LAWRENCE — Kansas coach Lance Leipold and Colorado coach Deion Sanders have very different personalities. But their paths to coaching high-profile jobs have similarities.
Both started at the lower levels before rising to Power-4 coaching positions. Leipold began his coaching career in 1987 at Wisconsin-Whitewater as an assistant before eventually circling back and becoming the head coach there in 2007. From there Leipold coached at Buffalo for six seasons before becoming coach of the Jayhawks in 2021.
Sanders, who played pro baseball and football, eventually got into coaching football, first as a high school coach in Texas then in the college ranks at Jackson State before taking the Colorado job last season. The two coaches will finally meet on the sideline when the Jayhawks take on the Buffaloes at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium.
“I have a lot of respect for Coach Sanders and how he’s gone about it,” Leipold said. “And I told him that one of the first times I met him because the thing that we do have in common is that we’ve come up through ranks that aren’t necessarily conventional to getting a Power-4 football job. And that is he coached high school football at an HBCU that doesn’t have many resources and he found a way to be successful and he found a way to build his program with his own philosophy.
“And I told him that when I met him in Arizona how much respect I had for him because of that. And whether it be our styles or personality he probably was ahead of the curve in being upfront about the landscape of college football was changing and what it was going to be like and where it was heading. And that’s not his fault. He’s taken what’s been put on us and he’s gone about building a football team that’s one of the most improved in college football in a very short period of time.”
Sanders has No. 16 Colorado (8-2) vying for a spot in the Big 12 title game as well as a spot in the college football playoffs. The Buffaloes are led by quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who has thrown for 3,222 yards and 27 touchdowns, and wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter. The two-way star has 74 catches for 911 yards and nine touchdowns on offense with 24 tackles and three interceptions on defense.
“They are a very talented team and playing with a lot of confidence,” Leipold said. “And (Coach Sanders) has got himself a really good football team with a chance to play a lot of football yet.”
KU (4-6) still has a chance to make a bowl game but will have to win its next two games to do so. More than 30 Jayhawk seniors will be honored before the game, and Leipold said he’s proud of them for bringing the program back to respectability and for fighting through a tough start to the season.
“Our guys have handled things so well,” Leipold said. “I think it is what it is. And when you talk about part of your senior season or your college career, it’s the friendships and the relationships, things like that.
“Many times, I think you look back and you talk about things in the locker room, you talk about trips, bus rides. And hopefully this group will continue to grasp onto some of those great memories and hopefully we’ll be able to create some more the last couple weeks.”
