Volume 126 Issue 31
kansan.com
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY GANSAN
Thursday, October 17, 2013
COMMENTARY Weis'effect on program remains to be seen
If Turner Gill had one redeeming quality as a head football coach here at Kansas, it was that he was so bad that by this time of his tenure, most fans knew his days were numbered. He was a sinking ship that led to a rebuild.
A new hire.
A hire that could possibly, finally, turn Kansas football into something other than a laughingstock.
In some ways, that inevitability was easier for fans to handle than what they are experiencing now. Charlie Weis might be the guy to turn around Jayhawk football. He might have learned from previous mistakes as a head coach at Notre Dame, where he went 21-26 his final three seasons and burned bridges coming in and out of South Bend, Ind.
Or he might be another Terry Allen, the former Kansas head coach who averaged four wins a season during a five year stretch from 1997-2001.
At this point, we don't know.
With an offense that finished last season 119th nationally, out of 123 schools, in passing yards and is currently 112th, is Weis not the offensive mastermind we thought? Or is the battered offensive line he inherited from Turner Gill so bad that the ragtag group Weis pieced together can't be expected to protect the quarterback and run block?
Weis announced on Tuesday that tight ends coach Jeff Blasko and quarterbacks coach Ron Powlus will game plan a majority of the offense during the week, a major shift from Weis coordinating the offense and calling the plays each Saturday. The move could be that of a head coach learning from past mistakes and seeing where he can improve his team, or it could just be desperation sinking in as another winless Big 12 season looms overhead.
In a similar move, Weis listed freshman quarterback Montell Cozart on the depth chart for the first time this season. Cozart appeared to be redshirtting this year, and still might, before starting next fall with four seasons to play. At this point, worrying about Cozart running out of eligibility in 2016 or 2017 is like worrying about college applications in kindergarten.
Charlie Weis is doing what he can to fix Kansas football. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen, and unfortunately for Kansas fans, we won't know until 2014 or beyond.
Edited by Hannah Barling
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