KU Jayhawks football coach Lance Leipold gives refs the business. He’s not apologizing

Kansas coach Lance Leipold was told by an official to step back to the sideline. He did so quickly ... then motioned with his hands for that same official to join him in his new location.

Leipold was livid. This was in the second quarter of KU’s 45-7 home loss to Baylor, and the Bears had not been flagged for a late push out of bounds that had sent quarterback Jason Bean past the bench area.

KU’s coach screamed. He pointed to the video board, pleading that the hit should have drawn a 15-yard penalty.

The outburst reflects a new normal for KU on game days, as Leipold has frequently been caught by TV cameras fighting for his team during critical moments.

“My passion for our team and our players ... I’m not going to worry about what the scoreboard says — in our favor, not in our favor — about my expectations of anyone associated with the game,” Leipold said. “Our players, anybody that oversees the game, whatever that may be.”

The previous week had a similar scenario.

Leipold followed an official up the sideline to yell at him for an extended time after the crew picked up a flag against Coastal Carolina for a potential block in the back penalty.

When asked Tuesday what he believed his role was on game days, Leipold said it was often to speak up when he felt his team was being slighted.

“I know what I see,” Leipold said, “and I’m pretty confident about it.”

Leipold said there had already been a few times this year when his suspicions had been confirmed. He said the Big 12 office — after the fact — had told him more than once that calls he’d argued were wrong in the moment had in fact been missed by the officiating crew.

There are sometimes more to the eruptions than simply getting after the refs, though; Leipold explained why during his “Hawk Talk” radio show last week.

“Part of my responsibility is making sure we do have energy, we do have passion, we do give great effort,” Leipold said, “and sometimes it’s my responsibility vocally to make sure that’s happening as well and to also show that energy.”

Leipold also showed emotion in the season-opener when restraining his own player, as he jumped in quickly to help push back Rob Fiorentino when a South Dakota player bumped into him on the sideline.

Though cameras didn’t catch it, Leipold was animated in another second-quarter instance against Baylor as well. This came after officials failed to call a holding penalty against the Bears on a KU receiver in front of the Jayhawks’ bench.

“I know and see that a jersey’s being pulled, I feel pretty adamant about it, especially when it happened five feet in front of me,” Leipold said. “So I sleep well at night knowing what I saw, and I’ll leave it at that.”

This represents a contrast from recent KU football coaches. Les Miles, in particular, remained mostly stoic on the sidelines in KU’s previous two seasons.

Leipold says what fans see on Saturdays reflects his personality.

“I’ve been that way for 15 years,” Leipold said, “and I’m probably not changing.”