Defining Success For Kansas Football In 2012: Coaching

One of the major issues during the past two seasons in Lawrence has been the coaching. General incompetency and a completely unorganized program were both the product on display due to the fact that the coach in charge wasn't providing the right direction for the program. Charlie Weis steps in at a time when Kansas desperately needs to show improvement on the football field and while the wins and losses might have to improve with time, there are still going to be measures of success in 2012.

The refreshing thing about Weis from the get go is that he embraced the challenge. Weis pointed to the West and at Kansas State as a program and a level of success that Kansas needs to aim for. With Missouri out of the picture it's crystal clear and Bill Snyder has pretty well solidified himself as one of the great college coaches ever.

Can anyone match that level of success? Maybe not, but the advantage that Bill Snyder provides his team on any given Saturday is reflected in his teams preparedness, the teams game planning and the overall organized look of the team on gameday. That is exactly what Kansas fans will want to see from Charlie Weis and the Jayhawks this fall.

10 wins isn't necessary, even 7 wins isn't necessary. Both of those scenario's would be welcome benchmarks, but given a two win season and the train wreck that Jayhawk fans witnessed on Saturday's last fall, competency can help define success in 2012. That starts with coaching.

Weis needs to put a product on the field that doesn't embarrass the University and the alumni base. Weis needs to put his players in a position to succeed. Finally, Weis needs to run a disciplined, buttoned up program that competes for four quarters. It's the model that Mark Mangino used when he experienced success at Kansas and while the styles do differ, Weis has already made strides toward the same standard within the program.

It comes down to coaching and leadership. Who sets the tone at the top and what is the tone and expectation surrounding the program. This is something that should be evident from the get go based on the state of the program over the past two seasons and because of that, it should help to define success or failure for Kansas football in 2012.