Jayhawks Get Gill

Kansas announces hiring of Gill
AP

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- Kansas hopes that Turner Gill can do for the Jayhawks what he did for Nebraska.

As a smooth option quarterback in the early 1980s, Gill was the difference-maker for the Cornhuskers, helping free them from Oklahoma's long domination and propelling Tom Osborne's program to the top of the Big Eight.

Later as an assistant coach, he helped develop a Heisman-winning quarterback and was a key member of the staff that led Nebraska to the 1994 national championship.

Kansas made the hiring official on Sunday and will formally introduce Gill as successor to Mark Mangino on Monday morning.

"I think Kansas has made a fine decision," said Osborne, the Huskers' former coach and current athletic director. "He will do a great job."

Mangino, the most successful Kansas coach in 100 years, resigned under pressure on Dec. 3 after a two-week investigation into alleged mistreatment of players. Just two years earlier, Mangino had been consensus national coach of the year following a 12-1 campaign and a victory in the Orange Bowl.

But misconduct has never been connected with the 47-year-old Gill, who has experienced nothing but success everywhere he's been. As head coach at Buffalo the past four years, he compiled a 20-30 record after inheriting a program with only 12 wins in the previous eight seasons. The Mid-American coach of the year in 2007 and 2008, he guided the Bulls to the MAC championship in 2008 and their first bowl game in half a century.

So the Jayhawks got their man and I am none to happy. Now I have to find a way to still hate Kansas despite the fact that I admire and love its head coach. Turner will have his work cut out for him next year as Todd Reesing, Kerry Meier and Dezmon Briscoe will be gone but I'm sure the Jayhawks will be the second best team in the North within two years. Morale will certainly improve as players will no longer be threatened to be "put back on a bus to their crack infested ghetto" if they drop a ball or show up late for a meeting. But not everyone is happy in Kansas as FireTurnerGill.com has already popped up. Maybe it won't be so hard to hate Kansas.