Turner Gill’s time at Kansas might be running out
Only a year and a half into the job, Turner Gill's days as Kansas' head coach might be numbered.
After Saturday's 59-21 loss to rival Kansas State in the Sunflower Showdown, Kansas athletic director Sheahon Zenger didn't exactly praise Gill for giving it the old college try — again.
"I don't expect any player, coach, administrator, fan or alum to accept today's performance or the performances in recent weeks," Zenger told media after the game. "We will get this thing fixed."
Kansas has lost five consecutive games after starting the season 2-0 with wins against McNeese State and Northern Illinois. The Jayhawks are allowing an average of 50.4 yards per game and have lost by an average of 32.6 points. But Gill remains optimistic about the future of the program with him in it.
"I'm here to coach and teach," Gill said. "I still believe in my ability to coach. I still believe in my ability to develop. I believe in this staff's ability to teach and develop. I feel good about it. It's just taken a little bit longer time to get things done."
Even though Gill is only in his second season with the Jayhawks, no one would blame Zenger for taking a long look at the future of his football program especially since things are seemingly getting worse. Last season, Kansas was 3-9, but was only beat by an average of 27 points per game.
The nail in Gill's proverbial coffin might be his team's efforts against its in-state rival. Saturday's loss was the second time the Wildcats had scored 59 points marking the second-most points the Jayhawks have allowed to Kansas State during the series.
But like any good athletic director who doesn't want to be bombarded with questions for the next five weeks, Zenger said he'd wait until the end of the season to make a decision about Gill's future.
"We continue to evaluate the program on a week-by-week basis at the University of Kansas," Zenger said. "We will never make a complete evaluation until the season is over and the body of work is in."
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Graham Watson is on Facebook and Twitter: Follow her @Yahoo_Graham.
