I have used this space in the past to poke fun at former Kansas University head coach Mark Mangino. As a Missouri alum I have little use for Kansas and their football or basketball programs. But, the University of Kansas stepped in it when they fired Mangino earlier this week.
Mangino's team lost seven in a row and blew a lead to that school's arch rival Missouri in the final game of the season. And that left the alumni unhappy. But, the truth is Mangino is the victim of"Bobby Knight Syndrome". Mangino has dealt with his players in the same manner for the past seven years. But, no one out in Chicken Hawk land seemed to care when he won 12 games and the Orange Bowl.
Kansas was fortunate to have as talented a coach as Mangino and Missouri fans knew he could recruit and coach. To a person every MU fan and alum I know and have talked to thinks that Kansas screwed up. As a Missouri fan I am glad that we won't have to face Mangino led Kansas teams anymore because he was very good at what he did.
I'm not sure who KU will hire, but they are going to have a hard time finding anyone as good as Mark Mangino. Kansas is a basketball school and good football coaches don't want to live in the shadow of the basketball team. As a Mizzou football fan I am not unhappy to see Kansas' program in turmoil. But, Kansas screwed up when they let him go. Mark Mangino will end up better off than the Kansas football program.
No comments:
Post a Comment