Harder Rebuild: Kansas or WSU?

[Brent H.]

Kansas won't win a game this year, clearly the worst Power 5 team in the country and their coach took over a similar situation that Leach did, they have had like 9 wins in 4 years before going into this year.

What is the tougher rebuild? I'd say Kansas just because it's a basketball school and that is where all the money goes to and what all the fans care about. I don't know if there is much difference between Lawrence and Pullman with terms of recruiting to, both are in the middle of nowhere and they don't really have the facilities that we do now. Kansas had a brief bit amount success in the mid 2000's, getting to #2 in the country in 2007 before losing to Missouri in the Big 12 Title game, but beating Va Tech in the Orange Bowl, but after they fired Maginino after the 2009 season it's been all down hill from there, especially after the inexcusable hire of Weis.

I remember that a lot of fans thought that Leach was heading to Kansas after 2011, a few on here were sure of it. People think that Kansas might have the coach to get it done, but it's a monster rebuild for them. How much more difficult, if at all, compared to what Leach faced here?

 

[wazzucougs96]

Kansas won't win a game this year, clearly the worst Power 5 team in the country and their coach took over a similar situation that Leach did, they have had like 9 wins in 4 years before going into this year.

What is the tougher rebuild? I'd say Kansas just because it's a basketball school and that is where all the money goes to and what all the fans care about. I don't know if there is much difference between Lawrence and Pullman with terms of recruiting to, both are in the middle of nowhere and they don't really have the facilities that we do now. Kansas had a brief bit amount success in the mid 2000's, getting to #2 in the country in 2007 before losing to Missouri in the Big 12 Title game, but beating Va Tech in the Orange Bowl, but after they fired Maginino after the 2009 season it's been all down hill from there, especially after the inexcusable hire of Weis.

I remember that a lot of fans thought that Leach was heading to Kansas after 2011, a few on here were sure of it. People think that Kansas might have the coach to get it done, but it's a monster rebuild for them. How much more difficult, if at all, compared to what Leach faced here?

Lawrence is 40 minutes from Kansas City. It isn't even close to a comparison to Pullman.

 

[dgibbons]

One advantage for Kansas is all the JC football schools close by. At least you'd think that's an advantage.

 

[How_did_this_happen?]

You can't rebuild what you've never built in the first place. You'd have to look at our history in the past 20 years or so, for example, and conclude that they are a much harder program to build.

You'd think Duke would be very hard to build too, but they seem to have figured that out.

At least we can say that we are a rebuild (despite what Biggs has stated)...if that is any consolation.

 

[BiggsCoug]

WSU isn't a rebuild. If you've got 2 or 3 stretches of 3 winning seasons in a row in 100 years of football you've never been built.

 

[wazzubruce]

WSU has been to fairly recent Rose Bowls... when was the last time Kansas won a Conference Championship? Big 8 or Big 12?

 

[Fab5Coug]

WSU isn't a rebuild. If you've got 2 or 3 stretches of 3 winning seasons in a row in 100 years of football you've never been built.

This. It's only recently that WSU started to give a shite about football. Facilities and coaches, that's what it takes. WSU only started to build this 4 years ago.

 

[wazzubruce]

Excellent question to be posed and excellent response by Fab5 and SO TRUE! WSU didn't really buy into big boy football until the Pac-12 formed and we got Leach.... with the total upgrade in coach we got upgrades in recruiting and in facilities.... WSU is on the move.

 

[wulffui]

So, look out, Utica! WSU is a football program... on the GROW.

 

[Brent H.]

WSU isn't a rebuild. If you've got 2 or 3 stretches of 3 winning seasons in a row in 100 years of football you've never been built.

Build a program then.

 

[Cougsocal]

Pretty equal I'd say. Kansas and WSUs histories are very similar. With the right coach they can and have won. They went 12-1 under Mangino and won a BCS Bowl both better than Price. It isn't rocket science, coaching matters more than anything. Kansas completed their "state of the art" FOB only two years ago, but if you hire a Paul Wulff clone like Charley Weis, no monument to stupidity can save you.

