Yesterday we broke the news that KU football players were complaining to the school’s athletic admin about Mark Mangino’s treatment of them  - and how AD Lew Perkins threw Mangino under the bus.

(Top to Bottom: Angus Quigley, Dakota Lewis, Arist Wright)

We haven’t known the players who complained, until now.

Cory Anderson of KCSP-AM in Kansas City has this from his Chris and Cowboy Show on 610 Sports:

“From the outset of the show we were reporting that LB Arist Wright was the first to complain about Coach Mangino, along with Angus Quigley and Dakota Lewis among others voicing their concerns. The initial report we had was that it involved Mangino “possibly putting his hands on his player/players one too many times” (i.e. being too physical with his guys).

As the day progressed, we received a couple calls from people saying they were parents of players, but with no way to verify this, we did not give their reports on the air, just said that if the things we were hearing were true, Mangino might not make it to the weekend.

Wright was also mentioned in a KANSAS CITY STAR piece about the situation, but Lewis and Quigley had not been cited until now.

ESPN’s Joe Schad also reports,  “Mangino is alleged to have grabbed, yelled at and put his finger in the chest of a player who had been laughing during a walkthrough or practice prior to the Colorado game on Oct. 17.“

The irony of these complaints about Mangino getting physical with players is that he’s been seen on the sidelines of games doing just that in the past. Specifically, grabbing players facemasks and screaming at them. But there were no complaints until the team went into a tailspin.

J. Brady McCollough of the Star notes today:

Mangino has shown a volatile personality at different points during his eight years at Kansas. Early in his career, he was kicked out of his son’s Lawrence High football game for yelling at game officials. In 2004, he was fined $5,000 for criticizing the officials after a loss to Texas. In 2007, Mangino grabbed the facemask of Raimond Pendleton after Pendleton showboated during a punt-return touchdown in the season-opener.

So it was okay back then, but now? Not so much.

It’s clear that Perkins is building a case to fire Mangino with cause, so the school doesn’t have to pay off the balance of his contract. But the situation is borderline bizarre, considering that Mangino will be fighting for his coaching life Saturday against Texas while relying on players who stabbed him in the back.

If Mangino wins out, and wins a bowl game, I think he may survive. But the chance of that happening, especially considering the Texas game, is slim to none. (Sorry about that.)