They lost a solid coach in Glen Mason. Take out his first and last year, he went 42-37 with a top 10 team in '95 and two bowl wins in those 7 of 9 years in Lawrence. Mason also fit Ku's culture: cocksure of himself, articulate, handsome. But he couldn't wait to get out of Lawrence as Bill Snyder got it rolling in Manhattan. Mason went 1-8 versus Snyder.
Mark Mangino had a nice one year run with a record somewhat similar to Mason's. He finished with one conference winning season over his 8-year stay and a 23-41 B12 record. 2008 is the year he's remembered for finishing in the top 10 and beating V'Tech in the Orange Bowl. Mangino went 1-4 versus Snyder but benefited from three wins over Ron Prince.
I have long felt Mason was the better of the two. After Mangino was canned for being too difficult to deal with, everything went to hell with Charlie Weis, David Beaty, and now Les Miles. Miles may restore order and pave the way for a solid hire. Or Ku may just move to the Big East because dealing with Coach Klieman the next decade or so is going to be a chore..