Turner Gill Axed by Jayhawks

The man who led the Bulls to the International Bowl in 2008 is a UB legend. But following a hasty exit at Kansas, now he's an unemployed legend.

Turner Gill was fired Sunday after he met with Athletic Director Sheahon Zenger.

He led the Jayhawks to a 5-19 record in two years as head football coach. He took that job – a glamorous job, a job in a major conference, an upgrade – after three years of coaching at UB. He went 1-16 in the Big 12.

There used to generally be an unspoken three-year rule for college football coaches. They get three years to prove their worth before they're disposable. Athletic Director Warde Manuel was asked if he thinks the rule still exists.

"No," Manuel said. "Traditionally, it's probably more of an after four-year decision, but there have been several institutions over the past few years that have started to make decisions on coaches after their second, third year. And while I can't speak to that, if it's strictly based on wins and losses, I think it's too soon. You need to give coaches an opportunity to build a program with their recruits and then determine their fate in the four or five year

Though he only went 20-30 in four years in Buffalo, he is held in such high regard because he turned around a terrible team. The Bulls went 8-49 under Jim Hofher, the head coach prior to Gill.

The Bulls won the Mid-American Conference East title in 2007 and 2008. He won MAC Coach of the Year in 2007.

Gill wasn't given the traditional three-year period, and some of his former players aren't happy about it.

"I think [Kansas] didn't give him enough time to get his players in there," said former Bulls linebacker Justin Winters in an email. "[Kansas] let go a great

Manuel, too, said he didn't think Gill was given enough time.

Lew Perkins, Zenger's predecessor, hired Gill. He was given a five-year, $10-million dollar contract. He is still owed approximately $6 million.

He expected to be back, and said at a postseason press conference that the team had a harder road in front of it than he'd expected. He still said the program was moving in the right direction.

Several coaches, including Iowa State coach Paul Rhodes and Oklahoma's Bob Stoops have come to Gill's defense.

"I think there's no way in the world you can build your program, a program that's been down, and flip it that quick, or even have a chance to flip it that quick," said Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel. "I think it's really

Gill took over a 5-7 Kansas team in 2010.

The 49-year-old Texas native was one of 11 African-American head coaches in Division-1 at the time of his hiring. Gill was a quarterback for Nebraska as a college student and he pieced together a successful career – finishing with a 28-2 record in three years as the starter.

The Jayhawks started the season with two wins but finished the season 2-10. Kansas ranked last in the FBS in total defense and scoring defense this year.

"Playing for Turner was great," Winters said. "He made you feel like you can win any game and confidence is a big part of the game. Turner is a man of integrity and a great recruiter so he will bounce back and take another program or NFL team to

Manuel is also confident Gill will land on his feet.

"I think he still has the ability to be a head coach and I think there are A.D.s out there that will look at it the way I do: that he deserved more time," Manuel said. "Turner is an outstanding person who does things the right

Manuel was then asked if he would ever consider bringing Gill back.

"Sure, I love what Turner did here and respect it greatly," Manuel said. "If anything changes here in the future and an opportunity is here, I'll definitely talk to him again and see if he'd want to come

However, Manuel said he is pleased right now with the progress current head coach Jeff Quinn is making. Quinn is the only man to coach Buffalo since Gill left, and he's gone 5-19 in two years. Some fans are already calling for his job. Manuel had a message for those fans:

"Be patient," Manuel said. "He brought in a different system, and he now has his second full recruiting class coming up. I'm not going to make a decision on a coach after the second year and predicate it on just what's going on out on the

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