Why Lance Leipold Will Remain at Kansas Despite Another Down Year

Kansas football fans are rightfully upset with head coach Lance Leipold right now. The Jayhawks are at risk of missing bowl eligibility for the second season in a row in a 2025 campaign that has been an absolute rollercoaster.

Just like last year, KU has failed to capitalize in big games and has come up short in several key situations. This past week's collapse in the fourth quarter against Arizona was the most recent example, dropping the team to 5–5 on the season.

With tough matchups at Iowa State and at home against Utah to close the schedule, it is looking very possible that the Jayhawks finish with their second straight 5–7 record.

Taking all of this into account, does it warrant the firing of Leipold? The coach who pulled the program out of the abyss and brought it back to relevance? Regardless of where you stand, it probably won't happen after this season.

Firing Lance Leipold Doesn’t Make Sense Right Now

This might be the worst offseason in college football history to have a coaching vacancy. A staggering 11 FBS coaches have already been fired midseason this year, and that doesn't even account for those who will be let go once the season concludes.

There will be several programs looking for new coaches that have far more money to offer than KU and far more resources to invest in football.

Furthermore, Leipold would not be cheap to move on from. His buyout currently sits at $22.93 million, which would put an extraordinary strain on the athletic department.

It is not realistic to think they would willingly put themselves in that situation in an offseason where they already need to find a new quarterback to replace Jalon Daniels and address several other positions.

Kansas has also assembled its best football recruiting class in recent history for the 2026 cycle, and it has already lost 4-star prospect J.J. Dunnigan Jr., who flipped to Miami (FL). Firing Leipold would only increase the likelihood of further decommitments, and KU would almost certainly lose multiple incoming freshmen as a result.

There is no question that Leipold has massively underachieved over the past two years, and something has to be changed, whether it be his coaching staff or the scheme he runs.

Personally, I think that the program has plateaued under Leipold and that his time in Lawrence should be up sooner rather than later. But does that mean AD Travis Goff is going to find someone better in the coaching carousel? The answer is probably not.

There will be real conversations about Leipold's job security going into the 2026 campaign, but it simply doesn't make enough sense for the program to look for a new coach this offseason.