Peterson: Tom Manning is off to the NFL. Who replaces him at Iowa State? Meet Jeff Myers.

AMES, Ia. — So Tom Manning’s off to the NFL.

Now what?

There’s a couple of coaches on Matt Campbell’s staff that could assume control of the offense — passing game coordinator Jim Hofher or receivers coach Bryan Gasser, to name a few.

The Toledo staff could be saying goodbye to another Iowa State-bound assistant coach, too.

Maybe.

But probably not.

There’s plenty of gifted young coaches in the offensive team room. That’s what I’m betting Campbell is thinking — maintain continuity from within.

Don’t mess up a good thing. Don’t confuse an offense that already works well together — and all the offensive play calls go through Campbell’s sideline headset, anyhow.

But what about the Cyclones’ offensive line, which, under Manning and Co., went from bad when he got to Ames to respectable as he's on his way out?

Will Campbell promote offensive line graduate assistant Jeff Myers?

Probably.

He’s from football-crazed Massillon, Ohio — the same as Campbell. He played for Campbell at Toledo. He was one of Campbell’s former captains at Toledo. He was a Campbell graduate assistant at Toledo before joining his former coach at Iowa State.

“It was like having two offensive line coaches,” former Cyclones center Brian Bobek told me regarding working with both Manning and Myers.

There are the human resources processes to go through, so don’t expect an immediate announcement.

Expect, though, that whoever the new offensive line coach is already has a good relationship with Campbell — that’s his method of operation. Most of Matt's assistants have Toledo someplace in their backgrounds.

Almost anyone can call plays for a 2018 offense that has enough talented and experienced skill position players to lead Iowa State to a mid-Big 12 Conference finish. And, again, it's Campbell's offense.

But what about the offensive line?

Of all the position coaches, the man in charge of the offensive line may be the most valuable. Kyle Kempt will tell you that. Zeb Noland will tell you that. David Montgomery will tell you that. Their success depends on teammates more muscular and much bigger than they are.

“We improved from the very first practice we had under coach Manning,” former Cyclones tackle Jake Campos once said.

Campbell’s coaching background is the offensive line. With Manning, Myers and the head coach on the practice field at the same time, it was like having three offensive line coaches. They worked well together. They shared ideas.

“Coach Manning is a people person," Bobek said Saturday. “He understands individual players and works with them the way that suits each individual player the best.

“Really, he’s just a regular guy that loves coaching football.”

That’s what the returning, mostly experienced (for a change) offensive line is used to. Manning was their go-to guy, because, as Bobek said, “he was just a down-home regular guy just like us.”

To hire someone with their own agenda, someone so drastically different from Manning and Campbell...

Remember the failed Mark Mangino experiment of a few years ago?

Campbell will hire someone he knows. He won’t bring someone in from the outside who’s going to change all the good stuff that Manning accomplished. What he wants is Tom Manning 2.0.

Going a different route wouldn’t seem that wise, either — especially to the returning linemen.

They’ve been working out, individually, since the bowl victory. They’ve been in the weight room. They’ve been running on the inside practice field.

They’re as prepared for spring practice, which officially starts in a few weeks, as ever before.

They’re prepared because Manning got them prepared, coaching their specific techniques.

"Everything (Manning) does is focused on making the body work the way it's supposed to work, instead of trying to force us into some kind of form that's uncomfortable,” Campos told the Register last June. "He's got the standard techniques that he wants, then after that, he's very good at working with individuals.”

That’s why Jeff Myers should (and will) be Iowa State’s next offensive line coach.

Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson has been with the Register for parts of five decades. Randy writes opinion and analysis of Iowa State football and basketball. You can reach Randy at rpeterson@dmreg.com or on Twitter at @RandyPete.