Turner Gill is now the head man in Lawrence. And Kansas football players are heartened that Head Coach Piggyback Tuesdays just got a lot easier.
Turner Gill rubs the media the right way during Big 12 Media Days.
I got a good smile on. It's great to be here. I got a smile because I just got my family moved from Buffalo, New York, to Lawrence, Kansas.
Yeah, I'd be smiling too. People in the Ukraine make fun of Buffalo.
On the transition post-Mangino...
So we put out a little bit of a survey deal that I gave to every single player, every single coach, and it had about eight to ten questions...
Kansas Jayhawk football player, would you say that you are _____________ with the selection of snacks in the vending machines?
Please choose one:
1. Very Satisfied
2. Somewhat Satisfied
3. Neutral/Do Not Understand Question
4. Somewhat Dissatisfied
5. Very Dissatisfied
6. I want to beat up Tyshawn Taylor
If you want some understanding of how bad Kansas is going to be this year, this question is some indication...
Q. Coach, what were your impressions of Trevor Marrongelli this spring, and how do you see him factoring in this fall?
Who is Trevor Marrongelli, you ask?
Exactly.
On what drives Gill...
I focus on the things that I can control. Again, I'm passionate about trying to develop young men. That's what my purpose here on this earth to do, is to work with young men between 18 and 22 years old. That's what I love to do. I got a passion about it...Again, mostly, though, my job is to go out and teach young men between 18 and 22 years old, to get their degree, and then be instrumental in our society and then play a great game of football for the University of Kansas.
All joking aside, I get a sense from Turner Gill, like Paul Rhoads, that he is a guy in coaching for the right reasons.
Will that make him any less fired if he goes 14-22 over the next three seasons while managed by an athletic director that played no role in hiring him?
Nope.