Cincinnati Football: Scott Satterfield adds trio of assistant coaches to Bearcats staff

Bearcats first-year coach Scott Satterfield added to his staff with the hiring of director of football performance Niko Palazeti, plus former Louisville assistants Josh Stepp and Greg Gasparato.

Palazeti has been an assistant strength coach at Ohio State since 2017 and will take over as Cincinnati’s director of football and sports performance with strength coach duties as well.

The new-look sports performance staff under Palazeti will include associate director Christopher Friend, assistant director Brandon Garcia, and assistants MyQuon Stout and Scott Ethington.

After one year as Louisville’s tight ends coach under Satterfield, Stepp was hired as the Bearcats wide receivers coach. Gasparato was the Cardinals outside linebackers coach last season.

Cincinnati Football: Scott Satterfield adds trio of assistant coaches to Bearcats staff

Over the last couple weeks, Cincinnati hired a pair of former Ohio State personnel directors in newly-named general manager Zach Grant and director of recruiting strategy Cass Simmons.

Grant and Simmons will be instrumental in helping the Bearcats program transition into the Big 12 Conference with a focus on improving player personnel and increasing the recruiting reach.

In addition to former Cardinals defensive coordinator Bryan Brown joining the Bearcats staff, there are several other assistant coaches that followed Satterfield to Cincinnati last month.

Other coaches that left Louisville alongside Satterfield include new offensive line coach Nic Cardwell, running backs coach De’Rail Sims, recruiting coordinator Carter Wilson and more.

Cincinnati Football: Bearcats set to hire former Iowa State offensive coordinator Tom Manning

Nearly a month after hiring Satterfield, the Bearcats are reportedly set to hire new offensive coordinator Tom Manning, who spent the last four seasons calling plays at Iowa State.

Manning conducted an in-person interview and met with the Cincinnati coaching staff in recent days. An official announcement is expected soon after the multi-year contract is finalized.

In addition to being Iowa State’s offensive coordinator, Manning was previously the Indianapolis Colts tight ends coach in 2018 and Toledo Rockets offensive line coach from 2012-2015.

During his stint as offensive coordinator, the Cyclones averaged 30+ points per game in three of the last four seasons, while compiling a 27-23 record with Manning running the offense.