After spending a few seasons out of football, and then jumping on staff at Youngstown State for a season before recently landing back in the Big 12 as Iowa State's new offensive coordinator, Mark Mangino is ready to get the Cyclone offense back on track.
When you think of the Big 12 as a conference, chances are you think of offense. With schools like Baylor, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State racking up collective yardage like no other conference in the country, the expectations are understandably high in Ames.
But for a guy that led Kansas to the program's only BCS Bowl win, and climbed as high as #2 in the national polls at one point (before being let go), it seems like nothing is out of reach for a reflective Mangino.
“I gave the best I had to offer for eight years, I’ve moved on. I’m in a good spot in life right now. I like where I’m at and I’m comfortable. What happened has happened, good, bad or indifferent. It’s over with.” he told the Topeka Capital-Journal.
For someone that has done the (seemingly impossible) at a school like Kansas being a head coach again isn't necessarily something that is high on his priority list at this point in his coaching career.
“In the back of my mind, there’s always that thought. But I can tell you this: I really want to get Iowa State’s offense rolling. If I’m not a head coach again, my life won’t be incomplete. I’ve been very, very fortunate and thankful for all the experiences in coaching, and in life, that I’ve had."
“If it happens, it happens. I’m prepared for it. I’m a better football coach today than I was the day I walked out the door at the University of Kansas.”
"I’ve gotten to a point in my life where I define my own happiness. I don’t have others define it for me." he added
I know I'm not alone when I say that I'm looking forward to seeing what Mangino can put together with the group of guys that Paul Rhoads and his staff have assembled. Considering what Mangino was able to accomplish at KU, and the passion that players have for Paul Rhoads, this has all the potential to be a very potent combination come fall.