Poll Lawrence residents as to where they saw Charlie Weis during his short stay in Lawrence and the answer, aside from the football complex, is bound to include one of two places:

1. The meat section at Dillon’s, Sixth and Wakarusa, where he purchased steaks to cook for dinner with son Charlie Jr.

2. Six Mile Tavern, where he took recruits and their families for steak dinners.

Give Weis credit for never making a phony claim that he was interested in immersing himself in the community.

Weis’ interim replacement, Clint Bowen, never made such a claim either because some things go without saying.

Bowen, a graduate of West Junior High and Lawrence High, has followed football opportunities out of town, but always returns to Lawrence. As keynote speaker at the Lawrence Schools Foundation Community Education Breakfast, Bowen will share why Lawrence keeps calling him home.

Individual tickets to the Friday fundraiser at Holiday Inn (7:30-9 a.m.) are available at www.lawrenceschoolsfoundation.org.

It was in Lawrence’s schools that Bowen formed the toughness to get over the disappointment of not turning his eight-game interim trial into the permanent head coaching job at his alma mater.

“It didn’t take long,” Bowen said. “It seems like people around me were more upset than I was. I guess people didn’t believe me in my interviews leading up to that when I said that it was never about me. It was never about that. It was always about the program and the kids in the program.”

The job went to Bowen’s friend and current and former co-worker, David Beaty.

“Dr. (Sheahon) Zenger had a choice to make and he’s the one who knew all the ins and outs of what the position needed and he made a choice,” Bowen said. “From the day it happened, from the moment they told me, I was very excited that it was going to be David Beaty. I have a great job as defensive coordinator and getting to be in that role and to still be part of the program.”

Without embellishing, Bowen could make the case that he has the toughest college football coaching job in America, given the lack of depth, size and speed of the Kansas defense, combined with the fast pace of the KU offense and outrageously difficult schedule. To do so would require him to turn his back on the toughness tutoring he received in Lawrence schools.

Bowen invited to the breakfast as guests a few familiar names on the Lawrence teaching/coaching scene: Steve Grant, Lynn Harrod and Bob Lisher.

“If you were a West Junior High person, coach Grant made your day a better day,” Bowen said. “He has one of those infectious personalities. Every time I see him I smile.”

Harrod, then coaching football at West, gave Bowen his first coaching job.

“I was trying to play Arena Football and he made comments to me that got me to think about coaching,” said Bowen, who plans to share Harrod’s difference-making words at Friday’s breakfast.

Lisher, whose Friday will end with a clash against cross-town rival LHS, was Bowen’s defensive coordinator in high school.

“He gave me my first high school coaching job and has been there for me in a lot of ways,” Bowen said.

The Jayhawks’ defensive coordinator also had kind words about his high school head coach, Bill Freeman, who suffers from Alzheimer’s Disease. Freeman will be on the minds of many in attendance.

“He was a tough, old-school guy,” Bowen said of Freeman. “You had to work and earn everything that you got.”

Beaty’s first-year motto at KU is “Earn it!” He didn’t need to explain its meaning to his pal Bowen.

— @TomKeeganLJW can be seen talking KU sports on The Drive, Sunday nights on WIBW TV.