The Top List
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.
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. Has done a great job building Army's program from the day he took over.
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.
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.
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.
Mike Elko- DC at Texas A&M. This is a name floating around among college football coaches. Elko has been the DC at Bowling Green, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, and currently at Texas A&M. It was believed Elko was a front-runner for the Temple job in 2018 but Texas A&M was able to keep him in college station by bumping his pay to $2.1 million. Elko is from New Jersey and people felt he would be the leading candidate at Temple. He would demand a big payday since he's already making head coach money as a defensive coordinator.
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. Still haven't confirmed if he got an interview.
The Next Group (people in this group could change up or down)
Tom Manning- Iowa State OC. Manning was with Matt Campbell at Toledo and followed him to Iowa State. He was the OC and then left for the Indianapolis Colts. He returned to Iowa State and later took back over the reigns as the OC. He's well-known in the coaching industry as an offensive line coach. Multiple sources are saying he has talked to KU.
Skip Holtz- HC at Louisiana Tech. Holtz was the head coach at UConn under past AD Lew Perkins. He was the associate head coach at South Carolina before taking the head coach job at East Carolina. He was the head coach at USF before moving on to Louisiana Tech. He’s been to seven straight bowl games at Louisiana Tech. I still don’t have a strong confirmation he will interview.
Bill Clark- UAB. Clark is 41-22 as the head coach at UAB. Clark is known for rebuilding the UAB program after they shut it down in 2014. Several players transferred and he had to put the roster together again. After resuming the program two years later they won eight and 11 games. Clark has had UAB bowl eligible in every season since starting the program.
Emmett Jones- Interim HC KU/WR coach. Jones came to KU from Texas Tech as the wide receivers. At KU was promoted to passing game coordinator. Jones took over as the interim head coach when Les Miles left. Jones will be part of the interview process according to Travis Goff statements on Thursday night.
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.
On the outside looking or likely not involved
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.
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. UPDATE: Sources said he never entered the process and declined an interview.
Graham Harrell- OC at USC. Harrell got his first full-time coaching job under Mike Leach at Washington State. He played quarterback at Texas Tech for Leach. After Washington State he was the OC at North Texas. After building a high-scoring offense at UNT he took the OC job at USC. There is a strong sentiment he will be the next coach at Texas Tech among coaches in the industry.
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.
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.
Will Healy- Charlotte. Healy has been the head coach at Charlotte for two seasons with a 9-10 record and a bowl appearance. He received a contract extension after his first year in large part because it was the first winning season Charlotte ever recorded. Healy was at Austin Peay before that where he was named the FCS Coach of The Year. Inside word is he would like to stay in the south region where his recruiting footprint is.
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.
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. Has done a great job building Army's program from the day he took over.
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.
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.
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.
Mike Elko- DC at Texas A&M. This is a name floating around among college football coaches. Elko has been the DC at Bowling Green, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, and currently at Texas A&M. It was believed Elko was a front-runner for the Temple job in 2018 but Texas A&M was able to keep him in college station by bumping his pay to $2.1 million. Elko is from New Jersey and people felt he would be the leading candidate at Temple. He would demand a big payday since he's already making head coach money as a defensive coordinator.
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. Still haven't confirmed if he got an interview.
The Next Group (people in this group could change up or down)
Tom Manning- Iowa State OC. Manning was with Matt Campbell at Toledo and followed him to Iowa State. He was the OC and then left for the Indianapolis Colts. He returned to Iowa State and later took back over the reigns as the OC. He's well-known in the coaching industry as an offensive line coach. Multiple sources are saying he has talked to KU.
Skip Holtz- HC at Louisiana Tech. Holtz was the head coach at UConn under past AD Lew Perkins. He was the associate head coach at South Carolina before taking the head coach job at East Carolina. He was the head coach at USF before moving on to Louisiana Tech. He’s been to seven straight bowl games at Louisiana Tech. I still don’t have a strong confirmation he will interview.
Bill Clark- UAB. Clark is 41-22 as the head coach at UAB. Clark is known for rebuilding the UAB program after they shut it down in 2014. Several players transferred and he had to put the roster together again. After resuming the program two years later they won eight and 11 games. Clark has had UAB bowl eligible in every season since starting the program.
Emmett Jones- Interim HC KU/WR coach. Jones came to KU from Texas Tech as the wide receivers. At KU was promoted to passing game coordinator. Jones took over as the interim head coach when Les Miles left. Jones will be part of the interview process according to Travis Goff statements on Thursday night.
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.
On the outside looking or likely not involved
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.
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. UPDATE: Sources said he never entered the process and declined an interview.
Graham Harrell- OC at USC. Harrell got his first full-time coaching job under Mike Leach at Washington State. He played quarterback at Texas Tech for Leach. After Washington State he was the OC at North Texas. After building a high-scoring offense at UNT he took the OC job at USC. There is a strong sentiment he will be the next coach at Texas Tech among coaches in the industry.
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.
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.
Will Healy- Charlotte. Healy has been the head coach at Charlotte for two seasons with a 9-10 record and a bowl appearance. He received a contract extension after his first year in large part because it was the first winning season Charlotte ever recorded. Healy was at Austin Peay before that where he was named the FCS Coach of The Year. Inside word is he would like to stay in the south region where his recruiting footprint is.
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