I am going back and cleaning it up a bit but this should cover you, if you want to read it:
Opening Statement and Remarks:
As we announced late last night, KU and Les Miles have mutually agreed to part ways effective immediately as of last night. It was imperative for me to meet with the team before sharing this with the outside world, the people outside of our program. So last night at about approximately 9:45 PM, I met with the team and I shared them the news that coach Miles and I had agreed to mutually separate and that he would no longer be the head coach at the University of Kansas.
As I shared with our football student athletes, I know there are a lot of emotions running on right now with our student athletes. They came here to play for KU. They came here to get an education.
They came here to be better student athletes and play the game of football. I told them that's not changing. We're going to continue to do everything we can to support them as football players in pursuing their athletic pursuits and academically in the classroom. That KU degree will be incredibly of value to them. I know through my many years of experience, these changes are very difficult. And they're most difficult on the student athletes in the program.
And I'm not sure sometimes the outside world again, understands that, but this is a team, a brotherhood, people that lean on each other, and they're supported by a special group of coaches and staff that all love them and support them. So our focus is on those student athletes, and we're working very hard to support them in this time.
Continued opening statement (Les Miles and interim)
This parting was in the best interest of the University of Kansas, and it's in our best interest to move forward in a new direction. As for the interim head coach, I've met with several assistant coaches this morning. And I continue to evaluate who would be the best leader for our young men at this time. I don't want to rush that decision. I have Mike DeBord as my acting head coach, but that was simply to step in administratively for me.
But I'm going to take my time. I hope to do that in the next day or two. But I think our student athletes need to know who that interim is. So we want to work as quickly as possible, but I want to evaluate that situation as well. I'm also planning a national search for a new head coach to lead this program. And the timeline on that is undetermined at this time. There are a lot of quality young men, quality football players and quality young men on this football team. And our priority are those student athletes.
It's important to me that we find a great leader that will inspire our student athletes on and off the football field. We built our program over the last two and a half years. We've added the quality control. We've added our analysts. We've added a nutritionist. We've added operations people. We've added recruiting staff. So we believe the support program behind our coaches is there and has allowed our program to grow and will eventually lead to success on the football field.
Opening statement continued about interviewing Miles from LSU
Before I open it up to questions, I wanted to provide some background on the 2018 search process, so our fans, alumni and donors have the facts on what actually took place back then.
Miles was identified as the lead candidate to be the Head Coach in 2018. As the University of Kansas and Kansas Athletics does with all hirings, we ran multiple background checks on Coach Miles. I also asked Coach Miles directly during the interview process whether there was anything in his past that could potentially embarrass the University or himself or our program. And he said, "No." We also did our due diligence by talking to individuals within the LSU Athletics Department to see if there was anything we should be aware of regarding Coach Miles' tenure at LSU, and receive no indications of any issues.
In early February, Coach Miles' legal counsel made us aware of a legal dispute in Louisiana involving Les. But they could not share the nature of the legal dispute or the formal documentation. After hearing this, I asked Coach Miles if there was anything in these reports that we should be concerned about. And again, he assured me, "No." At that point where he requested copies of any and all reports related to Les Miles while he was at LSU. We were given a variety of reasons from Miles' legal counsel why they would not be provided to us.
On February 24th, we learned some details of the allegations when The Advocate published its initial article followed by the USA Today article later that same day, that there had been a secret settlement and a sexual harassment investigation in 2013. The Taylor Porter Report referenced in the article was the subject of litigation in the LSU Courts. So we did not have access to it until last Thursday when it was released publicly. Additionally, the Hush Blackwell Report that was issued on Friday detailed much of the underlying allegations and the formal records for the first time. It was evident from LSU's response on Friday that many individuals at LSU were unaware of the allegations of inappropriate contact and that an individuals at the institution at the time went through great lengths to keep the information confidential.
Given all of this information, yesterday we agreed to part ways. I'm beyond disappointed that the University of Kansas is in this position, but it is absolutely the right decision for our University and our student athletes. I'm encouraged by the time I spent with our football staff and student athletes last night and several of our assistant coaches this morning. We will be taking substantive steps in the coming days, including talking to supportive and invested alumni and former players and including choosing a search firm as we begin to look for the next leader of the University of Kansas Jayhawk Football Team.
