Why Lance Leipold May Have Reached His Peak at Kansas Football

Following KU’s disappointing defeat to Missouri, it’s time to start asking if Lance Leipold has reached his ceiling as head coach of the Jayhawks.

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When Lance Leipold first hired as the head coach of Kansas football in 2021, he inherited a program that was buried in the depths of college football.

The 10-year stretch from 2010 to 2020 was one of the most challenging periods in program history, clouded with bad coaching hires, an embattled athletics administration, and more dark moments than there were bright.

Leipold – in conjunction with University of Kansas Chancellor Doug Girod and KU Athletics Director Travis Goff and – deserves credit for getting KU football out of that dark age. He brought the program back to a level of respectability, ended some ugly losing streaks, and helped secure a much-needed new football stadium.

He was the right man for the job – then. But after the Jayhawks fell short in yet another disappointing loss to the Missouri Tigers on Friday night, it’s time to start questioning whether he’s the right man for the job – now.

Big game troubles

Leipold has won some big games at Kansas during his six years in Lawrence. The dramatic win in Austin in 2021, the home win against No. 6 Oklahoma in 2023, and winning the program’s seventh bowl game in school history in the 2023 Guaranteed Rate Bowl all come to mind.

But many of those wins came when he and the team had little expectations heading in. When expectations were on the line, KU has often fallen tragically short.

The Jayhawks are 2-10 in one-score games dating back to the start of the 2024 season. They’re also now 0-7 in rivalry games under Leipold – losing all five meetings to Kansas State and two highly anticipated matchups against Missouri in back-to-back years after previously not facing the Tigers since 2011.

On Oct. 8, 2022, KU football hosted its first ever ESPN College GameDay ahead of a matchup versus No. 17 TCU. The Jayhawks were 5-0 and ranked No. 19 in the country. It was the biggest regular season game on the biggest stage in a decade for the program, but the team ultimately fell short 38-31.

Leipold has impressed when his team has nothing to lose, but the team has too often fallen short when there’s everything to gain.

Roster and coaching

A big reason for the shortfalls in big games comes down to roster construction and coaching.

It’s one thing to lose a close game against a good opponent, it’s another thing to appear outmatched in terms of talent and preparation – and that’s how it has looked in some of these big games in particular.

That ultimately falls on Leipold’s shoulders. He’s responsible for putting together the roster, putting together the coaching staff, and making critical in-game decisions.

Leipold’s decision to hire Jeff Grimes as offensive coordinator following Kotelnicki’s departure to Penn State was a big swing and a miss that largely cost the Jayhawks a chance at having the special 2024 season that many expected with Jalon Daniels, Devin Neal, and a talented roster at hand.

His decision to promote D.K. McDonald as defensive coordinator in December 2024 is one that remains questionable as the Jayhawks finished No. 12 in the Big 12 Conference last year in scoring defense (26.8 points per game) and gave up 387.2 yards per game (No. 11 in Big 12) and nearly six yards per play (5.9).

Getting good players should also no longer be the challenge it once was for this program thanks to the opportunities provided by the transfer portal and the improvements that have been made to the stadium and facilities that are now some of the best in the Big 12.

Looking ahead

The truth is, Leipold has been given everything he could ask for to make this program successful – which by most KU fans’ standards is reaching six or more wins in a given season.

That’s a low bar for most Power 4 programs, but it’s the bar that Leipold has helped set. And if the Jayhawks fail to reach bowl eligibility again for the third straight season, it will be fair to question whether they ever will again with Leipold at the helm.

Leipold has been given multiple contract extensions, an increased assistant salary pool, new facilities, NIL commitments, and more. This is not the same program that he started out with, nor does it have the same expectations.

KU cannot afford to take a step backwards as a program. They can’t afford to fall behind in this ever-shifting era of college athletics that is largely driven by college football.

Leipold helped guide KU out of the depths of despair, but it’s looking more and more likely that he may not be the right person to guide them into the future.