AMES — Don’t judge first-year Kansas head coach David Beaty off of Kansas’ current 0-3 record. Heck, former KU head man Charlie Weis was once quoted referring to what Beaty took over as a “pile of crap.”
My first impression of Beaty, 44, was a positive one at this year’s Big 12 Media Days in Dallas back in July. The former Kansas, Rice and Texas A&M assistant was passionate about his roots as a Texas high school football coach. He was the most energetic coach in the room and had sold me – an outsider – that he was the man who would ultimately rebuild a once proud (during the Mark Mangino years) Big 12 football program.
At the time, I had no idea that Beaty had at one time interviewed to be on Paul Rhoads’ inaugural coaching staff at Iowa State back in 2009.
“I interviewed him when I first got the job for the wide receiver position,” Rhoads told me during his weekly press conference on Monday. “It didn’t happen. He and Tom Herman had been together. We sat down and visited on a recruiting stop in Dallas but I’ve known David since then.”
Luke Wells, now the co-offensive coordinator at Utah State, is the man who Rhoads hired over Beaty.
“I have the upmost respect for him,” Rhoads said. “He had a chance to talk about Big 12 meetings when we got together and know he is neck deep in it right now and loving every second of what he is doing.”
