Feature image from Throughout The Phog

Who Is He?

Lance Leipold is the current media darling head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks (2021-2022), and previous head coach of the MAC’s Buffalo Bulls (2015-2020) and DIII’s Wisconsin-Whitewater, uh, Whales (?) (2007-2014).

(It’s Warhawks. They’re the Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks.)

Leipold seems to make winning in impossible situations a habit - as evidenced by the fact that he’s been on the Boiled Sports Search Firm’s watchlist since 2016.

He went 109-6 at WWW, on his way to six DIII Championships (and one runner-up season). He leapt directly from DIII to the MAC - maybe the largest jump an established college head coach has ever taken in one offseason - and won Buffalo’s first MAC title, first Bowl Game win, and first Top 25 ranking. He went 24-10 in his final three seasons at Buffalo.

After being passed over for Big Ten or ACC jobs, Leipold took over at Kansas in 2021 - a program that hadn’t won more than three games since 2009 and was coming off a few scandal-plagued years. But, like clockwork after one rebuilding season, Leipold led Kansas to a 5-0 start, topping coaching searches for Wisconsin and Nebraska…until starting quarterback Jalon Daniels got injured, and the Jayhawks finished the season 1-6 - but Bowl eligible for the first time since 2008.

Why would he be successful at Purdue?

Give Leipold enough time at Kansas, and he’ll once again prove his 5-1 start wasn’t a fluke. His teams play at a blisteringly fast pace, love to score points (and, in a very Tiller-esque way, sometimes love to leave their defenses gasping for air), and embraces a strong running game to sling the ball deep during play-action as much as possible. He’s also the perfect culture coach with an explosive offense, which would endear himself to Purdue fans quickly.

He would be a perfect stylistic fit at Purdue.

Why could he flop at Purdue?

He doesn’t yet have a track record of recruiting freshman and transfers at the Power 5 level, let alone at the Power 2 level, He also doesn’t have extensive Indiana recruiting roots, but might bring unique inroads to Wisconsin and Illinois / Chicagoland. That being said, for programs like Purdue, working Indiana-adjacent high school recruiting circuits paired with being comfortable with the transfer portal is the only way to sustained survival, and very few coaches might be able to scheme their way to an advantage. His use of that transfer portal at the P2 level is the only cause for concern.

Would he come to Purdue?

Maybe two weeks ago - unfortunately for Purdue, Leipold inked a contract extension with Kansas following his dalliance with the Nebraska job (and it being clear that he wasn’t a finalist for Wisconsin). We know extensions are barely worth the (digital) paper they’re on, but leaving Kansas just two years into his tenure and immediately after signing an extension doesn’t seem like Leipold’s way.