No matter which way it falls, the Wyatt Watch should come to an end soon.
Kansas University associate head football coach/offensive coordinator Darrell Wyatt, who is considering an offer to join good friend Mike Gundy on head coach Les Miles’ Oklahoma State staff, said he hoped to make a decision by today whether to leave for Stillwater, Okla., or return for his fourth season at KU.
“I haven’t made a decision yet,” Wyatt said Monday. “I would think to be fair I need to make a decision in the next 24 hours. It’s still up in the air.”
Regarded as one of Kansas’ top recruiters, Wyatt opened the pipeline to his home state of Texas and had a hand in landing many of KU’s top recruits over the past few years. After serving a season as KU’s wide receivers coach, Wyatt was promoted to assistant head coach/wideouts coach for two years and was promoted again to associate head coach/offensive coordinator late last month.
Then Miles was hired at OSU, and Miles landed Gundy.
“I’ve obviously got a close relationship with one of the coaches there,” Wyatt said. “He’s one of my best friends in coaching, and it’s an opportunity to get a new experience in another Big 12 school. But because of my relationship with the people here in Lawrence, with kids and everything, it’s really tough. I recruited a lot of these kids, and that makes it tough.”
OSU’s pursuit of Wyatt made it tougher still. The Cowboys reportedly offered an unusual if not unprecedented long-term deal to lure Wyatt away from KU. Normally, aides work under one-year renewable contracts.
“They are doing some things that are unique to assistant coaches,” Wyatt said. “But that’s not really the main factor. It’s the things I talked about, the opportunity to get a new experience in a different school in the Big 12 and the fact Mike Gundy’s my best friend in coaching. There’s a chance I’d have a title there. But it’s still up in the air.”
Wyatt, 34, was promoted as part of KU coach Terry Allen’s overhaul of his assistant coaching staff. Allen dismissed defensive coordinator Ardell Wiegandt and offensive line coach Walt Klinker, and stripped the offensive coordinator title from Bill Salmon at the same time he promoted Wyatt. Also, tight ends coach Todd Middleton announced he was resigning to pursue other opportunities.
Allen since has filled one vacancy with offensive line coach Sam Pittman, who coached last season at Missouri.
