University in Kansas where he went 32-9. Next was Wabash (63-15), then to Drake where he went 41-22. Eastern Michigan is one of the toughest jobs in the country and he took them to three straight bowl games. Eastern Michigan was 11-46 in five seasons before he took over.
Phil Montgomery- Head coach Tulsa. Montgomery is 31-40 at Tulsa and has run hot and cold. He had a 10-win season followed up by two below par years. This season he went 6-3 and a bowl appearance. He has been to three bowl games in his time at Tulsa. In 2015 Kansas approached him about their opening and he declined an interview. Some believe he would listen this time around.
Todd Monken- OC at Georgia. Most people have talked about Jeff Monken, but Todd may be one to watch. He’s making $1.1 million as the OC at Georgia. Before that he was the head coach at Southern Miss and the OC for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Monken has been the OC for Gundy at Oklahoma State and the passing game coordinator at LSU. The word is he was a finalist at Central Florida before they hired Gus Malzahn. Turnkey also handled that search, so they are familiar with him.
Dan Lanning- DC at Georgia. After hearing from some coaches in the profession I have added Dan Lanning from Georgia to the list. Lanning is from Kansas City played at William Jewell and his first coaching job was Park Hill South. He's been a RC at Arizona State and on staff at Alabama. He coached at Memphis before joining Kirby Smart's staff as the linebackers coach. It is believed he would be interested in the job based off things I am hearing.
Tim Beck- OC at North Carolina State. Beck was at Kansas with Mark Mangino for three years and left after the Orange Bowl season for Nebraska. Beck has been the Co-OC at Ohio State, the OC at Nebraska and Texas. He was hired last year by Dave Doeren as the OC at North Carolina. Beck was also in the running for the Kansas head coach in 2015.
Lance Leipold- Head coach Buffalo. Won six national titles at Wisconsin-Whitewater and took over Buffalo where he is 30-16 in his last three seasons. Buffalo is one of the tougher jobs in the country and he has been to three straight bowl games. Sources have told Jayhawk Slant Leipold has researched the Kansas program with several people and believes you can win in Lawrence. Was a finalist for the Illinois and Vanderbilt jobs.
Willie Fritz- Head coach Tulane. A Shawnee Mission Northwest grad and has won at every level he’s coached. Like Leipold, he’s done good things at Tulane, which is a tough place to win. He’s 29-33 at Tulane and has been to three bowl games. Fritz has looked at the Kansas job as a place he would like to be. He still has family in the area and sources have told Jayhawk Slant he would listen.
Jay Norvell- Head coach Nevada. Norvell is 25-22 since taking over at Nevada in 2017. He has taken the Wolfpack to three bowl games. Sources have said he likes Nevada and would make sure the job is right to leave. He was an assistant at Nebraska and Oklahoma when KU had a run of bowl games under Mark Mangino. He has seen the program encounter success.
Jeff Monken- Head coach Army. Monken is 49-39 at Army and has been to four bowl games. Before taking the Army position he was the head coach Georgia Southern building them into a winning program. When he left Fritz took his place at GSU. He is known for his option style offenses that he ran at Georgia Southern and Army.
Troy Calhoun- Head coach Air Force. Calhoun is 101-72 as the head coach at Air Force and has been to 10 bowl games in 13 years. Calhoun has run the option at Air Force but his offensive knowledge goes beyond that. Before taking the job at Air Force he was the offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans. He has also run traditional offense at Wake Forest and Ohio. Calhoun has been linked to Kansas openings in the past.
Kevin Kane- Assoc HC/LB Illinois. Kane played linebacker at Kansas when the program was in the beginning stages for Mark Mangino. He’s from Kansas City and is familiar where the program was and saw what it took to turn it around. Kane has been the DC at Northern Illinois and SMU. He would be very interested in the job.
Chris Creighton- Head coach Eastern Michigan. Like many on this list he knows what it takes to turn a program around. His first head coaching job was Ottawa University in Kansas where he went 32-9. Next was Wabash (63-15), then to Drake where he went 41-22. Eastern Michigan is one of the toughest jobs in the country and he took them to three straight bowl games. Eastern Michigan was 11-46 in five seasons before he took over.
Phil Montgomery- Head coach Tulsa. Montgomery is 31-40 at Tulsa and has run hot and cold. He had a 10-win season followed up by two below par years. This season he went 6-3 and a bowl appearance. He has been to three bowl games in his time at Tulsa. In 2015 Kansas approached him about their opening and he declined an interview. Some believe he would listen this time around.
Todd Monken- OC at Georgia. Most people have talked about Jeff Monken, but Todd may be one to watch. He’s making $1.1 million as the OC at Georgia. Before that he was the head coach at Southern Miss and the OC for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Monken has been the OC for Gundy at Oklahoma State and the passing game coordinator at LSU. The word is he was a finalist at Central Florida before they hired Gus Malzahn. Turnkey also handled that search, so they are familiar with him.
Dan Lanning- DC at Georgia. After hearing from some coaches in the profession I have added Dan Lanning from Georgia to the list. Lanning is from Kansas City played at William Jewell and his first coaching job was Park Hill South. He's been a RC at Arizona State and on staff at Alabama. He coached at Memphis before joining Kirby Smart's staff as the linebackers coach. It is believed he would be interested in the job based off things I am hearing.
Tim Beck- OC at North Carolina State. Beck was at Kansas with Mark Mangino for three years and left after the Orange Bowl season for Nebraska. Beck has been the Co-OC at Ohio State, the OC at Nebraska and Texas. He was hired last year by Dave Doeren as the OC at North Carolina. Beck was also in the running for the Kansas head coach in 2015.
Last edited:
