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Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Keegan

Mangino calm, collected

By Tom Keegan

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They thought they were walking into an eardrum-assaulting Motorhead concert, and what they instead got was elevator music.

Kansas football coach Mark Mangino can throw a changeup when it’s least expected. When he does, his players have a tendency to remember it.

Halftime last season in Ames, Iowa, with Kansas trailing underdog Iowa State 20-0, was one of his most memorable changeups.

“What do I remember?” Kerry Meier said, echoing the question. “How calm the atmosphere was. Walking up that ramp at halftime, all I could imagine was how loud it was going to be in there. But coach was very calm and collected. He was relaxed and under control. I think that’s the way it was handled best. We’re under control. We’re not stressed by any means. We’re confident in what we’re doing. We have another 30 minutes to play. ... I think everyone was ready for an earful of stuff, but he did catch us by surprise.”

Asked what he remembered about halftime, senior safety Darrell Stuckey broke into a smile.

“The biggest surprise,” Stuckey said. “Coach was calm. He was pretty optimistic, and it was what we needed to hear. We were all waiting on a screaming and hollering upset coach, and he didn’t show us that. He showed us poise. He showed us confidence in us, and that’s what we needed to hear. I think he’s pretty good at knowing what to do and when to do it and why he needs to do it and the way in which he needs to do it.”

Coaching on game day is all about making adjustments and not just schematically.

“All things change with game situations,” Stuckey said. “Things that may make him go ballistic in practice might not set him off in games. Things that may make him go ballistic in games may not set him off in practice.”

As do many successful football coaches, Mangino uses fear to motivate, but he’s more cerebral than emotional. His mind is more responsible than his mouth for the Jayhawks compiling a 24-6 record in the past 21⁄2 seasons.

Mangino asks a lot of his players, but it’s not as if it’s a one-way street.

“I think no matter the circumstance or situation, coach is going to believe in us, no matter what,” Meier said, talking about the halftime in Ames. “It’s his job to believe in us and push us to believe in each other, and that’s what he did.”

Mangino also asked a lot of the administration when he took the job at Kansas. One of his most urgent requests was granted when athletic director Lew Perkins set loose John Hadl to raise the money that brought about The Anderson Family Football Complex.

Again, it’s not as if it’s been a one-way street with Mangino. Quietly, during the spring and summer, the football coach and wife Mary Jane kicked off a fundraiser for KU libraries.

A letter he sent to boosters read, in part, “Athletics may be the front porch of an institution like KU, but the libraries are the foundation. I strongly believe you can judge the greatness of a university by the success of its libraries.”

Everybody knows Mangino’s an avid reader. Who knew he’d one day be in charge of a locker room as quiet as a library, down 20 points at the half?

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Comments

suttonku (anonymous) says...

Maybe the best article I have read from Keegan, well done.

October 7, 2009 at 12:50 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

dagger108 (anonymous) says...

Nice insight in the lead up to the game.

Let's hope the home team is up 20 this year also, and that KU adds 33 in the second half again as well.

October 7, 2009 at 2:26 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

gardenjay (anonymous) says...

I concur, this one was very well written.

October 7, 2009 at 2:30 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

njjayhawk (anonymous) says...

Enjoyable reading, indeed.

October 7, 2009 at 5:12 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Maxhawk (anonymous) says...

Very insightful.

October 7, 2009 at 11 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

number1jayhawker (anonymous) says...

Good job Keegs.

October 7, 2009 at 12:43 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

sevenyearhawk (anonymous) says...

Maybe we don't need to be as worried about Coach having a heart attack on the sidelines as we could be ...

While his weight is still a problem, this story obviously demonstrates that he knows how to deal with stress.

Good for you, Coach ... we want you here for a looong time!

October 7, 2009 at 1:02 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

KoolKeithFreeze (anonymous) says...

I swear if these guys at the JW just WROTE now and then, instead of mailing it in, we'd get more pieces like this.

October 7, 2009 at 1:06 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

86finalfour (anonymous) says...

I concur with the general sentiment -- great article! Very Posnanski-esque.
And that's a compliment.

October 7, 2009 at 3:11 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

hawk316 (anonymous) says...

It's nice to see so many positive comments about Keegan's article. Personally, I think he (and other writers on this website) take way too much flak. It must get very old and rather discouraging for them to read some of the vitriol that follows almost every article they write. For the most part, I appreciate what they do and love having access to daily articles about KU athletics.

Regarding Mangino...a good coach knows the right buttons to push. Good for him for taking the calm, cool and collected approach. Undoubtedly, it contributed to the fabulous come-from-behind win in Ames last year. I think yelling and screaming is overrated anyway. Used too much, it becomes ineffective, much like a "resounding gong or a clanging cymbal." (I Cor 13:1)

October 7, 2009 at 5:13 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

KURocksChalk (anonymous) says...

Another kudo here. This article explains why I believe that Coach M was the best hire in KU football history. He has a passion for the game but he knows the moment. Great job, Keeg and great job Coach!

October 7, 2009 at 10:12 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

milwaukeeJAYHAWK (anonymous) says...

I was at that game, thanks for the insight as to what he said to them! Gives us a good image of his coaching philosophy.

October 7, 2009 at 10:46 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

rasta_meta (anonymous) says...

I concur, finally an insightful article that isn't full of Keegan's insights that are completely wrong.

October 8, 2009 at 5 a.m. ( | suggest removal )