The COVID-19 novel coronavirus has hit plenty of college football players, and it’s affected several head coaches as well, including Florida State’s Mike Norvell and Arizona’s Kevin Sumlin. Now, it’s hit Les Miles of the Kansas Jayhawks. Kansas announced that news Thursday with statements from Miles and athletic director Jeff Long. Some excerpts from those:
Miles: “Today, I was notified that I have tested positive for COVID-19. I am beginning the isolation process at my home and will continue to fulfill my head coach responsibilities remotely.
“Although I will not physically be able to attend practice for the time being, I will be using the technology available for remote working to stay connected during staff meetings, meetings with players, etc.
Long: “Coach Miles has tested positive for COVID-19 through our surveillance testing. At this time, we believe he will be able to continue to perform his head coaching duties. Based on the other test results, no other coaches tested positive. As long as Coach Miles does not develop symptoms or have a fever, we anticipate he will be able to coach the West Virginia game on Oct. 17.
“Kansas Team Health is working through the contact tracing protocols and notifying those individuals that may have been in close contact with him for an extended period of time. We wish Coach a speedy recovery and look forward to getting him back on the field very soon.”
Hopefully this won’t be a major health setback for the 66-year-old Miles. At the very least, it does add yet another challenge for him and his team this year. His Kansas tenure so far has faced some challenges, including a 3-9 record in his first year last season and a 0-3 start this year, with losses to Coastal Carolina, Baylor, and Oklahoma State. They have a bye this week, so that’s perhaps some fortunate timing, but they will face a big challenge at West Virginia next Saturday. We’ll see where Miles is at at that point.
About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.