Farewell to Jeff Long and Les Miles, but that won’t fix KU Athletics’ bigger problem

The University of Kansas will have to find a replacement for Athletic Director Jeff Long, but the school’s problems go deeper than that, and must be addressed.

By now you have no doubt heard that KU’s latest football coach, Les Miles, has resigned. Miles’ position became untenable when a study revealed concerns about his interactions with women students during his time at Louisiana State University.

Wednesday, Long also departed under fire.

Both departures are as welcome as they were inevitable. At the same time, Miles will get almost $2 million to walk away, a deal virtually no one else in America could wrangle. The size of the separation agreement mocks the obsession with collegiate athletics.

Long hired Miles. He should have known about the coach’s alleged indiscretions. If he did not, Long failed to do his job.

It’s also clear the school’s administrators had no faith that Long could hire quality employees for any job at KU, let alone a football coach. There was no evidence he would have done a better investigative job this time around.

Now, the school must find another person to run the department. Their search will tell us a great deal about deeper concerns at KU.

The Jayhawks’ on the field football performance has been miserable for more than a decade. The program is arguably among the worst in the nation.

That’s obviously a problem for fans and alumni who like football, and for some in the student body. We have no quarrel with that. We also understand that, for reasons that are somewhat mysterious, winning sports programs can lead to more donations and enrollment for universities.

But that isn’t a reason KU, or any school, should make winning a higher priority than conducting sports programs with integrity and transparency. KU needs collegiate coaches at all levels who value honest competition and student growth as the most important parts of their job descriptions.

Acting inappropriately with students should not be part of the picture.

Winning and losing should take a back seat to these concerns. If any coach treats players and staff with respect, and doesn’t cheat, and students graduate on time, his or her job should be protected.

That doesn’t seem likely in Miles’ case. He left KU because of his alleged behavior, but it’s clear his win-loss record played a significant role too.

That suggests university officials will begin their search for a new coach and athletic director, ready to make the same mistakes again. They will offer millions of dollars to a coach who will make winning his primary focus.

That’s a horrible look when the school is thinking about dismissing staff and cutting pay for teaching assistants.

The path forward seems clear. The University of Kansas should seek an athletic director who values education as much as sports. A woman AD would be a good idea, too.

Then the school’s athletic programs should pursue excellence within the bounds of honesty, sportsmanship and intellectual development. At that point, wins and losses will be less of an issue.

This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 2:55 PM.