 

[95coug]

Kansas won't win a game this year, clearly the worst Power 5 team in the country and their coach took over a similar situation that Leach did, they have had like 9 wins in 4 years before going into this year.

What is the tougher rebuild? I'd say Kansas just because it's a basketball school and that is where all the money goes to and what all the fans care about. I don't know if there is much difference between Lawrence and Pullman with terms of recruiting to, both are in the middle of nowhere and they don't really have the facilities that we do now. Kansas had a brief bit amount success in the mid 2000's, getting to #2 in the country in 2007 before losing to Missouri in the Big 12 Title game, but beating Va Tech in the Orange Bowl, but after they fired Maginino after the 2009 season it's been all down hill from there, especially after the inexcusable hire of Weis.

I remember that a lot of fans thought that Leach was heading to Kansas after 2011, a few on here were sure of it. People think that Kansas might have the coach to get it done, but it's a monster rebuild for them. How much more difficult, if at all, compared to what Leach faced here?

Kansas should be easier. They're on an interstate. KC, St. Louis, and Oklahoma City are all within an easy day's drive. They're centrally located to the entire country, and 45 minutes from a major airport that can land them anywhere in the country in 3-4 hours. Tons of JCs within an easy drive (and which K State has built successful teams out of more than once). Under 500 miles from Chicago, Dallas, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, and just barely over 500 to Denver...which means they're in the heart of recruiting country.

Pullman is 50+ miles from the closest interstate. Over an hour to a middling airport that can connect you to anywhere, but plan on 6+ hours and a layover to go east. Central to nothing, long way to everything. Easy day's drive to Seattle or Portland, unless it's between November and March. No JCs with football within 500 miles. Boise and Salt Lake City are the only additional metro areas within 500 miles.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

Kansas won't win a game this year, clearly the worst Power 5 team in the country and their coach took over a similar situation that Leach did, they have had like 9 wins in 4 years before going into this year.

What is the tougher rebuild? I'd say Kansas just because it's a basketball school and that is where all the money goes to and what all the fans care about. I don't know if there is much difference between Lawrence and Pullman with terms of recruiting to, both are in the middle of nowhere and they don't really have the facilities that we do now. Kansas had a brief bit amount success in the mid 2000's, getting to #2 in the country in 2007 before losing to Missouri in the Big 12 Title game, but beating Va Tech in the Orange Bowl, but after they fired Maginino after the 2009 season it's been all down hill from there, especially after the inexcusable hire of Weis.

I remember that a lot of fans thought that Leach was heading to Kansas after 2011, a few on here were sure of it. People think that Kansas might have the coach to get it done, but it's a monster rebuild for them. How much more difficult, if at all, compared to what Leach faced here?

It's really tough to compare the two and say which one is a tougher job overall. Right now, and for the past several years, I'd say that the WSU job is better then that KU job and an easier place to win. Looking at the pros and cons for KU compared to Pullman:

Pros
still a college town but only 40 minutes from a major metropolitan area
affluent alumni base
lots of juco talent close by
It is an AAU school
easy drive for millions of people

Cons
Basketball first school
Texas talent pool heavily picked over before KU becomes a consideration
elitist attitude means zero patience (3 years and you are done)
KSU has a better pipeline to jucos and all of the best ones end up at major schools now

In the end, the results speak for themselves. KU has only been ranked in the Top 25 at the end of the season nine times in school history. Only two out of their last eight coaches have got them to bowl games. WSU isn't much better on the ranked front with only eleven ranked finishes in school history but it still beats KU. When you look at ranked teams in the past 30 years, the score is WSU 7, KU 3. In terms of coaches, Wulff is the only coach since 1980 that didn't make a bowl game while leading the Cougs. Walden, Erickson, Price, Doba and Leach all had bowl teams. 5 out of 6 trumps 2 for 8 every time. WSU is a much better place to be a coach than KU.