Can a 35-year-old man who grew up in Bug-Tussle, Ala., find happiness as Kansas’ 31st head football coach?
Robert Wayne “Bud” Moore will have four years to find out.
Kansas athletic director Clyde Walker this morning named the Alabama Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator to head the Jayhawks’ inconsistent grid program.
Moore got a four-year pact at $30,000 per year. Don Fambrough, who resigned two weeks ago, was paid $28,500.
No decision has been made, Moore said, on retaining members of Fambrough’s staff.
Jim Dickey, offensive coordinator under Fambrough, had been under consideration for the head job and won’t remain now that Moore has the job.
“I’m not bitter,” Dickey said, “but I’m not going to stay.” Dickey may join the staff of the New England Patriots under Chuck Fairbanks, former Oklahoma coach for whom Dickey once served as an aide.
“I have several people in mind,” Moore said when asked about a staff. “I have plans to bring quite a few in and I plan to visit with the coaches on the current staff.”
Those visitations, plus a meeting with returning KU players, were scheduled this afternoon. Moore will return to Alabama either tonight or Wednesday morning and will help coach the Tide in their Orange Bowl meeting New Year’s night with Notre Dame.
Obviously that will put Moore behind in recruiting, although Big Eight letter of intent day isn’t until February.
“That’s not as much time as I’d like to have,” Moore conceded, “but that’s more than some would have.” He added he had no intention of recruiting any Alabama signees.
“If it takes 24 hours a day and seven days a week to get prospects in here, I’ll do it,” he stressed.
Moore conceded he hoped to use the Wishbone offense here next year since that’s the one he’s familiar with at Alabama.
“I certainly hope we can,” he pointed out, “but I can’t say we will right now because I don’t know anything about the personnel here.
Kansas over the years has become something of a graveyard for coaches, but Moore says he feels KU has everything available for a winning program.
“You need three things,” he said. “You need a good academic program, you need an administration that will back you, you need a staff that can recruit and you have to have money to recruit.
“I’m convinced Kansas is dedicated to developing a consistently winning program to parallel its widely recognized academic excellence. I feel the opportunity here is one that cannot be passed b y.”
Some coaches who have had success at Kansas have used the school as a stepping stone to better things. Moore did not rule out that possibility in his case.
“Every coach wants to get ahead,” he noted, “but if we do what we want to do here, we’ll be happy. But I can’t say I’ll never leave Kansas because I have to think of my family, too.”
There are still many disgruntled alumni who are unhappy about Fambrough being forced out and Moore says he hopes to heal those wounds.
“Winning,” he emphasized, “mends a lot of fences and I want t make a strong appeal to alumni to help us in our recruiting program.”
Bud Moore spent his first 11 years in the tiny hamlet of Bug-Tussle before moving to Birmingham. He played football at Alabama as an end, fullback and tackle.
Moore has coached at Gadsden, Ala., High, at Kentucky, Texas A&M, North Carolina and for the last tow years under the legendary Bear Bryant at Alabama.
“Bud Moore is one of the finest men I’ve ever known,” said Bryant. “He will be a credit to Kansas University, if they are fair to him and give him enough time to build his program.”
Walker says Moore will get the time.
“He has been pledged full administrative support,” said Walker, “in his efforts to build and improve the program here. We sincerely believe he’s the best qualified football coach available in the country.”