Turner Gill moves quickly to put new coaching team together

By Dugan Arnett     Dec 14, 2009

A new era begins

Mike Yoder
Turner Gill greets daughters Jordan, center, and Margaux, right, after Gill was introduced as KU’s football coach during a news conference on Dec. 14, 2009.

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Turner Gill didn’t waste much time getting down to business Monday morning.

Barely a minute into the news conference officially announcing his arrival as Kansas University’s new football coach, Gill, who was joined by his wife, Gayle, and daughters Jordan and Margaux, began laying out his plans for building a consistent football juggernaut.

“Our purpose is to bring this program to a point where we’re going to sustain a winning football tradition here year after year,” said Gill, who arrives after a four-year stint as head coach at the University at Buffalo in New York.

Gill’s opening speech covered a wide range of topics — the experience he gained during his time at Buffalo, his ties to Kansas University (Jordan is a sophomore at KU and recently began work in the school’s athletic department) — and ended with an emphatic “Rock Chalk, Jayhawk, KU,” which he admitted his daughter had recently helped him master.

Also Monday, Gill named former San Diego State head coach Chuck Long and current Mississippi State defensive coordinator Carl Torbush as his offensive and defensive coordinator, respectively, while adding Aaron Stamn — a Buffalo assistant — as his tight ends/special teams coach.

Gill, who finished with a record of 20-30 in his four seasons at Buffalo, replaces Mark Mangino, who resigned under pressure earlier this month following an investigation into his treatment of players.

“It’s always got to be at the right place at the right time,” Gill said of his choice to accept the Kansas job. “And this is the right place at the right time for Turner Gill and his family.”

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