David Beaty introduced as ‘right fit’ for Kansas football program

LAWRENCE – For close to 30 minutes on Monday morning, David Beaty talked about finding the “right guys” and the “right players.”

Beaty, 44, was at the microphone inside the Anderson Family Football Complex, introducing himself as Kansas’ new football coach. He spoke about his offensive philosophy (“Fast pace, up tempo,” he said).

He spoke about his first meeting with his players, held in the weight room to send an important message.

And he spoke about his desire to build recruiting relationships and develop the right players for Kansas football.

“Hardwork and humility,” Beaty said, “is a minimum expectation.”

After six seasons of losing, Kansas is hoping it has finally found the right coach.

Beaty was introduced as the 38th coach in Kansas football history, taking the reins of a program that has finished 12-48 during the last five years. Beaty, a former Kansas assistant who returns to Lawrence after a stint as an assistant at Texas A&M, was introduced by KU chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little and athletic director Sheahon Zenger during a morning news conference.

Zenger praised Beaty’s vision and interview, saying the Kansas search committee believed they had found a coach with the “It” factor. Zenger also believed Beaty was the “right fit” for Kansas, a coach who could “undersell and over-deliver.”

Beaty, who will spend the next week recruiting in an attempt to cull together a full recruiting class for a program in need of reinforcements, will be paid a base salary of $800,000 annually, with incentives that could push his annually salary to more than $1.5 million.

Beaty spent a portion of his opening news conference discussing his plans for recruiting. A former Texas high school football coach in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Beaty said he will put a priority on in-state recruiting, while also tapping into his deep connections in Texas high school football.

“Make no mistake,” Beaty said, “this will be a Kansas identity football team.”

This story was originally published December 8, 2014 at 12:27 PM with the headline "David Beaty introduced as ‘right fit’ for Kansas football program."