Kansas Jayhawks head football coach Turner Gill took to the podium for his weekly press conference with reporters and started off on a subject some of you probably care about: Fans.
There isn't a positive vibe going around KU football right now as they sit at 2-5 and coming off three consecutive embarrassing losses. KU was successful just a few years ago so I don't think fans are as patient as they once were. Gill is taking his fair share of the blame.
Here's what he said just two days after a 45-10 home blowout loss to Texas A&M.
"I want to start off by speaking to our fans. I want our fans to know that we're going through some ups and downs in our football program here and part of that is the transition with a new staff, and our players are getting to know us in a better way. I can tell you one thing, our staff is doing a pretty good job of getting our guys to know our system. You have to teach them our offensive system and our defensive system the way we want it to be done. Through that transition phase, it takes time for our guys to understand how we need to do it and why we need to do it the way we want it to be done."
"As we continue to build this football program, our fans are going to see speed, they're going to see athleticism, they're also going to see people playing with a great passion as we continue to build the program. We are very, very confident that we will come through here and have a winning program on a consistent basis and that's why we chose to come here."
Here are a couple of thoughts on his words:
He had to say something. I agree with Gil's decision to address the fans like this. Something had to be said and give him credit for saying something and saying it confidently. I'm not sure yet that I agree with his prediction for the future of KU football but I like that he is still confident yet acknowledging reality right now.
A new coach doesn't mean you have to be bad. No excuse drives me crazier. There are programs and coaches across the country who are able to work with the talent they have and make that transition he talks about. I'll give Gill some leeway because KU's QB situation isn't ideal by any means but there are some talented players on the team. Enough that there shouldn't be 30 and 40 point losses. I think it's fair to pin some blame on the coaching staff when you see scores like 55-7 and 59-7.
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