The Iowa State football coaching room got shaken up on Friday.
Matt Campbell did not make any new decision on the offensive coordinator position, but he did replace Tom Manning’s role as offensive line coach.
In all, there were three new hires as assistant coaches, as well as a position change, and all came internally.
Joe Houston – 10th Assistant and Special Teams Coordinator
The NCAA recently granted a 10th position for all football coaching staffs and Iowa State made the Special Teams role a full role for one individual. In the past, it had been double duty for wide receivers coach Bryan Gasser.
Now it is the sole role of Joe Houston, who had been special teams analyst for Campbell’s crew each of the last two years.
Houston wore a uniform very similar to ISU’s, as he kicked for the Trojans of USC from 2007-10, and spent time with Campbell at Toledo for one year before coming with him to Ames.
Field goal kickers are 33-for-39 under Houston’s tutelage the last two seasons (85%), including mentoring 1st Team All-Big 12 and current WRNL contributor Cole “Swoll” Netten.
Joel Gordon – Quarterbacks Coach
Gordon has also been in Ames the previous two seasons, serving as an offensive analyst for the Clones. Gordon comes from the state of “Country Roads” West Virginia, where he played football as 4-year starting quarterback and later a coach at Shepherd University, a Division II program.
When Campbell made the trek to Cyclone Country two years ago, he called Gordon who had just been hired on as an OC at a Division III school, and Gordon left his post after only four months on the job to come to Ames.
Gordon takes over Quarterbacks Coach for….
Jim Hofher – Offensive Analyst/Special Assistant to Head Coach
Hofher spent the last two years as quarterback coach, and has been implemented into a new role as the special assistant to coach Campbell, which was vacated by former running backs coach Louis Ayeni, who left for his alma mater Northwestern at the same position.
Hofher will also serve as a senior offensive analyst and will definitely have his hands in the offensive gameplan for the Cyclones. He is one of the veterans on the staff, with over 37 years of coaching experience.
Jeff Myers – Offensive Line Coach
The least surprising hire of all is Jeff Myers as the new offensive line coach. He replaces Tom Manning, who left for the NFL and Indianapolis Colts as their new Tight Ends coach.
Myers was the heir apparent to Manning, and played at Toledo until 2014. He has previously worked as an offensive graduate assistant and most recently a quality control coach.
Myers is a native of Massillon, Ohio (same as Campbell) and has been molded and tutored to be the new coach all along.
All of these new hires have come on board internally, and are cut from the same cloth. While young and inexperienced, they all have that fire to get out and recruit new blood to the Cyclone program. All have been groomed and are familiar with the Xs and Os, as well as the current recruiting class.
It should be a seamless transition, as Campbell and his CEO mentality has built this train up to withstand these changes. He has built this program the right way and it truly is a “Next Man Up” mentality.
Stay tuned to WRNL as the offensive coordinator position comes into the fold down the road.
My dark horse candidate is Bryan Gasser