Most figured that cornerbacks coach Dave Campo would be the one called in from the bullpen when Sheahon Zenger fired Charlie Weis as Kansas University’s head football coach, but Campo never even took his jacket off to stretch, much less warm up.
“No,” Campo said. “No. No. This is a young man’s game. Really. This is a young man’s game.”
Campo still enjoys being a position coach and brings a great deal of energy to teaching cornerbacks, but he said Zenger absolutely made the right choice to replace Weis.
“They made the right decision for the long term in my opinion,” Campo said. “Now, my opinion’s not going to make a difference at the end of this thing. Clint’s ready. He understands what to do. He understands this community. He understands the culture of the University of Kansas and the people in this community.”
Campo called Bowen, “one of the best young coaches I’ve been around.”
He expressed similar sentiments about Bowen when the former Kansas defensive back was working for him.
Campo was working for the Dallas Cowboys when Bowen was on Dan McCarney’s staff at North Texas in 2011 and had heard about him from a friend of his on the UNT staff. Campo quickly became a fan his coaching abilities when Bowen handled safeties for him and Campo was defensive coordinator in 2012.
“The thing that struck me, more than anything else, is he’s a very, very competitive, no-nonsense guy,” Campo said. “But he understands players and to me, those are the best coaches, the guys who understand players and are very disciplined.”
Campo referenced words he had heard from a recent Ned Yost press conference in which the Royals manager said that once he stopped trying to make all the players all adhere in the same way to his rules and let their personalities flow was when things turned around.
“I think Clint has that ability to be able to, when something’s funny, you laugh at it, but when it’s business, it’s business,” Campo said. “To me, that’s the only way you can really get it done. if you’ve got guys who enjoy themselves while they’re doing something, you know, if you like what you’re doing, you’re going to do it better.”
Campo has worked for some big-time winners, including Jimmie Johnson and Barry Switzer with the Cowboys. He knows winning qualities when he sees them.
“He loves the game of football,” Campo said of Bowen. “He’ll stay here until 4, 5 in the morning if he has to to get the job done.”
It will take long, efficient days for years and years to turn it around and Campo thinks Bowen’s the guy to do it.
