Kansas University interim head football coach Tom Hayes doesn’t know what the future holds for him, but he is sure of one thing.
He doesn’t view KU’s final three games as his tryout.
“It’s not going to bother me because I’m not going to talk about it,” said Hayes, also KU’s defensive coordinator and secondary coach. “I’m not going to worry about it because I’ve been given a roll to play for three weeks, and that’s as the interim head coach at Kansas University. I want to do that to the very best of my ability, and that’s all I’m going to focus on.
“If it works out for me later on, great. And if it doesn’t, then I’ll be OK. Trust me.”
Hayes actually said he had mixed emotions during Sunday’s press conference.
On the one hand, being a head coach is every coach’s dream. Then again, he isn’t exactly getting his chance under the best of circumstances.
“These are never easy times,” Hayes said. “Terry Allen is a friend of mine. He’s got a huge heart, an honest guy and he’s been unbelievably great with me and my family. I understand what he’s going through. I’ve been through it myself.
“It’s a part of our business. Not the best part, but it is part of our business.”
Hayes did have some words of wisdom for his former boss. He actually was fired by Oklahoma along with former coach Gary Gibbs. Two weeks later Hayes found himself as an assistant coach in the NFL with the Washington Redskins.
“I told him last night that good things happen to good people,” Hayes said of Allen. “He’s a good man and something good will happen to him.”
Hayes actually was thought to have been brought in as the bad cop to Allen’s good cop. His dedication to discipline is on display during just about every practice, and something the Jayhawks believed to have been lacking in the past.
“Terry Allen had a personality and I have one. We’re different people,” Hayes said. “We operate differently. We do things differently. Is that good or bad? I don’t know. All I know is I’m going to be myself and I’m going to treat the football team in very a similar fashion to how I coach the defense.
“I’m going to be myself, I’m going to be honest with them and I expect them to be honest with me.”
KU senior defensive tackle Nate Dwyer doesn’t foresee Hayes having any problems.
“I can’t really see him doing anything else other than succeeding,” Dwyer said. “That’s just his personality and everything he stands for.”
He also would like to see his new boss get a serious look for the head coaching post.
“I think with him as a head coach,” Dwyer said, “he would be very successful.”
One of the potential problems for the Jayhawks in the upcoming weeks is how Hayes will be able to balance his roles as head coach, defensive coordinator and secondary coach.
He certainly isn’t worried about it, though.
“No, I’m really not,” Hayes said. “We’ve got such a together staff and good group of guys to work with. To a point, I’ll be spread thin. But at the same time the continuity of staying like we are at this late stage, I think it’s the best thing to do. I’m going to try and overcome it.
“I just won’t get as much sleep.”
Rip Scherer, who becomes KU’s lone offensive coordinator with Allen’s firing, likely will have a more prominent role on offense, but won’t be the lone voice.
“He and I will meet on a regular basis,” Hayes said. “Rip and I go way back in our friendship over the years. I’m going to be a resource. The nuts and bolts of the day-to-day operation, that’s his job, that’s his role. But I’m going to study both sides of the ball, spend extra time to do it.
“Does that mean that’s going to be the savior for everybody? I don’t think that’s necessarily the answer, except having another research and having another guy that he hasn’t dealt with from a defensive perspective. It might be refreshing,” he added.
Something else which will aide Hayes is his decision to promote Dick Moseley from his current position as an administrative assistant to a defensive assistant coach.
“He’ll help me in a myriad of ways, not only with the secondary, which he’s done before,” Hayes said. “He’s a great guy and veteran coach of 40-some years in the business. He’ll be a great resource and a great help to me.”
One of Hayes’ first tasks will be deciding on who will start Saturday’s game at No. 5-ranked Texas red-shirt freshman quarterback Mario Kinsey or sophomore Zach Dyer. Both saw action in last weekend’s 51-7 loss to No. 2 Nebraska.
“I have no idea,” Hayes said with a smile. “I haven’t even talked to the coaches about it. This is unfolding right before our eyes. So it’s time to go to work, try to solve some of those questions.”