LAWRENCE — Lance Leipold had an idea Scott Fuchs might leave college for the NFL one day.
In February, Leipold recalled the conversation from when the two first met. Fuchs didn’t want to be a coordinator or a head coach, just the best offensive line coach he could be, hopefully in the NFL.
So when Fuchs had the chance to leave Kansas football for a job with the Tennessee Titans after the Jayhawks’ 2023 season, Leipold knew it would be tough to keep him. Sure enough, Leipold eventually wished Fuchs the best and began looking for his replacement.
Leipold lost a coach to the NFL during the offseason, but he also took one from it. Not the guy to fill Fuchs’ void, but one to fill a vacancy on defense. And in the short time D.K. McDonald has been the Jayhawks’ co-defensive coordinator/cornerbacks coach, people have already sought him out for his perspective.
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“You’ve seen the questions with everybody, because that’s the goal,” McDonald said earlier this month. “I mean, every guy here wants to play at that level. And so, just being there does give you some credibility of just, ‘Hey, I’ve been here.’ I can show film during a meeting of when I’ve coached and what guys have done, and I was fortunate enough at that level to coach Darius Slay — who’s been an All-Pro and a Pro Bowl guy.”
As McDonald noted, his professional experience with the Philadelphia Eagles can be an asset to more than just a couple players. Among those he’s spoken with is Kenny Logan Jr., a former Kansas safety whose college career ended in 2023. But the Jayhawks do have a couple of current cornerbacks, in Mello Dotson and Cobee Bryant,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/d-k-mcdonald-brings-nfl-090443499.html
Author : The Topeka Capital-Journal
Publish date : 2024-03-19 09:04:43
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