Lance Leipold, Nebraska could be a match made in heaven
MILWAUKEE (BVM) 鈥� Coaching at any level can be difficult. But current Kansas head football coach Lance Leipold has found success at every stop he鈥檚 made.听
鲍奥-奥丑颈迟别飞补迟别谤听
Before the 2007 football season, Leipold was hired by the UW-Whitewater Warhawks, his alma mater, as head football coach. From the jump, Leipold would have a significant amount of success. He led the Warhawks to a 14-1 overall record and made it to the Stag Bowl (DIII national championship), where they defeated Mount Union 31-21. It was evident that Leipold knew how to win, and he鈥檇 prove that in the following seasons.
Leipold would lead Whitewater to a 13-2 overall record in his second season, but the Warhawks fell short to Mount Union. But the next three seasons would be some of the best football Leipold would coach. From 2009-11, Leipold and the Warhawks didn鈥檛 lose a game. Winning three straight DIII national championships, Leipold etched Whitewater鈥檚 name into the history books by to win three or more titles in a row.
Leipold’s tenure as head coach ended after the 2014-15 season following another national title. Leipold finished with a career record of 109-6 (53-3 WIAC).
It was one of the best coaching careers at the DIII level, and other programs like the University of Buffalo started to notice.
Buffalo has hired Wisconsin-Whitewater's Lance Leipold as head coach (via )
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow)
Buffalo stint
Before Whitewater鈥檚 quarterfinal game against Wartburg in 2014, it was announced that Buffalo had agreed to hire Leipold. Whitewater had the longest winning streak in college football (29), and one could assume Leipold accomplished everything he could鈥檝e at the DIII level. So, for those looking at the situation, it wouldn鈥檛 have been hard to blame him for the move.听
However, it could鈥檝e been easily assumed that Leipold questioned the move after recording a combined record of 7-17 in his first two seasons (2015-16). Nevertheless, Leipold found his winning ways again and gradually improved in the following seasons (2017-18), going 16-10. Leipold also helped Buffalo capture its third division (MAC East) title in program history in 2018.
Congratulations to head coach Lance Leipold on being named the Coach of the Year!
— UB Football (@UBFootball)
From 2019-20 Leipold and the Bulls would register an overall record of 14-6. During the 2020 season, Leipold led the Bulls to their first 6-1 start in program history, and the Bulls went on to finish the season as the No. 25 ranked team in the country.
Move to the Big 12
After five seasons in Buffalo, Leipold decided to try his hand in a Power 5 conference. However, he鈥檇 take over one of the worst football programs in the country at Kansas. The Jayhawks hadn鈥檛 won a football game for nearly two years, and the school called upon Leipold to end that drought.听
鈥�We conducted an extensive national search that was guided by feedback from many constituents, and this opportunity garnered interest from outstanding coaches across the country,鈥� Kansas director of athletics Travis Goff said in a . 鈥� Additionally, we owe our fans, donors and alumni a football program that will be built for sustained success. I am confident that is what we will provide under the leadership of Coach Leipold.鈥�
In his first game for the Jayhawks, Leipold ended that drought as he helped lead his team to a 17-14 victory over South Dakota.
BEDLAM IN LAWRENCE
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB)
That wouldn鈥檛 be the only highlight of Leipold鈥檚 first season in the Big 12. He led the Jayhawks into Austin to face the Longhorns, where they took down Texas in overtime. It was just the second time Kansas defeated Texas since the Big 12 has existed.
Following his first year in the Big 12, Leipold has now helped lead the Jayhawks to a 3-0 start in 2022. It鈥檚 their best start in 13 years. Granted, there is still a lot of football to be played in Lawrence, but Leipold is now a name circulating among the blue bloods of college football.
Future
It has taken a while, but fans and certain media members are finally starting to recognize what a coach like Leipold can do for a program. With that comes speculation about where he might continue his coaching career. And one program seems to be coming up a lot lately: Nebraska.听
Nebraska preparing an offer for Lance Leipold
— Sully Engels (@sullyengels)
I think Leipold SHOULD be the guy.
That said, I鈥檝e spoken to a few sources in the 402 鈥� and I would watch Dave Aranda here as well.
It won鈥檛 be an easy thing to pry him away from Baylor, but there is some buzz behind the scenes that the Huskers will push hard to do just that.
— Parker Thune (@ParkerThune)
One could see why Leipold could be favored for the job. He was even an assistant for Nebraska, and for a coach to be familiar with a program is always an added bonus.
To go along with the familiarity of the program, Leipold鈥檚 buyout is only $5 million. It will drop to $4 million at the end of the season. It鈥檚 definitely something that Nebraska could afford to pay.
There鈥檚 little to no doubt that Leipold is one of the underrated college football coaches in the nation. But if he were to join Nebraska and bring it back into the national spotlight, he鈥檇 potentially go down as one of the greatest coaches of all time. But like any competitor, he鈥檚 taking it one day at a time and preparing to lead Kansas to its first bowl game since 2008.