QUESTION:
Knowing your past relationship you've had for all these years with Les Miles, what are your feelings that, when you asked these questions directly back in 2018, you didn't seem to get an honest answer? This wasn't someone you just met during the search process. You'd known him for a long time.
Jeff Long:
Yeah. I can't really answer why Coach Miles responded the way he did. I have known Les for 30 years. I think sometimes... And I consider him a friend. We did not work closely together or know each other well from that time in Michigan in the early 1990s. So, I think much is played about the friendship. It's a friendship that was certainly not the reason behind why we were hiring him to be the head coach. He was an established head coach. He was an incredible recruiter. So, those were the reasons we landed on Coach Miles at the time.
Question:
And just one quick follow-up. I know it's very early in the process, but what sort of importance will you place on someone who's got maybe a connection to what it means to be a Jayhawk or someone who knows what football is like at the University of Kansas as you look forward to how he's going to lead your program?
Jeff Long:
That is important. And, as I mentioned, as I look to hire the next head coach, I'm going to lean on and seek thoughts from those former players, former alumni, donors, people that have been invested in our program. The one thing I know, the people around our program, those that are here with us, they're deeply invested. They want to see success. They want to see our student athletes have success on the football field. And that's what we're going to work to do. So, certainly we'll be open to their thoughts as we move forward.
Question:
Do you guys have any leading candidates for a new head coach at this moment?
Jeff Long:
To be very honest, no, because I haven't had a chance to focus on that at all. Again, my focus has been those student athletes. It's been those coaches. It's been all the support staff in the Anderson Complex. That's been the most important thing to me. And I have some more work to do there before I really get into a search process. So, no, there's no leading candidates or anybody that I've considered at this point.
Question:
Hey, Jeff, is there any concern from you about the status of your job at this point and what this might mean to that?
Jeff Long:
As I say, I focus on these student athletes. I got into intercollegiate athletics for what athletics did for me. I know how important this experience as a football student athlete or a rower or a tennis player is, so really my focus is on them. I use them to guide me in making my decisions, and I have continued to work in their best interest. So, that's the way I look at that and understand that question.
Question:
I also wonder how worried are you about, I guess, donor relations or just the overall support of this program that's obviously had a rough decade and now this is the latest thing on top of that? Are you worried that that'll be another hit at all?
Jeff Long:
Well, I'm hoping that as soon as I can have those open and candid conversations for what we're trying to do, I think those that are close to our program know about the infrastructure I talked about that we put into our program, the way we built the program. I think the recruiting success we've had is a large part because of that infrastructure. And then the coaches that we have on staff, the assistant coaches that have been recruiting hard. Yeah, I'm happy to have those conversations with them. Certainly, we need their support more than ever.
This is not a change that we obviously anticipated. And, despite the record during the COVID season, we see progress. I see a roster of young men built on high school student athletes that are going to have success here at Kansas. I have no doubt about that. I admire these young men and how hard they compete. And, you know what? I wish I could get in there alongside them, but I'm here to support them. I want them to keep fighting for the Jayhawks. And I'm sure they'll do that.
Question:
With regard to the settlement that just came out, I mean, was it contract language? Can you clarify why there was the need for the settlement? And also if you can, where does the money come from for that settlement with Les?
Jeff Long:
Well, let me answer that two-part question. I got to remember the first part first. There come times when institutions and athletic programs and universities have to make tough decisions. And as I sought counsel from the university and the chancellor, we arrived at what we felt was in the best interest of the program. And that was for us to mutually part ways with Les, and to do that, that we had to get to a certain amount of compensation.
Obviously, any amount is something that is a challenge for us, especially in COVID-19, we honestly and truly feel that's in the best sense of our program. The money will come from athletic department revenues, whether that's through our Williams Fund donations or whether that's through operational dollars that we achieve. So it will come from athletics money, it will not come from university dollars in any way, shape or form.
Question:
You mentioned an interim coach talking to the staff in house and then also the search. Does that mean to say the interim coach would be now until you hire a full-time coach or would you... I know other universities that have been in a position like this where the coach leaves late in the process have brought in a coach designate, for lack of a better term that would coach just the next year and maybe there's more candidates available next year. Are you set on, you're going to hire the guy that's the long-term guy, or could there be somebody from the outside that holds that interim title?
