AMES, Iowa – Iowa State Head Coach Matt Campbell announced today changes to his coaching staff which includes a familiar name returning to Ames from the professional ranks, his reconnection with a college teammate who has significant Power 5 Conference coaching experience and several promotions, and position group and duty adjustments.

Tom Manning, who coordinated ISU’s offense from 2016-17, will rejoin the Cyclone staff after one year with the Indianapolis Colts as offensive coordinator.

Campbell has also added Matt Caponi, who most recently directed the defensive backs at West Virginia (2016-18), to work with the secondary. A college teammate of Campbell at Mount Union, Caponi has been a full-time assistant with both the Mountaineers and Arizona previously.

The addition of Manning and Caponi are pending successful background checks.

Nate Scheelhaase, who was Iowa State’s running backs coach in 2018, will shift to wide receivers beginning this spring. He replaces Bryan Gasser, whose contract was not renewed. Quarterbacks coach Joel Gordon has been promoted to passing game coordinator and special teams coach Joe Houston will move to an off the field position.

“I am very excited with the changes we made with our football staff,” Campbell said. “We brought in coaches who are familiar with our program, our league and our culture. I also made some adjustments internally which will better serve our student-athletes.”

Manning was tight ends coach with the Colts last season, helping the team advance to the divisional round of the AFC playoffs and a 10-6 record. Manning was instrumental in tutoring Eric Ebron into a Pro Bowl selection. Ebron was second on the team in receptions (66) and receiving yards (750) and broke the club’s record for touchdown catches by a tight end with 13.

Manning’s work as offensive coordinator in his first stint at Iowa State (2016-17) produced two of the most-prolific seasons in school history. The Cyclones averaged 27.7 points in 2016 (ninth-best in school history) and 29.2 points in 2017 (third in ISU annals).

ISU averaged 421.6 yards of total offense in 2016, the fourth-best mark in the ISU record book. The Cyclones established the top-two passing offenses in the program history (272.9 in 2017 and 258.8 in 2016) with Manning calling plays.

Manning is a former FootballScoop.com Offensive Line Coach of the Year when he was an assistant at Toledo working for Campbell.

Caponi, who has 15 years of collegiate coaching experience, is reuniting with Campbell. The two Mount Union graduates were teammates as players and colleagues as coaches at that Division III power. Caponi comes to Ames after serving as defensive backs coach at West Virginia the last three seasons when the Mountaineers were one of the top defensive teams in the Big 12. He coached the safeties at Arizona (2013-15) before going to WVU.

In 2018, Caponi mentored four players who earned All-Big 12 recognition. That list included Kenny Robinson Jr., who was First-Team All-Big 12 after tying for third in the league in interceptions (4) and ranking 14th in tackles (77).

Scheelhaase and Gordon had impressive debut seasons in Ames. Scheelhaase coached a productive group of tailbacks, including All-American David Montgomery. The junior rushed for 1,216 yards, becoming just the eighth Cyclone in school history to record multiple 1,000-yard seasons. Gordon navigated through the loss of a starting QB in the first game and tutored true freshman Brock Purdy through a terrific rookie season. Purdy’s 169.91 QB passing efficiency was sixth nationally.

Spring practice for the Cyclones starts March 12.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs safety Eric Berry sounded confident Friday that he’ll be on the field when Kansas City plays the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game at Arrowhead Stadium. The three-time All-Pro has been a full participant in practice this week after dealing with a heel injury, but needs the OK from coach Andy Reid to take the field on Sunday night.

“I feel pretty good. Just talk to coach and see what he wants to do and go from there,” Berry said. “It would mean a lot not just for me and my family and my teammates, but the organization.” Berry tore his Achilles’ tendon in last year’s opener, sidelining him the rest of the season. He returned in time for summer workouts and the start of training camp. But a mysterious heel injury popped up that kept Berry off the field until Week 15 against the Chargers.

Berry played more the following week on the turf in Seattle, but the injury recurred and he missed the regular-season finale against Oakland and the divisional round matchup against Indianapolis.
“It was pretty frustrating, but you just have to keep rolling,” said Berry, who nevertheless broke down the pregame huddle with an emotional pep talk. “Keep focused and keep your head down.”

Berry has become a pro at overcoming adversity. He missed most of one season with a torn ACL in his knee, and he missed the end of another when he was diagnosed with cancer. In both instances, he recovered in time to play the following season. However, those situations were relatively straightforward. There was a clear diagnosis and obvious path toward recovery. But the heel has been a challenge for Berry and the organization, once viewed as a “day-to-day” situation that became a saga that lasted months.

There have been various reports, always citing unnamed sources, of a heel deformity that causes intense pain, but the Chiefs and Berry have refused to confirm them. Asked several times about the injury Friday, Berry merely replied: “It’s hard to explain.” Berry said he wasn’t concerned about the field causing the heel problems. It was torn up in the divisional round after several inches of snow fell before the game. The grounds crew spent this week replacing the turf between the hashes, along the sidelines and in one of the end zones.

“I’m just being prepared for every situation,” Berry said. “Our field crew, grounds crew is very good. They do a very good job. Just trusting in them that they can get the job done.” Berry’s value lies not just in his athletic ability, though the Chiefs could use some help covering Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski on Sunday. Rather, his biggest benefit to a defense that has struggled mightily at times this season may be his leadership and on-field demeanor.

“A huge impact. He’s a huge player for us,” Chiefs linebacker Dee Ford said, while defensive tackle Chris Jones said “the physicality he brings to this team and the leadership role is amazing.” When he’s at his best, Berry is one of the best safeties in the NFL, adequate in coverage and dynamic at stuffing the run. But even at a fraction of his best, Berry is still talented enough to impact a game, and that’s why his return could prove so critical to the Chiefs.

“I mean, Eric’s a good football player. He’s an All-Pro player,” Reid said. “That’d be an obvious statement, but it’s another good player in the mix. A great player.” Notes: Chiefs OLB Dorian O’Daniel (hamstring) was ruled out for the game. … WR Sammy Watkins (foot) and RB Spencer Ware (hamstring) participated in practice all week and are expected to play.