Kansas University offensive line coach Ken Conatser has resigned two games into the football season.

Head coach Mark Mangino, speaking at his Tuesday media session, said Conatser left KU “for personal reasons.” He declined to elaborate or take questions about the surprise departure.

Sources say Mangino and Conatser, 61, clashed during Saturday’s game at Nevada-Las Vegas. On Sunday, hours after the team arrived in Lawrence, Conatser reportedly left town.

Conatser, who worked on the same Youngstown State staff as Mangino in 1986, inherited an inexperienced offensive line. The Jayhawks had only one returning starter (tackle Justin Sands), and that inexperience has been evident. KU ranks last in the Big 12 Conference in scoring offense (11.5 points per game) and 11th in total offense (222 yards per game).

Sources said Mangino had been so unhappy with the play of the Jayhawks’ offensive line that he had been doing some tutoring of that unit himself.

Contacted at his home in Boardman, Ohio, Conatser declined to comment on why he left.

“No, I’d rather not,” he said. “But they were great kids  great kids, and I love your town.”

Mangino replaced Conatser with Brandon Blaney, the tight ends coach. Rance Holt, a graduate assistant, will assume Blaney’s old position.

“It was a smooth transition for us,” Mangino said.

Blaney, 26, is in his first year as a full-time aide. He was a student assistant at Youngstown State from 1995 to 1998, while Conatser was an aide there to coach Jim Tressel.

Blaney becomes KU’s fifth offensive line coach in the last three seasons.

Former head coach Terry Allen fired Walt Klinker  now an aide at Southwest Missouri State  after the 2000 season. Klinker was replaced by Sam Pittman, who was not retained when Allen lost his job last fall. Mangino hired former Notre Dame assistant Dave Borbely on Dec. 27, 2001, but Borbely bolted to Colorado in February.

Conatser came to Kansas with 39 years of coaching experience, lured in part by a $107,500 salary. Players learned of his departure on Monday.

“Coach Conatser’s a great guy,” junior quarterback Bill Whittemore said. “We support him in whatever decision he makes. We just have to keep on fighting.”

 Sports editor Chuck Woodling contributed information for this story.