Lance Leipold met with the media on Thursday with spring football quickly approaching. He discussed a variety of topics, including the health of Jalon Daniels after his offseason procedure and the promotions of Jim Zebrowski to offensive coordinator and DK McDonald to defensive coordinator.

Daniels progressing well

Daniels underwent a minor knee procedure over the offseason and will be a limited participant in spring practice. Leipold said it had been irritating Daniels for a while and he reaggravated it in December.

“It was best to get it taken care of now,” Leipold said. “You know, probably find out here in a couple weeks exactly what we can see out of him this spring. It'll be very limited, but again, he's progressing well and again, he takes things in such a good way and finds a positive in it. And again, he'll be able to lead from the sideline right now and go from there.”

With Zebrowski taking over as offensive coordinator, Daniels shouldn’t have to adjust too much to a new coach. The two have a strong relationship, and Leipold wanted to make sure Daniels would be comfortable.

“To have that consistency and especially for Jalon, with one more year to go, we wanted to make sure that he could play at his best and be as comfortable as he can be,” Leipold said.

Zebrowski has good relationship with the team

The hiring process moved pretty quickly after Jeff Grimes left Kansas for Wisconsin, a move that Leipold said he was surprised by. Zebrowski remained professional when Kansas decided to go to an outside hire after Andy Kotelnicki left, and he’s now reenergized after a long career of coaching football.

“I talked with Jim about if there were opportunities, some things that I would be looking for,” Leipold said. “And I can tell you this, I've been extremely impressed with how Jim has taken this and how he's organized the staff, how he's gone about the off-season and studying our self-scout stuff, what we're doing moving forward, everything. And he's excited. And I've seen a highly positive change in his demeanor. I think energized at this stage of his career.”

Zebrowski and the offensive staff have built continuity over their time at Kansas. Matt Lubick rejoined the staff as co-offensive coordinator/tight ends coach. The chemistry of the staff is important, but it’s equally important to try and elevate what you’ve been doing.

“Continuity is big but stimulating new thoughts and ideas is always good as well, and Matt will bring new thoughts in and making sure that we don't get too convoluted in too many things,” Leipold said. “But again, finding out what this new group of players are going to be able to excel at and finding a way to be productive will be the key.”

The former quarterbacks coach has developed strong relationships with that room. Leipold thinks those relationships will be important as the offense moves forward.

“I think that'll be very, you know, very important as we move forward. I think it's important that we give our quarterbacks input on what they're liking, what they're comfortable and I know those guys will have that type of dialogue.”

McDonald’s vision for the defense in line with Leipold’s

Kansas again went to an inside hire when Brian Borland retired, promoting DK McDonald to defensive coordinator. McDonald has NFL and college experience, but this will be his first time as a defensive coordinator. Leipold said McDonald’s vision for the defense was “very much in line with what I’d like to see us step forward as a defense.”

“I'm excited to see this group led by him, kind of, you know, take the field here in a couple weeks,” Leipold said. “I like his attention to detail, his intensity, his expectations of getting a lot little things right. I think his time, whether it be with Matt Campbell at Iowa State or his time with the Eagles, will definitely pay off in a lot of different little things.”

McDonald has 20 years of coaching experience, all focused on the passing game or secondary. Leipold said things with the defense may be simpler in some ways, but he likes how McDonald coached his position group.

“I think expectations of, you know, how we're gonna do things, how we're gonna rally to the ball, what we're gonna do and fundamentally sound,” Leipold said. “I just really like the daily approach of how he addresses position group and how that's gonna carry over into our defense and make us, you know, what we'd expect to be a better unit.”