Kansas rebuilding project has long way to go, but foundation is there

Paul Myerberg | USA TODAY Sports

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Fourteen years before David Beaty got to Kansas, there was North Dallas High School. When Beaty was hired away from Garland High in 2001, North Dallas was referred to in Texas coaching circles as the Bermuda Triangle: Coaches go in, but they don’t come out. The school had two footballs, both deflated. There was no dirt or grass on the practice field.

To make the area usable for drills, Beaty would leave water hoses on certain areas of the field when he left at night, wake up at 2 a.m. to switch their positions, and move them again before taking his daughters to school in the morning. When grass came in, as it did eventually, Beaty would mow the field himself with his own lawnmower.

This was the first time Beaty would run his own program. It wasn’t easy, all results notwithstanding; North Dallas would win six games in Beaty’s single season, a remarkable achievement given the school’s history. It was, however, good practice.

Eight years ago, under former coach Mark Mangino, Kansas won the Orange Bowl. A season later, the Jayhawks won eight games. A year after that, amid allegations of player mistreatment, Mangino was fired. His replacement, Turner Gill, lasted two years. The next coach, Charlie Weis, didn’t make it out of his third season.

Years of change created a disaster. One coach would replace another, installing his specific formula for success: conditioning programs, offensive schemes, defensive blueprints and overall identity. His successor would tear the program down to its studs and repeat the process. A new process began with Beaty, one that continues this week as Kansas tries to avoid becoming the first team in the 20-season history of the Big 12 to have a winless season.

“This is much more of a difficult job than I think anybody really knows right now,” Beaty told USA TODAY Sports. “I knew the situation. I don’t think I knew all of it, but I knew it wasn’t a great situation. I knew I loved this place. I knew it was going to take that.”

It’s going to take years of rebuilding; by Beaty’s estimation, it will take nearly the duration of his contract — a five-year deal inked last December — to completely rebuild the roster. In the meantime, the program is tackling this project in the only way Beaty and his staff know how: Kansas is addressing every single detail, beginning with the smallest.

“Whether we get it done here remains to be seen. But I believe we will,” said Beaty. “I know we will. I have no doubt.”

It’s a message of confidence Beaty outlined in his introductory speech to the team last December. It could’ve taken place in Kansas’ meeting room, an expansive gathering space used for the team’s daily breakdowns. Instead, Beaty met with the Jayhawks in the weight room.

There was some designed symbolism at play. For starters, Beaty wanted to send a message: This is where we’ll build a winning program. He also knew that the meeting room was where a parade of coaches had recently relayed their own visions; it was the staff’s first opportunity to break a cycle.

Beaty told his new team that what happened here — the coaching changes, the losing — wasn’t their fault, and that the past doesn’t matter. If we’re going to do this, he said, we’re going to have to do it together. There were no misconceptions: This is not going to be easy, Beaty said, but it will be worth it.

Beginning in the spring and continuing through the season’s long losing streak, Kansas has stressed a bottom-up approach. The Jayhawks work on their practice habits. On ball security. On single-play responsibility: The idea that just one misstep — say, making one incorrect move at the snap — can lead to a breakdown, as seen during last week’s lopsided loss to West Virginia.

Boiled down, Beaty’s vision for the Jayhawks’ rebuild is rooted in the little things — in winning the small battles along the way rather than focusing solely on the end result.

“His saying is, all those small things add up to one big things,” senior defensive end Ben Goodman said. “So he’s doing the little things, trying to do everything correct. We have to get the little things fixed.”

Improvement has been made, even if the standings suggest otherwise. Players point to strides in the weight room, and a stronger, nearly unprecedented sense of togetherness. Kansas has become “a real team,” said sophomore tight end Ben Johnson. Coaches highlight individual plays, reinforcing a commitment to consistency.

Amid the losses, Beaty has found a new way to measure success. For now, it’s not about the end result: Kansas is focused as much on today as on tomorrow, defining itself with the sort of incremental progress that seems unnoticeable from a distance yet has bred enormous in-house confidence in the program’s future.

“I try very hard to not let the world determine what I think is success,” Beaty said. “I tell my team all the time. Don’t let the world dictate how we do this, don’t let them derail our plan. I know what we need to do to get this done.

“I know what the future’s going to look like, and when I hear our guys talk, our kids talk, our seniors talk, I know we’re on the right track. When you hear a senior saying, ‘I wish I had four more years now,’ you’re like, OK, we’re on the right track.”

Yet after the last half-decade — with massive roster turnover and mismanagement rearing its head in Beaty’s debut — there clearly can be no quick fixes or shortcuts for leading the Jayhawks back into bowl contention.

Of Kansas’ 11 losses, just two have come by single digits. The Jayhawks rank 123rd in the FBS in scoring offense and dead last, allowing 46.2 points per game, in scoring defense. The Jayhawks have scored 94 points in eight conference games; they’ve allowed 385 points.

But there’s an understanding: Kansas needs to crawl before it can walk, Beaty said, and walk before it can run. This needs to be built from the very bottom floor, with the structure laid with a combination of toughness, roster development, energy and positivity.

“I’m very proud of the fact that this group understands that there are no shortcuts,” Kansas athletics director Sheahon Zenger said. “We knew this season would be long and hard. But teams take on the personality of their head coach. David Beaty, you just can’t keep him down. I have yet to see him defeated. He’s resilient, he’s authentic. There’s a real joy in that.”

As Kansas heads into the season finale, a matchup against rival Kansas State, the greatest growth in Beaty’s debut is cultural. If not toxic, the feeling in the locker room last fall was resignation; this year’s team is energized, conducting practice, workouts and meetings at a rate and level belying its record.

“It’s all on the coaches,” said sophomore linebacker Joe Dineen. “They don’t let you get low energy. They make it fun for you every day. We’re obviously 0-11, but I don’t feel like we’re 0-11. Which is good, I guess, but I think it’s all a credit to the coaches.”

Beaty’s biggest battles have come not just against the Big 12 Conference but recent history, a five-year decline that has tugged at the Jayhawks’ every stride. In a season devoid of tangible successes, reversing that trend has been Beaty’s greatest victory. “He’s found a way to unite us,” Johnson said.

It will also serve as the groundwork for what happens next. This February’s signing class will bring another round of needed depth and talent, while the ensuing spring and summer will allow for another offseason in the Jayhawks’ strength and conditioning program. Next year’s team will be deeper, stronger, faster, more confident.

The next step — the next stage in the cycle, defensive coordinator Clint Bowen said — will be built upon the pieces already in place. For the first time in years, Kansas has laid the foundation for future success. No quick fixes, no shortcuts, just a plan, and the entire program has bought in.

“We believe in what we’re doing,” Beaty said. “We’re going to continue to stay the course. The plan is in place. The plan wasn’t to lose 12 games. The plan is to build a winner. And it’s part of the process.

“I can’t give it to them overnight but we will give it to them. And when that time comes, there’s going to be plenty of room on the bandwagon.”

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