Jeff Long:
I think it is still too early to make that determination to be candid. As you know, and those who follow football closely know this is an unusual time to be conducting a search. College programs are into their spring practices, either are starting or are approaching them. So your questions are all the things that I'm going to assess and with the support of others, make some decisions on how we move forward. So you're right on track with your questions, we just haven't made those decisions yet.
And with regards to the interim, yes, I think right now Mike DeBord is acting, but I think the interim position is a little more permanent, so to speak, and that it will lead us through the search process, whether it concludes before spring practice, after spring practice. So that interim person will be more of the administrator and the leader of the program while we sort things out.
Question:
You had a number of assistants leave. I hear even some of them fairly recently. Some of the people would say, a lateral or even a step back. Was that a warning sign when you saw that, that maybe there was... When a couple of coaches are going from say, just one in particular, Kansas to SMU that maybe we had a problem. Was that something that raised a red flag in your office?
Jeff Long:
It certainly did not raise any kind of a red flag with what is happening from down at LSU. Coaching staffs are very complex groups and people leave for various reasons. Those coaches have different reasons for why they left. I was aware of them, none of them alarmed me.
Question:
To what extent do you anticipate the search firm playing a role in this process? And I guess, what do you foresee or expect that search firm's role to be?
Jeff Long:
Yeah, I think search firms provide a number of things. First of all, they bring forth a group of candidates that they are aware of from whether it's other searches or whether it's contacts with agents and such. So they bring a pool, we would then bring our own pool from our thoughts and what we have gained from talking to people. And quite frankly, people reaching out. We've had a large number of people reaching out very quickly to us about this. And I do think that's a sign of the position we brought our program to, and that we have gained ground over the last two and a half years. So I think that's a very positive sign.
With the interview process, they would help us arrange those visits. They would do background checks. They would do a lot of that administrative stuff for us behind the scenes, so we could focus on the candidate excel and how they fit with KU.
Question:
What would your response be to KU fans that would maybe be a little bit leery about your involvement after 2018 and maybe an independent search firm to handle the whole process?
Jeff Long:
Yeah, I don't think it's in the best interest of the University of Kansas, or any university, for an outside entity to totally control a search process. I'm very comfortable and confident of my years in college football. I'm confident that I can conduct a search. I'm confident that I can find the next leader of the University of Kansas.
Question:
Will anyone else at KU be more involved this time that the chancellor or anybody else?
Jeff Long:
Well, there were people that I kept in contact the last search, but certainly I will continue to involve our chancellor and his leadership team and share with them as I would do with any search. So, whether they are more involved or not I would say they would be involved as they usually are. I do want to bring in some, again, as I said, former football players, people that know our program that can help assist with this as well.
Question:
The hires that you made in Arkansas weren't successful either. Are there things that you've learned?
Jeff Long:
In what regard? I would have to ask, what regard were they not successful?
Question follow up:
We don't need to get into that, but what have you learned from those processes? Or why do you think KU fans should be confident that you can make this hire the right one?
Jeff Long:
Yeah, well, like I said, I've been involved in college football my entire professional life. I've worked in a number of institutions. I worked in a number of conferences. I have, excuse me, worked in many different ways in college football. But I think I'm uniquely prepared having been a college football coach at the division one level at a Power Five school early in my career. And then having worked at a number of Power Five institutions along the way. So I'm confident in my knowledge, I'm confident in my experience, and I have no doubt that we can find the next great leader for KU, in the best interest of our student athletes.
Question:
When you hired Les, did you go back and look into what went on at Oklahoma State with a student hostess program there? And that was obviously detailed in a pretty big Sports Illustrated report back in 2013, I believe.
Jeff Long:
Yes. And yes, we were aware of that. And then we also saw the subsequent reports where that article was brought into question. We certainly reviewed the Oklahoma State and the NCAA and what they found in that case. And again, many of the things reported in that article subsequently were found to be not true, as we viewed it. So I wasn't overly concerned. In addition, he spent a lengthy time at the university or LSU that would be certainly be the more relevant information for us.
Question:
Les to be clear, you didn't hear of any conduct or anything while he was at Kansas that concerned you or alarmed you? Is that correct?
