October 11, 2005

Is Mark Mangino in trouble?

Is Kansas head coach Mark Mangino in trouble?

The school is 3-2 for 2005, but at least one prominant Kansas City columnist was calling for his head after his past weekend's 12-3 loss at the hands of in-state rival Kansas State.

Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock ripped into Mangino, stating quite frankly that he hasn't proved he's capable as a head coach.

You can fool yourself into believing that Saturday’s 12-3 Kansas State victory was a physical, defensive struggle between two evenly matched squads and that the closeness of the score is yet another indication that Mangino is closing the gap on Bill Snyder.

Go ahead, delude yourself. I won’t. In throwing away a brilliant defensive masterpiece, Mangino made Mike Brown’s leadership of FEMA appear competent.

Mangino also made it quite clear that KU hasn’t really gained ground on K-State. Bill Snyder’s Wildcats, in terms of talent and assistant coaching, have simply backed up to a level where the Jayhawks can compete.

Now, Whitlock has made a career of throwing caution into the wind regarding his sports opinions, so take his words with a grain of salt. But where there is smoke, there tends to be fire. Something for Mr. Mangino to consider.

Both of the Jayhawks two losses this season have come in the last two weeks.

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