College athletic directors are only important for their influence on coaches and fundraising, so in that way the kneecapping of Sheahon Zenger is only interesting for its impact on David Beaty and Kansas' stuck-in-the-mud football program.
Almost exactly a year after he was named chancellor, Douglas Girod announced the firing with a staff-wide email that served as a press release on a Monday morning. He specifically mentioned Beaty, essentially announcing that a search committee will make a hire who will decide the coach's employment status.
Let's be clear: this is 100 percent about the football program continuing to stink, about an athletic director hired primarily to fix football overseeing a 12-72 run in seven years that in the broader context of modern college athletics have only increased the importance of football.