Rob Ianello Volunteers to UB transition staff

Buffalo will not wait for Lance Leipold to arrive on campus before beginning the transition away from the current staff. The University has brought Rob Ianello in as a transition adviser, serving in the short term as a bridge between Jeff Quinn and Coach Leipold.

From UB Athletics:

BUFFALO, NY – Just a day after being named head football coach at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Lance Leipold has made his first staff appointment. Rob Ianello has agreed to volunteer as a transition advisor. A temporary position, Ianello will consult Leipold in his recruiting efforts and other transitional needs.

Ianello has over 25 years of coaching and recruiting experience at some of the most notable programs in the nation – serving as an assistant coach at Alabama, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Arizona and Kansas.

From 2005-09, Ianello served as wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at Notre Dame. He directed three consecutive top-10 recruiting classes from 2006-08, something only three other schools (USC, Florida and Georgia) could claim. Ianello was the only coach named one of the top 25-best recruiters nationally from 2005-09 by Rivals.com. In the book "Second Season" by recruiting analyst Tom Lemming, Ianello is named one of the top-10 recruiters of the ast 30 years.

The Port Chester, NY native spent the last two years as wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at Kansas. Ianello was instrumental in helping bring the 25th-rated signing class to Kansas in 2013 according to The Sporting News. The Jayhawk class had two four-star prospects, including the top-rated JUCO prospect in the nation.

Leipold was named the head coach of the Bulls football program on December 1. He came to UB from Wisconsin-Whitewater where he has compiled an astounding 106-6 record and won five national championships in eight seasons.

A few quick thoughts -

I put zero weight on his recruiting at Notre Dame but helping to build a top 25 class at Kansas does grab ones attention. Having someone who is good at recruiting helping to secure the players we have and reach out to others is an interesting way to approach coach Leipold's lack of recruiting experience.

I would guess the move to Leipold does not bode well for Alex Wood and the other UB coaches. It's possible that some of them remain, and coach Wood earned a shot at the OC position. But on the other hand if you think he is a serious candidate why bring in a transition adviser to cover things for a few weeks.

Ianello was the head coach at Akron for two seasons.During that time the Zips ranked 6th (2010) and 12th (2011) in the MAC. Of course in 2011 he was fired right after the season was over.

The word Volunteer seems to imply that UB is getting this service gratis. That could be because "iCoach" hopes to land a spot on the UB staff or because he just wants to keep his name out there, a rolling stone gathers no moss. If he joins the staff it will ilikely be as a Wide Receivers coach, which was his position under Charlie Weis at Notre Dame and Kansas.