Jeff Long:
No. There were nothing reported to me at the time that would concern me, no.
Question:
Regarding the Kansas program, the last five coaches just haven't had success on the field. How sellable is the Kansas program right now, considering where you guys are right now, and you've got a lot of student athletes in limbo, not knowing who their coach is at this point of the year?
Jeff Long:
Yeah. I think we're an attractive program because we're building. As I mentioned, from 2018, when we had a recruiting class, I think, of somewhere around 21 junior college players, somewhere in that vicinity, we've lived through that, and we built our program back with high school student athletes. Kids who played in high school and came directly to the University of Kansas.
They're starting here in the development program, strength and conditioning program. We did have a setback during COVID last year when we didn't have spring practice. But when you're a young growing program that had more of an impact. I think as coaches look at this opportunity, I think they will see a totally different roster. I think the quality and the high level of student athlete we brought here and how they've developed would be an exciting opportunity for a head coach.
We are working our way back to that 85 scholarship limit number that you all have heard about for many years. We're closer than we ever have been in a number of years. So we're going to work hard to keep the student athletes that are with us, and I think we have a bright future in front of us because we've built with high school players who are young, excited and eager to win for KU.
Question:
You mentioned earlier about settling with Les Miles. That's a departure from what you did with David Beaty. Philosophically, what changed from your seat from your seat to Kansas's seat?
Jeff Long:
Yeah. Each situation is very different. That was focused around NCAA. This was focused around something else. Each situation is very different, so I don't really compare those two at all.
Question:
You mentioned that you asked Les if there was anything that would embarrass the program or the university, and he said, no. Wouldn't lying to you in that instance void his contract or make it where you could fire him for cause?
Jeff Long:
That's really a legal question as to how he could or couldn't respond at that time, but that was his response.
Question/Statement:
That is a lie to you because there was something, and now here you are embarrassed. So why would you pay him in this instance to leave?
Jeff Long:
That is debatable whether that's a lie, and again, I'll leave that to our legal people to dice that out. We felt it was important to move our program forward, that we needed to basically agree to mutually part and pay Les through the remainder of 21, is basically what it comes out to.
Opening Statement and Remarks:
As we announced late last night, KU and Les Miles have mutually agreed to part ways effective immediately as of last night. It was imperative for me to meet with the team before sharing this with the outside world, the people outside of our program. So last night at about approximately 9:45 PM, I met with the team and I shared them the news that coach Miles and I had agreed to mutually separate and that he would no longer be the head coach at the University of Kansas.
As I shared with our football student athletes, I know there are a lot of emotions running on right now with our student athletes. They came here to play for KU. They came here to get an education.
They came here to be better student athletes and play the game of football. I told them that's not changing. We're going to continue to do everything we can to support them as football players in pursuing their athletic pursuits and academically in the classroom. That KU degree will be incredibly of value to them. I know through my many years of experience, these changes are very difficult. And they're most difficult on the student athletes in the program.
And I'm not sure sometimes the outside world again, understands that, but this is a team, a brotherhood, people that lean on each other, and they're supported by a special group of coaches and staff that all love them and support them. So our focus is on those student athletes, and we're working very hard to support them in this time.
Continued opening statement (Les Miles and interim)
This parting was in the best interest of the University of Kansas, and it's in our best interest to move forward in a new direction. As for the interim head coach, I've met with several assistant coaches this morning. And I continue to evaluate who would be the best leader for our young men at this time. I don't want to rush that decision. I have Mike DeBord as my acting head coach, but that was simply to step in administratively for me.
But I'm going to take my time. I hope to do that in the next day or two. But I think our student athletes need to know who that interim is. So we want to work as quickly as possible, but I want to evaluate that situation as well. I'm also planning a national search for a new head coach to lead this program. And the timeline on that is undetermined at this time. There are a lot of quality young men, quality football players and quality young men on this football team. And our priority are those student athletes.
It's important to me that we find a great leader that will inspire our student athletes on and off the football field. We built our program over the last two and a half years. We've added the quality control. We've added our analysts. We've added a nutritionist. We've added operations people. We've added recruiting staff. So we believe the support program behind our coaches is there and has allowed our program to grow and will eventually lead to success on the football field.
