Buffalo coach and former Nebraska quarterback Turner Gill appears to be the choice as the new coach at Kansas.

ESPN.com's Joe Schad is reporting that two sources briefed on the situation have said that Gill is the choice to replace Mark Mangino.

Gill has appeared to be the favorite for the job since Mangino resigned on Dec. 3.

In a lot of ways, Gill appears to be a 180-degree departure from Mangino, whose coaching and discipline tactics were blasted by several former and current players.

Gill has the reputation of being a popular coach among players. His daughter, Jordan, is a Kansas student who works in the athletic department offices.

His career record is 20-30 in a four-season stint as Buffalo's head coach. Gill directed the Bulls to the International Bowl last season, but Buffalo missed a bowl trip in a 5-7 season in 2009.

Earlier, he served as an assistant coach at Nebraska from 1992-2004 and with the Green Bay Packers in 2005.

The former Nebraska player has a lot of name recognition that resonates throughout the Big 12 area.

The fact he grew up in Fort Worth and has some existing connections with Texas high-school coaches will be critical in his attempts to build his program. Mangino did a good job of attracting under-recruiting prospects from Texas like Todd Reesing, Dezmon Briscoe and Maxwell Onyegbule.

Gill will have to do that and more as he attempts to match Mangino's record of notching back-to-back bowl trips in 2007 and 2008 for the first time in school history.

It will be a tough chore with Bo Pelini having his alma mater pointed in the right direction at Nebraska. Arch-rival Missouri appears to be in good shape with Blaine Gabbert as the quarterback for the next two seasons.