From a story at kusports.com about Bill Young when he was coaching at Kansas...full story at link...this was right around the time I started covering TU, but I didn't remember Bill Young almost being hired as the Tulsa head coach back then...
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Young is in his third season at Tulsa, working for first-time head coach Phillip Montgomery. Young worked for Mangino in his first six years at Kansas and left after the Orange Bowl to fill a similar role at University of Miami.
Young shared by phone from Tulsa last week that his stay at KU came very close to ending after his first season, 2002, when the Jayhawks went 2-10 in Mangino’s debut.
Young revealed that then Tulsa athletic director Judy Macleod wanted to hire him to replace Keith Burns, forced out after three years on the job, but that TU president Dr. Bob Lawless vetoed the move.
“She told me the president didn’t want to hire a coach from a 2-10 team,” Young said. “Probably the best thing that ever happened to me. Thank God for unanswered prayers. I probably would have come here, screwed it up and gotten fired.”
Not likely. We’ll never know, but chances are he would have built a winner and stayed in the job for a long, long time. Another opportunity to become a hot college football coach never came his way.
The former TU president’s lack of foresight and desire to win the press conference instead of turn the tide of a losing football program was Tulsa’s loss and KU’s gain. During his time in Lawrence, Young recruited a steady stream of players from Oklahoma who after being coached up developed into key members of his defense.
Young taught more than just his players. Current Kansas defensive coordinator Clint Bowen learned a great deal from Young.
“It truly was a blessing because, one, Bill knows so much football,” Bowen said. “He’s had so many great jobs and seen so many things and he’s such a good coach, but the thing about Bill also is he’s the most patient human being in the world, to take time to always help build coaches up and help you learn. It’s his patience and your ability to go and talk to Bill and have him explain things to you that was so great. It was never a burden to him. You ask Bill a question, whatever time it took for him to explain everything about the defense, why he called it, what he wanted to happen, it was such a blessing, his patience and willingness to work with people instead of just barking out instructions.”
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Young is in his third season at Tulsa, working for first-time head coach Phillip Montgomery. Young worked for Mangino in his first six years at Kansas and left after the Orange Bowl to fill a similar role at University of Miami.
Young shared by phone from Tulsa last week that his stay at KU came very close to ending after his first season, 2002, when the Jayhawks went 2-10 in Mangino’s debut.
Young revealed that then Tulsa athletic director Judy Macleod wanted to hire him to replace Keith Burns, forced out after three years on the job, but that TU president Dr. Bob Lawless vetoed the move.
“She told me the president didn’t want to hire a coach from a 2-10 team,” Young said. “Probably the best thing that ever happened to me. Thank God for unanswered prayers. I probably would have come here, screwed it up and gotten fired.”
Not likely. We’ll never know, but chances are he would have built a winner and stayed in the job for a long, long time. Another opportunity to become a hot college football coach never came his way.
The former TU president’s lack of foresight and desire to win the press conference instead of turn the tide of a losing football program was Tulsa’s loss and KU’s gain. During his time in Lawrence, Young recruited a steady stream of players from Oklahoma who after being coached up developed into key members of his defense.
Young taught more than just his players. Current Kansas defensive coordinator Clint Bowen learned a great deal from Young.
“It truly was a blessing because, one, Bill knows so much football,” Bowen said. “He’s had so many great jobs and seen so many things and he’s such a good coach, but the thing about Bill also is he’s the most patient human being in the world, to take time to always help build coaches up and help you learn. It’s his patience and your ability to go and talk to Bill and have him explain things to you that was so great. It was never a burden to him. You ask Bill a question, whatever time it took for him to explain everything about the defense, why he called it, what he wanted to happen, it was such a blessing, his patience and willingness to work with people instead of just barking out instructions.”
