Fond memory: Beaty: Mangino saw something in me

By Matt Tait     Sep 29, 2015

Nick Krug
Former Kansas University head coach Mark Mangino, now the offensive coordinator at Iowa State, has a laugh on the sidelines during the second half of the 2009 Spring Game at Memorial Stadium, as current KU coach David Beaty (in red, at right), then the Jayhawks' wide receivers coach, stands nearby.

This Saturday, for the second season in a row, Iowa State offensive coordinator Mark Mangino, who spent eight years as the head coach at Kansas University, will look across the sideline and see a man he once hired running the show for the Jayhawks.

In his first season at ISU in 2014, Mangino returned to Lawrence for the first time since being forced to resign following the 2009 season and watched then-interim KU coach Clint Bowen pick up his first victory as a head coach against Mangino’s Cyclones.

At 11 a.m. Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa, Mangino will square off against David Beaty, who worked as KU’s wide-receivers coach under Mangino in 2008 and 2009.

While last year’s reunion drew heavy attention because it marked Mangino’s return to the place he led to a 12-1 season in 2008, winning national coach of the year honors and the ’08 Orange Bowl title, this year’s game, which will kick off Big 12 play for the 0-3 Jayhawks, means just as much to Beaty because of his fondness for his former boss.

“I have a dear spot in my heart for coach Mangino and his family,” Beaty said Monday morning. “They are a terrific family, and they gave me an opportunity when I’m not sure I deserved it, to be honest with you. He saw something in me that I’m not sure I had even seen in myself. He made a huge impact in my coaching career, not only as a coach, but as a man, too.”

Mangino was known as a disciplinarian who followed a strict routine and left no detail to chance. Many of the staples of his coaching style stuck with Beaty throughout his career, the first-year KU coach said Monday.

“I think one of the big things is he taught me that there is always another level to push to,” Beaty recalled. “He always did a great job of guarding against complacency. We paid such attention to detail with everything we did as players and as coaches. He made me a better coach because I really had to focus all day every day on everything to make sure I was efficient for our players and our team.”

In the week leading up to his return to Lawrence last November, Mangino met, via a specially organized conference call, with members of the Kansas media and said he was thrilled to return to a place about which he had such great memories but added that his focus was not on Kansas, what he accomplished there or what led to his departure. True to Beaty’s words, Mangino spoke then like a coach who did not want anything to distract or take away from his job of trying to lead the Cyclones’ offense. An undermanned ISU squad was rocked in that game, 34-14, and Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said Monday that he hoped Round Two of Mangino V. KU would go much better.

“I hope Mark is focused and ready to lead our offense and have them prepared,” Rhoads said. “And, more importantly, to have them execute and perform Saturday morning at 11 o’clock.”

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.