Opening statement continued about interviewing Miles from LSU
Before I open it up to questions, I wanted to provide some background on the 2018 search process, so our fans, alumni and donors have the facts on what actually took place back then.
Miles was identified as the lead candidate to be the Head Coach in 2018. As the University of Kansas and Kansas Athletics does with all hirings, we ran multiple background checks on Coach Miles. I also asked Coach Miles directly during the interview process whether there was anything in his past that could potentially embarrass the University or himself or our program. And he said, "No." We also did our due diligence by talking to individuals within the LSU Athletics Department to see if there was anything we should be aware of regarding Coach Miles' tenure at LSU, and receive no indications of any issues.
In early February, Coach Miles' legal counsel made us aware of a legal dispute in Louisiana involving Les. But they could not share the nature of the legal dispute or the formal documentation. After hearing this, I asked Coach Miles if there was anything in these reports that we should be concerned about. And again, he assured me, "No." At that point where he requested copies of any and all reports related to Les Miles while he was at LSU. We were given a variety of reasons from Miles' legal counsel why they would not be provided to us.
On February 24th, we learned some details of the allegations when The Advocate published its initial article followed by the USA Today article later that same day, that there had been a secret settlement and a sexual harassment investigation in 2013. The Taylor Porter Report referenced in the article was the subject of litigation in the LSU Courts. So we did not have access to it until last Thursday when it was released publicly. Additionally, the Hush Blackwell Report that was issued on Friday detailed much of the underlying allegations and the formal records for the first time. It was evident from LSU's response on Friday that many individuals at LSU were unaware of the allegations of inappropriate contact and that an individuals at the institution at the time went through great lengths to keep the information confidential.
Given all of this information, yesterday we agreed to part ways. I'm beyond disappointed that the University of Kansas is in this position, but it is absolutely the right decision for our University and our student athletes. I'm encouraged by the time I spent with our football staff and student athletes last night and several of our assistant coaches this morning. We will be taking substantive steps in the coming days, including talking to supportive and invested alumni and former players and including choosing a search firm as we begin to look for the next leader of the University of Kansas Jayhawk Football Team.
QUESTION:
Knowing your past relationship you've had for all these years with Les Miles, what are your feelings that, when you asked these questions directly back in 2018, you didn't seem to get an honest answer? This wasn't someone you just met during the search process. You'd known him for a long time.
Jeff Long:
Yeah. I can't really answer why Coach Miles responded the way he did. I have known Les for 30 years. I think sometimes... And I consider him a friend. We did not work closely together or know each other well from that time in Michigan in the early 1990s. So, I think much is played about the friendship. It's a friendship that was certainly not the reason behind why we were hiring him to be the head coach. He was an established head coach. He was an incredible recruiter. So, those were the reasons we landed on Coach Miles at the time.
Question:
And just one quick follow-up. I know it's very early in the process, but what sort of importance will you place on someone who's got maybe a connection to what it means to be a Jayhawk or someone who knows what football is like at the University of Kansas as you look forward to how he's going to lead your program?
Jeff Long:
That is important. And, as I mentioned, as I look to hire the next head coach, I'm going to lean on and seek thoughts from those former players, former alumni, donors, people that have been invested in our program. The one thing I know, the people around our program, those that are here with us, they're deeply invested. They want to see success. They want to see our student athletes have success on the football field. And that's what we're going to work to do. So, certainly we'll be open to their thoughts as we move forward.
Question:
Do you guys have any leading candidates for a new head coach at this moment?
Jeff Long:
To be very honest, no, because I haven't had a chance to focus on that at all. Again, my focus has been those student athletes. It's been those coaches. It's been all the support staff in the Anderson Complex. That's been the most important thing to me. And I have some more work to do there before I really get into a search process. So, no, there's no leading candidates or anybody that I've considered at this point.
Question:
Hey, Jeff, is there any concern from you about the status of your job at this point and what this might mean to that?
Jeff Long:
As I say, I focus on these student athletes. I got into intercollegiate athletics for what athletics did for me. I know how important this experience as a football student athlete or a rower or a tennis player is, so really my focus is on them. I use them to guide me in making my decisions, and I have continued to work in their best interest. So, that's the way I look at that and understand that question.
