When the 2021 season kicks off in early September (we hope), Kansas will be nearly 22 months removed from its latest victory.
Kansas last won a football game on Oct. 26, 2019, having lost 13 straight since that 37-34 victory over Texas Tech, including all nine games in 2020. After a 2-1 start to the Les Miles era, Kansas is 1-17 since. Other than a 16-13 loss to Texas Tech in Lubbock, the Jayhawks didn't play a single opponent within 14 points this season. They lost six games by 30-plus points.
If the state of KU football is markedly better than the 3-33 stretch from 2015-17, it's difficult to tell.
Still, the events of 2020 weren't enough to shake Jeff Long's faith in Les Miles.
“We were not pleased with the success on the field. Again, at times didn’t see the kind of progress that we had hoped. But there have been so many things impacting this year, not only for Kansas but for every college football team,” Long said, via KUSports.com. “I am really comfortable with Coach Miles and his continuing to build the program.”
“I honestly believe we’re going to be better,” Long said at another point. “I think how much better remains to be seen.”
To state the obvious: when you lose each conference game by an average of 31.6 points, being "better" could mean you still lose every game, just by 14 this time around. Kansas will have to be orders of magnitude better in order to actually compete in the Big 12.
Long gave Miles a fully-guaranteed contract, meaning Kansas would owe him the full balance of his three remaining years should the program make a change at this point. With a salary of $225,000 and "personal services" worth $2.55 million per year, that would equal $8.325 million. Kansas has spent more than almost anyone in college football buying out fired football coaches, and driving that figure above the $30 million mark, at a basketball school, isn't tenable.
Kansas has no choice but to let it ride with Miles, which is fine with Long because he wouldn't have it any other way.