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Turner Gill, who was fired after a disastrous run at Kansas, was named the new head football coach at Liberty University Thursday.
"In our search for a new head football coach, almost every adviser recommended Turner Gill," chancellor and president Jerry Falwell Jr. said in a release from the Christian university.
"Every indication is that he is a perfect fit for Liberty University. His experience is at the level where we would like to take our football program. His Christian faith is strong and sincere and what any new recruit would expect to see in a Liberty University head football coach. I think Liberty University and Turner Gill were made for each other."
Liberty is a steep drop on the coaching ladder from Big 12 Kansas, where the 49-year-old Gill went 5-19 in two seasons. He was replaced by former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis.
Gill will take over from Danny Rocco, who departed to take the top job at Richmond.
Liberty, located in Lynchburg, Va., plays in the Big South conference of the FCS (formerly called Division I-AA), and went 7-4 (5-1 Big South) this season.
Gill was one of the hottest coaches in the nation following the 2008 season, when he led unheralded Buffalo to the MAC championship. Gill interviewed for openings at Auburn and Syracuse, but was passed over, and was hired by Kansas a year later.