Question:
I also wonder how worried are you about, I guess, donor relations or just the overall support of this program that's obviously had a rough decade and now this is the latest thing on top of that? Are you worried that that'll be another hit at all?
Jeff Long:
Well, I'm hoping that as soon as I can have those open and candid conversations for what we're trying to do, I think those that are close to our program know about the infrastructure I talked about that we put into our program, the way we built the program. I think the recruiting success we've had is a large part because of that infrastructure. And then the coaches that we have on staff, the assistant coaches that have been recruiting hard. Yeah, I'm happy to have those conversations with them. Certainly, we need their support more than ever.
This is not a change that we obviously anticipated. And, despite the record during the COVID season, we see progress. I see a roster of young men built on high school student athletes that are going to have success here at Kansas. I have no doubt about that. I admire these young men and how hard they compete. And, you know what? I wish I could get in there alongside them, but I'm here to support them. I want them to keep fighting for the Jayhawks. And I'm sure they'll do that.
Question:
With regard to the settlement that just came out, I mean, was it contract language? Can you clarify why there was the need for the settlement? And also if you can, where does the money come from for that settlement with Les?
Jeff Long:
Well, let me answer that two-part question. I got to remember the first part first. There come times when institutions and athletic programs and universities have to make tough decisions. And as I sought counsel from the university and the chancellor, we arrived at what we felt was in the best interest of the program. And that was for us to mutually part ways with Les, and to do that, that we had to get to a certain amount of compensation.
Obviously, any amount is something that is a challenge for us, especially in COVID-19, we honestly and truly feel that's in the best sense of our program. The money will come from athletic department revenues, whether that's through our Williams Fund donations or whether that's through operational dollars that we achieve. So it will come from athletics money, it will not come from university dollars in any way, shape or form.
Question:
You mentioned an interim coach talking to the staff in house and then also the search. Does that mean to say the interim coach would be now until you hire a full-time coach or would you... I know other universities that have been in a position like this where the coach leaves late in the process have brought in a coach designate, for lack of a better term that would coach just the next year and maybe there's more candidates available next year. Are you set on, you're going to hire the guy that's the long-term guy, or could there be somebody from the outside that holds that interim title?
Jeff Long:
I think it is still too early to make that determination to be candid. As you know, and those who follow football closely know this is an unusual time to be conducting a search. College programs are into their spring practices, either are starting or are approaching them. So your questions are all the things that I'm going to assess and with the support of others, make some decisions on how we move forward. So you're right on track with your questions, we just haven't made those decisions yet.
And with regards to the interim, yes, I think right now Mike DeBord is acting, but I think the interim position is a little more permanent, so to speak, and that it will lead us through the search process, whether it concludes before spring practice, after spring practice. So that interim person will be more of the administrator and the leader of the program while we sort things out.
Question:
You had a number of assistants leave. I hear even some of them fairly recently. Some of the people would say, a lateral or even a step back. Was that a warning sign when you saw that, that maybe there was... When a couple of coaches are going from say, just one in particular, Kansas to SMU that maybe we had a problem. Was that something that raised a red flag in your office?
Jeff Long:
It certainly did not raise any kind of a red flag with what is happening from down at LSU. Coaching staffs are very complex groups and people leave for various reasons. Those coaches have different reasons for why they left. I was aware of them, none of them alarmed me.
Question:
To what extent do you anticipate the search firm playing a role in this process? And I guess, what do you foresee or expect that search firm's role to be?
Jeff Long:
Yeah, I think search firms provide a number of things. First of all, they bring forth a group of candidates that they are aware of from whether it's other searches or whether it's contacts with agents and such. So they bring a pool, we would then bring our own pool from our thoughts and what we have gained from talking to people. And quite frankly, people reaching out. We've had a large number of people reaching out very quickly to us about this. And I do think that's a sign of the position we brought our program to, and that we have gained ground over the last two and a half years. So I think that's a very positive sign.
With the interview process, they would help us arrange those visits. They would do background checks. They would do a lot of that administrative stuff for us behind the scenes, so we could focus on the candidate excel and how they fit with KU.
Question:
What would your response be to KU fans that would maybe be a little bit leery about your involvement after 2018 and maybe an independent search firm to handle the whole process?
