Paul Wulff Joins Iowa State Football Coaching Staff: Latest Details and Reaction

Former Washington State head coach Paul Wulff is returning to a collegiate sideline. Wulff has agreed to become a volunteer coach under Iowa State head coach Paul Rhoads, according to Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports.  

The hiring comes days after Rhoads fired offensive coordinator Mark Mangino following the Cyclones' 2-5 start. It's a situation that had been festering for a while, as Rhoads' desire for a run-first offense clashed with Mangino's pass-heavy system. 

“The things that we haven’t gotten on the same page with—it’s been ongoing for several weeks,” Rhoads said, per Randy Peterson of the Des Moines Register. “We’ve been trying to work that out. In the end, we could not come to a conclusion together—and he decided not to accept the direction that we wanted to go.”

Bleacher Report's Bryan Fischer isn't sold on the move:

Wulff, 48, most recently served as South Florida's offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 2014. He was fired after a 4-8 season in which the Bulls ranked 120th in yards per game and tied for 119th in points per game. Before arriving in South Florida, he was an offensive assistant under Jim Harbaugh with the San Francisco 49ers—a job he landed after being fired at Washington State.

The Cougars went 9-40 in Wulff's four seasons as head coach, and he left with the lowest winning percentage in school history. He previously had a semi-successful eight-year run as the head coach at Eastern Washington, posting a 53-40 record that included three playoff appearances.

Based on his recent failures, though, it's hard to see Wulff coming in midseason and suddenly fixing all that ails Iowa State. The Cyclones have lost each of their last three games by three scores and play two of their next three games against ranked opponents.

It's not exactly an ideal situation.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerocnway22) on Twitter.