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Volume 127 Issue 22
kansan.com
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
COMMENTARY
Weis' firing won't change how Kansas plays
On the surface, Kansas football made a drastic change by
firing former coach Charlie Weis after 28 games. In reality, the football program will be the same team as defensive coordinator and interim head coach Clint Bowen replaces Weis.
The Weis dismissal shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. This season, Weis couldn't help turn this team around because he delegated all the control to his coordinators.
What did the one-time offensive genius do for the Jayhawks this season? Weis didn't design any systematic or schematic advantages for the offense. Instead, Weis gave advice to his coordinators, held players to a high standard and took the blame for every loss.
After offensive coordinator John Reagan was hired to take over the play calling, it was clear that Weis would no longer be involved with the offense. Not only did Weis give up his power of running the offense, but also gave Reagan complete control of the offensive personnel, meaning depth-chart decisions.
If Weis were fired after the Central Michigan game, the Texas outcome wouldn't have been any different. Reagan made every offensive decision including the four attempts to convert on fourth down, which Kansas was unsuccessful on all, but that wasn't the only problem on Saturday that Weis had no control over.
Weis will be missed solely as the team's scapegoat. He took all the flack without having any participation in the Saturday outcomes.
Reagan continued to call passing plays after sophomore quarterback Montell Cozart threw three interceptions in the first half, and Weis was to blame. Reagan failed to convert on a fourth and goal after calling a fade route to junior wide receiver Nigel King, and Weis was to blame. Reagan's offense failed to score against Texas, and Weis was to blame.
The Weis fire was a public relation move, and someone needed to take the fall for the shutout loss against Texas. Weis had the target on his back from the start.
This weekend's game against West Virginia won't be much different from the Weis era. Reagan will still run the offense and assistant head coach Dave Campo will help run the defense with Bowen. The only person missing is the 58-year-old man standing at the 38-yard line.
Now that the torch has passed from Weis to Bowen, a lot of pressure has been put on Bowen for the nine remaining games.
Associate Athletic Director Jim Marchiony said the athletic department doesn't have any candidates yet, but if Bowen wins more than one conference game, he may stick around for one more year.
Edited by Ben Carroll
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kansas interim head football coach Clint Bowen points to his wife while answering a question during a news conference in Lawrence on Monday. Bowen will replace Charlie Weis, who was fired Sunday after Saturday's 23-0 loss to Texas.
STELLA LIANG
@stelly liang
In 1993, then-defensive back Clint Bowen, a Lawrence native, led the Kansas defense with 114 tackles.
In 1996, Bowen started his coaching career as a graduate assistant for the lajahawks.
On Monday, Bowen made his first public appearance as interim head coach for Kansas football.
"KU football and the University of Kansas have given me so much in my life personally," Bowen said. "I've never known a day in my life that I wasn't a KU football fan."
He brings with him 19 total years in the Kansas program, and said he is grateful for this opportunity.
"I grew up a Lawrence guy," Bowen said. "I grew up coming to KU football games, so to be standing here today is truly one of the greatest honors I've ever had in my life."
Bowen will be the coach for the next nine weeks, likely serving as an audition for the full-time position, though Bowen has stated he's more focused on the present than the future.
"Honestly, I don't feel any pressure," Bowen said.
With his experience in the program, Bowen said he believes the answers to the program's problems will come from within. He said there is a blueprint at Kansas to turn the program around.
In 2004, under Mark Mangino, Kansas had a 4-7 record; Bowen was the special teams
and safeties coach at the time. In 2007, with Bowen as co-defensive coordinator, the Jayhawks amassed a 12-1 record, including an Orange Bowl victory.
"I've never known a day in my life that I wasn't a KU football fan."
CLINT BOWEN Interim head coach
Bowen also wants the players to appreciate the history of Kansas football. Instilling a sense of Jayhawk pride is one of his biggest goals. He also wants his players to represent
the University and win back the support of fans and former players.
"We need to, in our way, investigate the KU family again," Bowen said.
His other goals include integrity, playing hard and smart, all while having fun and bringing energy to games.
"One of my guys makes a play, you've got to celebrate," Bowen said. "You've got to have fun."
From the energy standpoint, players don't have to look far for an example. Bowen has been known to be expressive and celebratory during games, something unlikely to change with the new title.
Coupled with his optimism, Bowen knows this is a time for transition.
"Coaching football is not a fairytale world," Bowen said. "It's real families. It's real lives that are affected by decisions that have to be made sometimes."
Despite his years in the program, Bowen has no head-coaching experience. It remains to be seen if he can show enough progress to keep the job. He is the third person to have the reins in a little over four years.
What is certain is that a Kansas man with deep Jayhawk roots is living out his dream right now.
"Anyone who would consider this a stepping stone is an idiot," Bowen said. "This is a destination job."
— Edited by Rob Pyatt
Royals fever spreads across campus
SCOTT CHASEN
@SChasenKU
Most students at the University had not been born the last time the Kansas City Royals made the playoffs.
This season, the students finally get to witness one. For the first time since 1985, the Royals will participate in postseason baseball.
It's been a long 29-year wait for many followers of the team. However, that lack of success hasn't kept all fans away.
"I've been a Royals fan all my life," said Tom Fehr, a senior from Leawood. "I've never seen a team even close to this competitive, let alone a team in postseason play."
Kansas City Royals players and coaching staff celebrate after the Royals defeated the Chicago White Sox 3-1 in Chicago on Friday. The Royals will be in the playoffs this season for the first time since 1985.
"Back in 1978 when the Yankees and Red Sox had game 163, our high school played it over the loudspeakers."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PAUL HANSON Professor
Indeed the reach of the Royals extends well past the student body. Professors at the University are certainly not immune to Royals fandom. Among those professors is Paul Hanson, a professor of organic chemistry, who has been a fan of the Royals for the past 20 years.
"It has truly been a magical year," Hanson said. "Royals fans should feel blessed no matter what happens [tonight] and beyond."
Certainly this season has been atypical of those in recent history. Since winning the World Series in 1985, Kansas City had an overall record of 2,028-2,437 before going 89-73 in 2014. The Royals ended the year one game away from tying the Detroit
Tigers for the lead in the American League Central, which marked the first time since 1994 (20 seasons) the Royals were within five games of winning the division.
The Royals also saw substantial growth off the field
in the stands to be specific. Kauffman Stadium posted its best attendance numbers since 1991, with more baseball still to come.
With the game being played on Tuesday at 7:07 p.m., some students are facing a conflict:
choosing between making the drive out to Kauffman Stadium — which can take more than an hour on game days — and attending afternoon classes. However, Hanson recalled a situation in which it wasn't necessarily a case of picking one or the other.
"Back in 1978 when the Yankees and Red Sox had game 163, our high school played it over the loudspeakers," Hanson said. "We [listened while we] were dissecting frogs in biology lab."
Hanson echoed the sentiment, adding he would "definitely listen and watch" as the Royals face off against the Oakland Athletics.
short of having an exam, I plan on being at every home playoff game," Fehr said.'
From Fehr's perspective as a student, however, there really wasn't much to debate.
Ace pitcher James Shields will get the start for the Royals, facing off against Oakland lefty Jon Lester in a game where the winner advances
to the divisional round of the playoffs, and the loser is eliminated.
There is certainly a lot of buzz about the Royals on campus, as students and faculty have made their plans to watch the American League Wild Card game. However, Fehr did remark he still had one thing left to do.
"I need to figure out which of my shirts is the luckiest," Fehr said.
Edited by Rob Pyatt
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