Terry Allen joins ISU coaching staff

It’s been known for about a week, and with all the paperwork completed, former Kansas and Northern Iowa coach Terry Allen joined the Iowa State University football staff today. Cyclone coach Dan McCarney introduced Allen in a conference call with the media.McCarney says Allen will become the associate head coach and tight ends coach.Allen was fired as the head coach of Kansas last fall with three games to go in his fifth season. He says he explored several jobs in and out of coaching before deciding on the I-S-U job. He says he went through a lot of things after getting fired, but still decided he wanted to be a coach.Allen and McCarney are both Iowa City natives who’ve kept in touch throughout their careers. He says the Cyclone job is the right fit.McCarney says they’re still working out all the on-field and recruiting duties for each coach, but he says Allen will play a big role in scouring Iowa high schools for recruits.While he’s stepping back to a job as an assistant, Allen isn’t ruling out a return to the top job some day. He says all coaches should aspire to being a head coach, and he may again four or five years down the road.Allen says he’s worked out a settlement with Kansas and is in the process of selling his house in Lawrence so he can move to Ames. He’ll officially begin his I-S-U job in March. Allen had a 20-33 record at Kansas after compiling a 95-59 record in 13 seasons as the head coach at U-N-I.