LAWRENCE — Joe Dineen has a favorite Keith Loneker Sr. story. Every time the Kansas linebacker thinks about it, he can’t help but grin.
In that respect, Dineen isn’t unlike virtually everyone who spent a significant amount of time with Loneker Sr., a former Jayhawk offensive lineman, NFL player and actor who became a Lawrence fixture following his KU career (1989-92). Unlike most, though, Dineen’s relationship with Loneker Sr. began when the man lovingly dubbed “Big Keith” became his first football coach.
That’s where this story begins.
At some point in the third or fourth grade, one of Dineen’s youth football teammates cracked an unfunny joke at practice.