photo by: Nick Krug

Receivers coach Rob Ianello watches over warmups during a morning practice on Thursday, April 19, 2012 at Memorial Stadium. Nick Krug/Journal-World Photo

Formerly a Kansas football assistant under another coaching regime, Rob Ianello has in fact returned to Lawrence and joined Lance Leipold’s new staff, just not in an on-field role.

Leipold announced Tuesday that Ianello was hired to become what the head coach is describing as the program’s general manager.

“Rob’s going to work closely day in and day out with me on a lot of things — really our whole organization,” Leipold said of the new position during a press conference. “He’ll be heavily involved in personnel. Our recruiting organization, process, evaluations.”

Buffalo’s associate head coach and recruiting coordinator under Leipold, Ianello, who also coached receivers during his time at UB, was on the list of assistants first reported by Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel to be following Leipold to KU.

Ianello, years back, was a receivers coach at KU, on Charlie Weis’ staff. Outside of his time as KU’s recruiting coordinator and receivers coach form 2012-14, Ianello also has worked as an assistant at Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Arizona. Additionally, he was the head coach at Akron from 2010-11.

Leipold said he has known Ianello for 30 years.

“I don’t think he takes a back seat to anyone when it comes to organizing, recruiting and day to day operations. He was my righthand man at Buffalo,” Leipold added.

“That was a very important hire to me at that time, and getting Rob here was extremely important to me again,” KU’s head coach said. “Selfishly, I need and want him in this position as much as being an on-field coach for what we want to get accomplished here and as quickly as possible.”

Peterson moves to analyst role

The safeties coach for KU football in 2020, when Les Miles was still the head coach, Jordan Peterson was retained by Leipold, but will move into a new role, as a senior defensive analyst.

“Jordan has an outstanding track record and resume, and is very impressive in the way he approaches the game,” Leipold said in a statement accompanying the announcement of KU’s newest staffing roles. “It was important to me to retain him to keep building this program.”

Leipold’s longtime defensive coordinator, Brian Borland, is now the Jayhawks’ safeties coach.

Former UB assistant joining as analyst

Most recently the defensive ends coach at Buffalo, where he spent the past six seasons working for Leipold in different capacities, Taiwo Onatolu was hired as KU’s senior special teams analyst.

Onatolu, like Ianello, was among the several UB assistants whom Yahoo Sports reported would be hired at KU.

Over the course of his time at UB, Onatolu also coached cornerbacks, special teams and served as director of player personnel.

Support staff additions

Leipold also announced the hiring of director of player personnel Grant Murray and director of football operations Michael Painter. Both Murray and Painter worked for Leipold in those same roles at UB.

Murray also was UB’s director of high school relations. In the past he was a position coach at Southwest Minnesota State. A former offensive lineman, Murray played for Leipold at Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Prior to overseeing football operations at UB the past two years, Painter held the same job at Western Carolina. He also has worked at Connecticut and UMass, and was a graduate assistant at Notre Dame and Cincinnati.

“We’re very excited about adding these five great football minds to our staff,” Leipold said. “Each of them has specific skills that will allow them to thrive in their roles here at Kansas. Rob has assembled some incredibly productive and talented recruiting classes at several different Power 5 programs and will be a great resource here. Michael, Grant and Taiwo were all big parts of the success we had in Buffalo, and will fit right in here.”

Other support staffers retained

Leipold also is keeping a number of KU support staff members in place.

Travis Partridge, who was an interim quarterbacks coach this past spring, before a permanent head coach was hired, remains with the Jayhawks as in an offensive quality control position. Thomas Wells was retained in a defensive quality control role.

Additionally, Leipold is welcoming back four analysts: Kevin Wewers (senior offensive analyst), Brock Caraboa (senior defensive analyst), Chris Woods (senior defensive analyst) and Luke Roth (senior special teams analyst).

Former KU senior offensive analyst John Morookian, who also was an interim offensive line coach in 2020, has joined the Akron staff as a tight ends coach.