Kansas University football defensive coordinator Vic Shealy talks to reporters Wednesday with his teenage son, Will, a few steps behind him.

Will is around because Vic decided it would be a good idea to bring him to KU’s football practice.

The two hadn’t seen each other since Sunday night.

This is Shealy’s life during the season as an assistant coach, though he isn’t complaining or asking for sympathy.

He calls it “the grind,” and says every coach becomes accustomed to it. He points out the bags under his eyes and later talks about his schedule, which includes working 12 hours Sunday, followed by 18 on Monday, 16 on Tuesday and 16 on Wednesday.

Asked about sleep, he jokingly asks what that word means.

“If you play better,” Shealy says, “you get sleep.”

The man who has taken as much criticism as anyone for Kansas’ struggles this year isn’t oblivious to what’s going on around him.

Shealy knows there’s pressure to perform in the final five games of the year. He knows fans have grown tired of seeing the Jayhawks’ defense shredded for big plays while giving up 50.4 points per game. He knows there’s no victory in this business other than what the scoreboard says.

But there’s a human side to this, too.

Shealy takes his job home with him every night. And KU’s defensive lack of production this year has torn him up.

“Probably the thing that is the toughest … your players, you want to see them have success,” Shealy says. “So it cuts at you when they’re not being successful. It motivates you, but to a certain level, it eats away at you inside.”

The huge blowouts have been the most difficult for Shealy.

The worst was KU’s 66-24 loss to Georgia Tech on Sept. 17.

After the game, for the first time in 30-plus-year coaching career, Shealy left the game feeling like he stunk as a coach.

“I will carry that scar for a long time,” Shealy says.

The second-worst day for Shealy was Saturday, when KU was dominated, 59-21, by rival Kansas State at home.

“You walk across that field or walk out of that press box after we’ve got our butt kicked, I tell you what now, that ain’t cool now,” Shealy says. “I hate to say it, but I didn’t get into it for that. I got in for the good days, and making a difference in the life of some kids along the way.”

Shealy is working hard to get things righted. Just this week, he texted a friend at Pac-12 school to get his ideas on a certain defensive thought. He calls his father, Dal — who was head coach at Richmond for nearly a decade in the 1980s — about once a week, sometimes to talk football and other times to get his mind away from it.

Shealy also engrosses himself in film of KU and its opponent because, as he says, the film never lies.

“As good or bad as it is,” Shealy says, “it’s where you are.”

Right now, it’s safe to say the Jayhawks aren’t where they’d like to be.

KU has allowed 7.6 yards per play — a full half-yard more than the second-worst NCAA team, New Mexico.

Shealy and his wife, Holly, have a rule at home: She won’t talk about football unless he brings it up first.

Some days he does. Some days he doesn’t.

“There’s a sacrifice you make as a dad. There’s a sacrifice you make as a husband,” Shealy said. “I’m not trying to make anybody feel sorry for me, because it is by choice, but your wife wants to feel like the time you’re investing in some other people’s sons, that it’s worth it — trying to help them in their lives become better men, but also, become better players.”

It’s obvious that Shealy — though he’s not an alum — cares quite a bit about KU.

One of his sons currently attends the university, and the coach is quick to say how much he loves KU and how he believes in what the school stands for.

“You want the KU alums to feel proud about their football program,” Shealy says. “That sounds corny, but you want this brand to look great nationally. So when you’re not playing well, it bothers you in your gut. That matters.”

Shealy isn’t giving excuses.

No matter how much pressure he gets from fans, boosters or the media, Shealy says he puts 10 times that pressure on himself.

He’s a competitive guy. And he says he’ll continue to try to get things turned around at KU.

“When it comes right down to it, if (players) don’t play as well as they need to play to be successful, it’s my job to coach them better,” Shealy says. “And that’s the most frustrating thing, is I want them to be successful.”