Les Koenning is out as the Kansas Jayhawks’ offensive coordinator after five games, coach Les Miles announced Sunday.
Miles promoted offensive analyst Brent Dearmon to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Koenning, 60, is a veteran assistant who has served as offensive coordinator for several schools, including Alabama, Texas A&M and Mississippi State.
“I would like to thank Coach Koenning for his contributions to Kansas Football,” Miles said in a statement.
“This was a difficult decision, but it is in the best interest of our football program both now and in the future. There is still a lot of football left to play this season and I want to put our players in the best position to be successful, which is why I am making the change now.”
Although Kansas (2-4, 0-3 Big 12) did score 48 points in a road win at Boston College on Sept. 13, it failed to put up more than 24 in any of its other games. The Jayhawks are 101st out of 130 teams in scoring, averaging 22.8 points per game, and are 102nd in total offense (354.5 yards per game) in Miles’ first season as head coach.
Dearmon last season was the head coach at Bethel University, an NAIA school in Tennessee that went 10-1 and averaged 55.0 points per game. Dearmon, a Bethel alum, was the offensive coordinator at Division II Arkansas Tech for three previous seasons and was an offensive analyst for coach Gus Malzahn at Auburn for two years before that.
“Brent is one of the brightest individuals I have encountered in all of my years coaching,” Miles said. “His experience as a record-setting coach and quarterback at the collegiate level will benefit our offense immediately. I believe our players will be naturally drawn to Brent’s leadership and coaching ability.
Kansas, coming off a 45-20 home loss to Oklahoma, next plays at Texas on Oct. 19.
