With Kansas off to its best start in over a decade, speculation has already begun about the future of coach Lance Leipold. On Tuesday, Leipold was asked about other college football jobs that have already become available, and the 58-year-old offered no indication that he was looking elsewhere.
“Just like anything, I think you have to stay in the moment, be where your feet are at,” Leipold said. “My wife, Kelly, and I, we came to Lawrence, Kan., not to move. At this stage of our career, it’s flattering—like you said, it’s early in the season. But our focus is trying to build the Kansas Jayhawks into a winner—and a consistent winner—for the long haul.”
Leipold began his coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater, Wisconsin-Whitewater, in 1987, and spent the next two decades as an assistant at various stops, including Wisconsin and Nebraska. He was the head coach at Wisconsin-Whitewater from 2007 to ’14, winning six Division III championships before taking the job at Buffalo. He guided the Bulls to a combined 24–10 record over his last three years before becoming Kansas’ coach last season.
The Jayhawks’ resurgence has been among the most captivating surprises of the young season. Kansas went 2–10 in Leipold’s first year, and has not won more than three games in a season since 2009. The program has not won more than a single Big 12 game since ’08, and has just one top-25 finish in the last 26 years.