Jeff Long:
Yeah, I don't think it's in the best interest of the University of Kansas, or any university, for an outside entity to totally control a search process. I'm very comfortable and confident of my years in college football. I'm confident that I can conduct a search. I'm confident that I can find the next leader of the University of Kansas.
Question:
Will anyone else at KU be more involved this time that the chancellor or anybody else?
Jeff Long:
Well, there were people that I kept in contact the last search, but certainly I will continue to involve our chancellor and his leadership team and share with them as I would do with any search. So, whether they are more involved or not I would say they would be involved as they usually are. I do want to bring in some, again, as I said, former football players, people that know our program that can help assist with this as well.
Question:
The hires that you made in Arkansas weren't successful either. Are there things that you've learned?
Jeff Long:
In what regard? I would have to ask, what regard were they not successful?
Question follow up:
We don't need to get into that, but what have you learned from those processes? Or why do you think KU fans should be confident that you can make this hire the right one?
Jeff Long:
Yeah, well, like I said, I've been involved in college football my entire professional life. I've worked in a number of institutions. I worked in a number of conferences. I have, excuse me, worked in many different ways in college football. But I think I'm uniquely prepared having been a college football coach at the division one level at a Power Five school early in my career. And then having worked at a number of Power Five institutions along the way. So I'm confident in my knowledge, I'm confident in my experience, and I have no doubt that we can find the next great leader for KU, in the best interest of our student athletes.
Question:
When you hired Les, did you go back and look into what went on at Oklahoma State with a student hostess program there? And that was obviously detailed in a pretty big Sports Illustrated report back in 2013, I believe.
Jeff Long:
Yes. And yes, we were aware of that. And then we also saw the subsequent reports where that article was brought into question. We certainly reviewed the Oklahoma State and the NCAA and what they found in that case. And again, many of the things reported in that article subsequently were found to be not true, as we viewed it. So I wasn't overly concerned. In addition, he spent a lengthy time at the university or LSU that would be certainly be the more relevant information for us.
Question:
Les to be clear, you didn't hear of any conduct or anything while he was at Kansas that concerned you or alarmed you? Is that correct?
Jeff Long:
No. There were nothing reported to me at the time that would concern me, no.
Question:
Regarding the Kansas program, the last five coaches just haven't had success on the field. How sellable is the Kansas program right now, considering where you guys are right now, and you've got a lot of student athletes in limbo, not knowing who their coach is at this point of the year?
Jeff Long:
Yeah. I think we're an attractive program because we're building. As I mentioned, from 2018, when we had a recruiting class, I think, of somewhere around 21 junior college players, somewhere in that vicinity, we've lived through that, and we built our program back with high school student athletes. Kids who played in high school and came directly to the University of Kansas.
They're starting here in the development program, strength and conditioning program. We did have a setback during COVID last year when we didn't have spring practice. But when you're a young growing program that had more of an impact. I think as coaches look at this opportunity, I think they will see a totally different roster. I think the quality and the high level of student athlete we brought here and how they've developed would be an exciting opportunity for a head coach.
We are working our way back to that 85 scholarship limit number that you all have heard about for many years. We're closer than we ever have been in a number of years. So we're going to work hard to keep the student athletes that are with us, and I think we have a bright future in front of us because we've built with high school players who are young, excited and eager to win for KU.
Question:
You mentioned earlier about settling with Les Miles. That's a departure from what you did with David Beaty. Philosophically, what changed from your seat from your seat to Kansas's seat?
Jeff Long:
Yeah. Each situation is very different. That was focused around NCAA. This was focused around something else. Each situation is very different, so I don't really compare those two at all.
Question:
You mentioned that you asked Les if there was anything that would embarrass the program or the university, and he said, no. Wouldn't lying to you in that instance void his contract or make it where you could fire him for cause?
Jeff Long:
That's really a legal question as to how he could or couldn't respond at that time, but that was his response.
Question/Statement:
That is a lie to you because there was something, and now here you are embarrassed. So why would you pay him in this instance to leave?
Jeff Long:
That is debatable whether that's a lie, and again, I'll leave that to our legal people to dice that out. We felt it was important to move our program forward, that we needed to basically agree to mutually part and pay Les through the remainder of 21, is basically what it comes out to.
