What Kansas head coach Lance Leipold has done for the Kansas Jayhawks football program after ages of the program being a dumpster fire has been nothing short of miraculous. But after leading the Jayhawks to an incredible win over No. 6 Oklahoma today, every coach-needy team is going to want him in town at the end of this season.
After going 109-6 in Division III and winning six national titles at Wisconsin-Whitewater, Leipold became the head coach at Buffalo, who he turned into a Group of Five powerhouse during his six years there.
Now at Kansas, the progress has been steady. They went 2-10 their first year, 6-7 last year and are now 6-2 and coming off one of the biggest wins in program history.
But sooner or later a bigger (and wealthier) college program is going to express some interest in Leipold.
So who are the contenders to sign him away from Kansas after this season?
Let’s take a look at three of them:
1. Michigan State
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The Spartans need a coach capable of delivering them a serious culture change. With Mel Tucker gone and Mark Dantonio only sticking around to help the team finish the season, they need someone who has proven capable of taking over a bad team and turning them into a good one.
Michigan State is probably the best option because on top of having a pressing need for new leadership, they can also afford to pay him considerably more than the Jayhawks are.
If they’re lucky, Leipold could be for Michigan State what James Franklin was for Penn State after Franklin’s incredible tenure at Vanderbilt.
2. Northwestern
Speaking of programs that are in dire need of a culture change, Northwestern is another team that might want to gauge Leipold’s interest.
The Wildcats no doubt want to regain some relevance in the expanding Big Ten Conference and while Leipold isn’t exactly Urban Meyer, the way he’s completely energized Kansas has to be appealing to an administration hoping to completely move past the Pat Fitzgerald era.
Then again, with the Wildcats now 4-4 under interim head coach David Braun, maybe they won’t even make a change…
3. Michigan
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This is purely contingent on head coach Jim Harbaugh leaving Ann Arbor. But as the sign-stealing scandal continues to make waves, the likelihood of that happening only continues to go up.
Should Harbaugh decide that he’s done with the nonsense, Leipold is someone that the Wolverines could turn to first if they can’t lure a national champion out from somewhere.
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Where do you think Lance Leipold is most likely to coach next season?