The North might have been a lot better when Terry Allen (LOL) was ku's head coach, but the South wasn't nearly as strong. Oklahoma was mediocre, Texas Tech was pretty average, Texas wasn't the same monster they are today, Texas A&M was okay (especially in '98), Baylor sucked as usual, and Oklahoma State was below average.
Allen flat-out sucked. His teams had no discipline, no heart, no guidance, no structure, no identity. He actually recruited some good players, but most of them were either ineligible or got into trouble. His teams lost double-digit games at home to the San Diego State's of the world. I could go on and on. Mangino inherited a program that couldn't have beaten some of the best high school teams.
It was amazing that he could turn it around as quickly as he did in '03 by going 3-5 in conference and playing in the Tangerine Bowl. '04 was an improved team, but they didn't get it done in the wins column. '05 was his best year so far, but the offense started slow without Swanson at QB and we let a crappy K-State team squeak out a win in Manhattan.
Last year was just a glimpse of how good ku can be in the future. We were within an OT loss at Nebraska and a meltdown loss at Baylor from winning the North. Next year is the hit or miss season for Mangino and we'll see how it turns out. I'm just glad that the football facilities are finally under construction and the dedication to the football program continues to improve. K-State fans are relegated to bragging about their team from four years ago and wondering whether or not Ron Prince can last more than three seasons before getting run out of town.
I'll take ku's situation in a heartbeat. If Mangino gets fired, ku will just hire a better coach at a price of $1.4 million and let him enjoy his brand new coaching office at the Anderson Family Football Complex.