Kansas on Wednesday announced Lance Leipold's first coaching staff as the head Jayhawk, and it's an equal mix of continuity (for the players) and continuity (for himself).
Five of the 10 assistants will join Leipold from Buffalo and five will stick around from Les Miles's staff.
“I am extremely proud of the staff we have assembled here at Kansas,” Leipold said. “It’s no secret how much I value continuity among a coaching staff, and I truly believe we’ve achieved that here. This is a great blend of coaches who know the philosophies and principles I want to bring to this program and coaches who know the ins-and-outs of Kansas Football as well as our current personnel. We have elite talent developers, excellent recruiters and hard workers ready to do their very best for the student-athletes on this roster.
"Every single coach is ready to dig in and get this team ready to compete at the highest level."
The offensive and defensive coordinators are both "Leipold guys;" OC Andy Kotelnicki has been with Leipold since Whitewater in 2013, and DC Brian Borland dates all the way back to 1994. But special teams coordinator Jake Schoonover was retained from the previous staff (he actually didn't join the staff until February) and interim head coach Emmett Jones was retained as wide receivers coach.
Here is the list of the 10 assistants, with their 2020 employment in parenthesis.
Offensive coordinator: Andy Kotelnicki (Buffalo)
Quarterbacks: Jim Zebrowski (Buffalo)
Running Backs: Jonathan Wallace (Kansas)
Wide Receivers: Emmett Jones (Kansas)
Offensive Line: Scott Fuchs (Buffalo)
Defensive Coordinator: Brian Borland (Buffalo)
Linebackers: Chris Simpson (Buffalo)
Cornerbacks: Chevis Jackson (Kansas)
Defensive Line: Kwahn Drake (Kansas)
Special Teams Coordinator/Outside Linebackers: Jake Schoonover (Kansas)
The 5 KU assistants retained are the same 5 we reported on May 3rd would be retained.
Pete Thamel reported last week that Leipold would bring seven coaches with him from Upstate New York. Rob Ianello (associate head coach/tight ends) and Taiwo Onatolu (special teams/defensive ends) were mentioned in the Thamel report but not announced today. One or both could still join the staff in off-the-field roles, which were not included in Wednesday's announcement.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.