Reports: Kansas is turning to Gill

LINCOLN — Turner Gill is returning to the Big 12 with Kansas, which will put him on a sideline opposite the Nebraska program in which he spent three years as a starting quarterback and 13 more as an assistant coach.

Multiple news media outlets reported Saturday night that Gill was set to become the next head coach at KU. In replacing Mark Mangino, he will try to maintain some of the momentum built and respect gained by the Jayhawks in recent seasons.

And he'll try to beat the Big 12 program that he helped make so good in the 1980s and '90s.

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini, who coached with Gill at Nebraska in 2003, called Gill a “great hire'' for Kansas and said he is a tremendous coach.

“It's always interesting between Kansas and Nebraska,'' Pelini said in New York, where he was attending the Heisman Trophy ceremony. “I know Turner well and I have a tremendous amount of respect for him as a football coach. I wish him and his family well. That's a great move for him.''

Kansas had not made an announcement by Saturday night, but the Kansas City Star, the Lawrence Journal-World, the Associated Press, ESPN.com and other outlets reported that KU had picked Gill.

Gill, 47, recently completed his fourth year as head coach at Buffalo, where he was lauded for turning around one of the worst programs in major college football. His teams went 20-30 overall, but the Bulls won the Mid-American Conference championship in 2008 and advanced to a bowl game for the first time in half a century.

The move to Kansas would give Gill his first head coaching job at a BCS school. He spoke with Auburn and some others a year ago.

“I'm very happy for him,'' said former NU quarterback Eric Crouch, who played for Gill from 1997 through 2001. “I think that'll be a great place for him to coach. He's a great person and a wonderful coach. I think he's going to do very, very well. I'm just surprised it took this long.''

After Tom Osborne became the Nebraska athletic director two years ago, he considered both Gill and Pelini for the Huskers' vacant job before hiring Pelini to replace Bill Callahan.

Osborne was reluctant to discuss KU's decision because nothing had been confirmed by Kansas officials. But he did say that he spoke to KU Athletic Director Lew Perkins recently about Gill.

“I've recommended Turner to everybody that's ever talked to me,” Osborne said. “He's a great person, he's a great coach. Nobody thinks more of Turner than I do. I don't want to say any more because I don't know what's going to happen.”

NU tight ends coach Ron Brown, who worked on the Husker staff with Gill for a dozen years, said Gill never set out to become a hot name or up-and-comer in college football coaching.

But Brown said he isn't surprised that it happened.

“He was just being who he is,'' Brown said. “Coaching football the way he believes coaching should be.''

Brown said he was impressed when he visited Gill at Buffalo and watched him interact with his team.

“No question that what he set out to do is what he is all about,'' Brown said. “Loving his players, having them be Christ-centered ... what happened there is just a natural result of all the work he's put in.

“His Christian character is what epitomizes his coaching.''

It appears to be a different coaching style than KU players are used to. The Mangino era ended with Perkins ordering an internal investigation into his treatment of players. After a promising 5-0 season collapsed into a seven-game losing skid, several former players came forth and told of verbally abusive treatment by Mangino. But other KU players offered their support.

KU won 20 games over the 2007 and 2008 seasons, including the 12-1 record and Orange Bowl victory in 2007 that led to Mangino being the national coach of the year.

Kansas should be able to continue its steady recruiting of Texas under Gill, who is from Fort Worth and regularly worked the state in the past.

“Turner's proven himself over time to be a good coach and a great recruiter, too,'' Crouch said. “I think it will be a great thing for the University of Kansas. I really do. He'll bring a new element to their team that they haven't had before because of the special person that he is. He'll affect a lot of young lives.''

As Brown said, he thinks this is a good fit for his friend.

“I'm very pleased and proud for Turner Gill to be back in the Big 12 Conference,'' Brown said. “It's great for college football.''

World-Herald staff writer Mitch Sherman, World-Herald correspondent Steve Beideck and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact the writer:

444-1042, rich.kaipust@owh.com