Former Mangino assistant Reagan returning to KU as Rice coordinator

Assistant college football coaches shouldn’t drive automobiles to and from work. They should drive moving vans. Gypsies put down deeper roots.

Head coaches get fired or hired elsewhere and the assistants lose their jobs or go with them to the new town. Promotions cause moves as well. It’s part of the job description, which leads to an unwritten rule: Don’t fall in love with your current town.

That was a tough one for John Reagan, Mark Mangino’s offensive line coach for five seasons at Kansas University. Now in his third season as an assistant to Rice head coach David Bailiff and his second as offensive coordinator (plus running backs this season), Reagan became a well-known, well-liked member of the community during his time in Lawrence. Divorced, Reagan returns as often as he can to spend time with his son and daughter, who remain in Lawrence with their mother.

“It’s a great college town and we had the best five years in the history of KU football, and that was fun,” said Reagan, who returns on a business trip for this Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. kickoff.

Mangino hasn’t returned to coaching yet, but Reagan is just one of his former assistants thriving. The highest profiles: Ed Warinner, co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach at Ohio State under Urban Meyer, and Bill Young, who left KU before Mangino’s ouster, coordinates Oklahoma State’s defense.

Reagan, who has the sort of strong personality that translates well to one day becoming a head coach, is a better offensive coordinator for having worked with Mangino and Warinner.

“Ed was really good at adapting his ideas to the things that were already there,” said Reagan, who was happy to read KU’s first crowd numbered 46,601. “And none of us could have learned anything without the work ethic coach Mangino put in there.”

Reagan already has a budding coaching tree of his own. He coached offensive linemen Ryan Cantrell and Adrian Mayes at KU and both are working for Rice as graduate assistants, as is former KU tight end A.J. Steward.

Rice is coming off a 4-8 2011 season and a 2012 Week 1 loss to UCLA, 49-24.

For a team so often outmanned, Rice did a nice job with ball security, turning it over just 19 times in 12 games in 2011, so the consistently favorable field position the KU defense supplied in Week 1 can’t be assumed in Week 2.

Reagan said junior dual-threat quarterback Taylor McHargue, benched midway through last season, has matured nicely.

“He’s not as savvy as Todd (Reesing) was, but in a lot of little ways, he reminds me of Todd,” Reagan said.

That’s high praise.

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JHWKDW 9 months, 2 weeks ago

Well he is working compared to Mangino! Makes you wonder what Mangino is doing these days. You'd think Mark be working for someone. Hell our previous coach got a job after we dumped him sheesh, and Mangino with his Orange Bowl Win cant. Makes you wonder how he gets along with people.

Reagan is a guy we will hear about in the future compared to Mark.

jhawkrulz 9 months, 2 weeks ago

I'd keep my eye on Bill Young as well, he seems to be doing well for the Cowboys.

Kman_blue 9 months, 2 weeks ago

Bill Young isn't so Young anymore (yeah, that was intentional). He's 66 now.

A)Will anyone try to hire him away from Okie St at his age?

B)How much longer will he be coaching? Until he's 70, or will this be his last year?

Pork_Ribs 9 months, 2 weeks ago

Mangino opened a NFL Development Camp in Immokalee, FL outside of Naples. From what I've heard it's a pretty popular spot. We're paying him enough...It'll give him plenty of time to develop the business on KU's dime.

Kman_blue 9 months, 2 weeks ago

Mangino has been completely paid off by KU for more than a year now and Gill was completely paid off within 90 days of his firing mostly by private donations from KU alum. KU is only paying 1 football coach right now, coach Charlie Weis.

raprichard 9 months, 2 weeks ago

How dare you interject facts into this discussion!

jhawkrulz 9 months, 2 weeks ago

Mangino had inked a 5 year $2MM/year contract. Although you are correct in saying that it has been paid. The $8MM was paid for four years he did not work at KU, and he had a contract for 2 more years. It's just KU actually pays the contract off when they terminate him...likewise TG had three years left on his contract, but KU paid the three years. So many will refer to it as he is being paid for the next three years.

However, Charlie Weis is being paid by ND as well, in their contracts they don't pay them off. He had like a $2MM/year contract for 10 years, and still has like 7-8 years left on it. What's interesting is ND will pay Charlie Weis more over the lifetime of KU's contract then KU will.

Kman_blue 9 months, 2 weeks ago

That's not quite accurate either. Mangino settled for a $3 million buyout while he had 4 years and $9.2 million ($2.3 mil per year) left on his contract.

Also, if he was terminated without cause he had a clause in his contract which guaranteed him a $6.6 million settlement, but in the end he settled for $3 million which was also paid off through private contributions, not KU money.

So, he wasn't paid anywhere close to $8million and his contract had 4 years left on it. I don't believe he had any clause about when any buyouts were to be paid, so I assume that since there were enough private donations to cover it, KU paid it off quickly. In Gill's case his contract stipulated KU had 90 days to pay him off if he was fired without cause and again KU alumni came through and footed the bill.

Not trying to come down on you, just trying to clear up how it all went down and who got paid what and by whom. Interesting info about how much ND is still paying him.

Football

Keegan