Urban Meyer praises Lance Leipold, addresses long-term future at Kansas

What Lance Leipold has been able to accomplish in just three seasons at Kansas is a testament to just how good of a coach he is. Leipold arrived in 2021 after five seasons at Buffalo to take over a Jayhawks team that had gone 0-9 the year prior and not won more than one conference game since 2008.

After a 2-10 record in his inaugural season, the coach had KU off to a 5-0 start in 2022 that saw them enter the AP poll for the first time since 2009. The Jayhawks ultimately fell apart in the back half of that season, but still finished 6-7 and broke a 13-year drought of not making a bowl game.

That success has carried over into this season despite an injury to quarterback Jalon Daniels, as Kansas is currently 6-2 and coming off an upset win against Oklahoma. An a recent episode of Urban’s Take with Tim May, former coach Urban Meyer addressed the job from Leipold so far and what it will take to continue to build upon it.

“I think he’s got a great AD,” Meyer said. “First of all, it’s a great place. But reality is he has to win. That’s the job, the task you’re given. He has to have support. They’re redoing a bunch of facilities. He’s very proud of what they’ve done so far. You gotta give back to the players and they did. They built a brand new locker room that looked beautiful. But the reality is they’ve gotta keep winning.”

Rumors began to swirl after last season’s success that Leipold would leave for another job. However, the coach affirmed his commitment to Kansas by agreeing to a contract extension through the 2029 season that would pay him $5 million per year. The program also pledged $100 million for a stadium renovation to show it is serious about building a football program.

Meyer believes that shows Leipold is happy with where he’s at and obviously committed for the long term. He doesn’t see it being easy for the coach to leave, however, added that the right program could change his mind.

As much as Lance Leipold has turned Kansas around, the history of the program suggests there is a ceiling for what he can accomplish. The Jayhawks are undoubtedly more of a basketball school and have never won a national championship in football. In fact, they’ve made a bowl game only 13 times.

Meyer compared the situation to when he left Utah after two seasons to coach Florida in 2005. He felt the Gators gave him a better chance to win a championship, and believes that could factor in for Leipold’s future in Lawrence.

“The thing that I would say is, when I was at Utah, Utah was not a good place, it’s a great place,” he said. “It was really hard to leave. Shelley and I talked to some very close friends and I said, ‘the only way I would ever leave a place like Utah is to win a national title. I’m not gonna go bounce from them.’ Obviously, the University of Florida came and a bunch of other schools came to talk to us but we had no interest.

“…But if you have a chance that’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go win a national title and if he believes he’s gonna do it at Kansas I think that’s gonna be a stretch. That’s gonna be tough unless they get the resources to do it. Because the coaching’s certainly good enough.”

Leipold found great success at the Division III level at Wisconsin-Whitewater, winning six national championships in an eight-year tenure. That success enabled him to make the jump to Division I, so it’s clear he has interest in moving up the ladder.

Ultimately, it will come down to just how much desire Leipold has to chase a title. If he wants to, however, Meyer has no doubt that he is capable of accomplishing that.

“He didn’t ask for my advice (but) if he did I would say, ‘it’s a great place. Make sure they support you so that you can win, but you’re the guy that has to go to sleep at night,'” Meyer said. “Maybe whatever he has left in his career, does he want to take a swing for a national title? Because he is a national championship coach.”