Mangino wins games, not friends

By Tom Keegan     Nov 18, 2009

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? When he coached his team to an Orange Bowl victory and a 12-1 record just two seasons ago, he was fiery, a western Pennsylvania, blue-collar underdog who made it big and never forgot his roots.

Now that he’s lost five in a row, he’s an abusive, obnoxious bully who doesn’t always play nice with his football players.

Such is the nature of today’s instant-gratification society. Everybody loves a winner, warts and all. Nobody loves a loser, even one who brings lunch-pail charm and an obsessive work ethic to his job.

Glad-handers tend to weather storms of season collapses better than dictators who motivate through fear and intimidation. Mark Mangino, similar to so many successful football coaches through the years, from Bear Bryant to Vince Lombardi, falls into the latter category. The original Bear and Lombardi sustained their winning all the way to legendary status.

When Mangino was 12-1, he was a throw-back, and gosh darn it, the world needs more throw-backs. Now that he’s 5-5 and hasn’t been able to get a feel for this team, he needs anger management, and Kansas needs a new football coach.

Nobody wants to hear anything negative, and nobody wants to speak up about a coach who sends the paying customers heading back to the parking lot with a winning strut, all smiles. But they remember, they store their thoughts, and they unleash them when the moment is right. Now that Lori Williams, KU associate athletic director/risk management, has been assigned to investigate, enough grudges will be aired to send Kansas University’s first winning football coach since the late Jack Mitchell on his way to his next job.

Listening on the radio while riding to St. Louis for the 2008 basketball national-title rematch, I wasn’t surprised to hear a serene Mangino addressing the media.

“I don’t really have much to say about it other than, you know, you lose a few games in a row, those type of issues come up,” Mangino said. “It’s not uncommon.”

If the investigation reveals the extent of the physical contact Mangino has had with players is uncommon — as far as what’s known by the public to be common for football coaches — that will be enough. It’s no secret the football coach has a hot temper. Imagine that, a man who coaches a sport that rewards unbridled aggression, violent hitting and percolating adrenaline has a nasty side when trying to bring out those qualities in others.

Mangino never has made winning friends a priority, just winning football games. There is no “F” column in the standings for “friends,” just a “W” and an “L.” Friends can help a coach prolong his stay, but the next regret Mangino has about his style will be the first.

At this point, with all the damage done to recruiting, it’s difficult to see Mangino coaching beyond this season. Meanwhile, athletic director Lew Perkins works behind the scenes to land a big-name coach. Perkins pays well and shouldn’t have trouble landing his man.

Also, look for plans for the Gridiron Club, which faced price resistance and general indifference from the start, to be put on hold. Even a less daunting financing plan recently offered won’t be enough to go ahead with breaking ground on the ambitious project.

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