Jayhawk Jerk

Football is a game like no other, a game that takes toughness, courage, and most importantly discipline. Coaches have the difficult task of bringing out all of the aforementioned qualities in each and every one of their players, and establishing a mature, organized team, a tall order for college coaches whose players are surrounded by distractions everyday. In order to create a well oiled machine, many coaches focus their efforts on first establishing discipline, but news has leaked that at least one coach may be going about it in an inappropriate way. Last week, players on the University of Kansas football team, both current and former, spoke out about recent accusations aimed at the team’s head coach Mark Mangino. It has been reported that the portly Jayhawks head coach has been verbally and physically abusive towards his players in several different instances during his tenure at Kansas. The athletic director of the University of Kansas, Lew Perkins, has launched an investigation to look into the allegations and Mark Mangino’s attitude towards his players, not surprising to some former Kansas players that shared some personal experiences they had with Mangino to the media. Raymond Brown, a senior wide receiver at Kansas last year, said that his former coach would commonly "say personal, hurtful, embarrassing things in front of people." Brown then referred to two separate incidents during his time at Kansas. During a game, Brown had an encounter with his coach, "I dropped a pass and [Mangino] was mad," Brown said. "And I said, 'Yes, sir. Yes, sir.' The yelling didn't bother me. But then he said, 'Shut up!' He said, 'If you don't shut up, I'm going to send you back to St. Louis so you can get shot with your homies.' I was irate. I wanted to hurt him, to be honest with you." Not only was this verbal attack racially insensitive, it was a threat and it was a personal attack on Brown himself, who had told his team that his brother was once shot in the arm in his home town of St. Louis. Another incident involved one of Brown’s teammates, who confided in his team that his father was an alcoholic, and that his post-collegial dreams were to be a lawyer. Later Mark Mangino decided to use the personal information that Brown’s teammate entrusted to his team, as material for his controversial motivational ploys. Raymond Brown said that "One day, [Mangino] said in front of the entire team, 'are you going to be a lawyer or do you want to become an alcoholic like your dad?'” The personal anecdotes of former Kansas football players have sparked a nationwide uproar and an investigation of the conduct of Mark Mangino that could possibly culminate into a decision to fire the coach that, despite this recent black mark, has had noticeable success during his tenure as the University of Kansas football coach. This begs the question, In light of recent events, does the alleged physical and verbal abuse of his players give the university ample reason to fire Mark Mangino, despite the success he has had on the field? My answer is an emphatic yes, and for multiple reasons.

In the realm of sports, winning is everything, and during his tenure Mark Mangino has resuscitated a football program that was perpetually in the shadow of the University of Kansas basketball program, the flagship sport of the university, and a perennial powerhouse. When Mangino took the job of head coach at Kansas, the football program was beginning to rise from the dregs of the Big 12 conference and become a significant factor in their division. The rising success was a result of stimulated interest in the program, a new offensive and defensive scheme, and improved recruiting efforts on a national scale. The Kansas football program reached heights never before seen under any other head coach when they defeated Virginia Tech in the 2007 FedEx Orange Bowl, earning them a BCS bowl victory and the millions of dollars in endorsement money that goes with it. In addition, Kansas’ Orange Bowl win showcased their football program on a national stage, greatly improving their national recruiting ranks. The University of Kansas football program has had success with Mark Mangino at the helm, and without Mangino’s recent scandals, the university would otherwise have no real reason to consider firing him. In the wake of Mangino’s controversies, the University of Kansas now has to decide if firing Mark Mangino is the best option, here is why I believe that it is.

As the head football coach of the University of Kansas, Mark Mangino is literally and figuratively one of the biggest figures at the university, as far as the national image of the school goes. If the allegations that Mark Mangino has been verbally and physically abusive to his players are true, the University of Kansas football team now has a tarnished public image that can only be remedied by the removal of Mangino as their head coach. The recruiting of high school players around the nation to attend college at, and play for, the University of Kansas could also potentially take a major hit in the wake of the Mark Mangino scandal. The University of Kansas recruiting class for the 2010 year already barely checks into the top 50 as it is, currently standing at number 39 in the nation. Add the fact that the head coach has been exposed by former players and the media as an indecent, inappropriate disciplinarian, and the university will struggle to continue bringing in the sort of talent that is necessary to win football games in their conference. As news of Mark Mangino’s scandals are circling the various media outlets around the country, this year’s Kansas football team is underachieving, and they currently hold a record of 5-6, they are riding a six game losing streak, and with a difficult Missouri team left on their schedule, they have no real hopes of going to a bowl game when the season is all said and done. Call it poor preparation, a down right lack of talent, or a lack of focus, either way you swing it the blame rests at the feet of Mark Mangino. You simply cannot run a successful program when you are alienated by your players, and when your actions contribute to your team’s collective lack of focus. Breaking players down by regurgitating personal information confided by them into some twisted verbal insult is not the way to gain the support of players, fans, and the nation as a whole. It is said that a coach is on the “hot seat” when he or she may be at risk of losing their job, Mark Mangino’s seat should be coming to a boil rather soon.

Daniel Printz