My dad always told me growing up that if I was going to quit one thing, I should have another option in place. I assume that related to girls, although my father likely pictured the job market when telling me this. Either way, Sheahon Zenger should have thought of this before firing Turner Gill as the Kansas football head coach considering the Jayhawks are now in week two and that early lead they had on others has now been lost as other teams are claiming their candidates and moving on.
At this point, Mike Leach is no longer an option and several others are finding permanent homes. That leaves Gus Malzahn as the latest rumored candidate to go alongside Larry Fedora (and certainly others) as KU searches for Gill’s replacement. Malzahn is the current offensive coordinator for Auburn and North Carolina is apparently interested as well.
Malzahn is an interesting candidate considering he was among the high school coaching ranks only six seasons ago. He joined the Arkansas coaching staff in 2006 and has been on the fast track ever since. He’s been Auburn’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach the last three seasons — Cam Newton’s obviously his most high profile protege — and now he’s rumored as a head coaching candidate for two schools. That’s not a bad run.
Larry Fedora is the other head coaching candidate often tied to the Kansas Jayhawks. KU Sports has the latest on Fedora:
Fedora, now in his fourth season in Hattiesburg, Miss., had emerged as one of the top candidates at Kansas. Deemed by many to be a serious candidate for the Jayhawks both in 2009 and this time around, Fedora’s Texas ties and Big 12 roots seemed to make him an solid candidate to replace Turner Gill at Kansas.
The recent win over Houston makes Fedora maybe too hot of a candidate to land at Kansas, which will certainly take a long rebuild in a very difficult Big 12 climate. If that’s a challenge Fedora would relish, then that’s a major coup for KU. If not, they’re likely to have to chase an unknown assistant like Malzahn that could serve as a bust or boom candidate.