By G The Producer (Mile High Sports; KCKK Denver/Littleton)
Oh what confidence it once was... Or was it arrogance and stupidity?
Shortly after Kansas AD Sheahon Zenger announced that he'd had enough of the Turner Gill experiment (one which was not his hire), I couldn't help but think of the support for the former coach to come to Boulder to be Hawk-Talk-Juice-Box's replacement
Don't remember?
"When Dan Hawkins twisted in the wind last month, I told my boss that if Hawkins is fired, I know the first person I'm calling.
Turner Gill.
Now it looks like Kansas will be the third Big 12 North school to sweep past Colorado in a coach's first year.
It's no surprise Kansas landed one of the up- and-coming coaches in the game. While Gill turned Buffalo from a backwater bottom feeder into a championship team..."
Henderson, John. The Denver Post "Kansas makes right call with Gill." December 18, 2009; Page C-03
In only two years, Turner Gill not only failed to change the culture at Kansas following the reported tyrant behavior of Mark Manplanet (which led to him being forced to resign), and not only did he fail on the football field going 5-19, and only a single win in Big 12 conference play (see Dan Hawkins), but he also failed mightily on his dramatic promises to recruit unlike any Kansas coach had. At the time he was released, Kansas currently holds only 7 verbal commitments according to rivals.com.
But let's not be too hard on our good friend Johnny boy! There were others too.
"But it is nevertheless a fascinating thought... the man on lots of folks` list was Buffalo`s Turner Gill... I simply hope he does things the right way. Just to prove it can still be done in Boulder.
Woelk, Neill. Daily Camera. "It would be nice to see 'right way' be a success." 11/16/2009.
But let's be fair, beyond the radio calls, blog comments, facebook pages, the movement for Turner Gill wasn't limited to Boulder.
Who can forget this gem...
"I think race was the No. 1 factor. You can say it’s not about race, but you can’t compare the two resumes and say [Chizik] deserved the job. Out of all the coaches they interviewed, Chizik probably had the worst resume... I’m just very disappointed. I just thought Turner Gill would be the perfect choice for two reasons: He’s a terrific coach and we needed to make a splash. I thought we had to do something spectacular to bring attention to the program. Clearly, if we’d hired a black coach, it would have created a buzz."Charles Barkley in interview with ESPN.com.
In an Auburn publication, they asked their fans if they agreed or disagreed with what Barkley said... %64 said they agreed with him.
Oh by the way, Gene Chizik has since produced a Heisman Trophy Winner and a BCS National Title. Turner Gill has produced a buyout negotiation.
Now, I'm prepared for your ready to fill up the comment column with "Embree is no better," and "he beat Dan Hawkins" and I can't argue. So before you do, here is my predetermined comeback... "Did you want this guy to be the head coach here? He sucks".
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