When he left Iowa State after this past football season, Dan McCarney said he wouldn’t be out of work for long.

True to his word, McCarney found a new home, taking a job with the University of South Florida.

McCarney will be the team’s assistant head coach and defensive line coach.

McCarney has a home in Sarasota, Fla., just an hour away from Tampa, where South Florida is located.

“I’m absolutely ecstatic to add Dan McCarney,” USF head coach Jim Leavitt said, according to a press release.

The USF Bulls posted a 9-4 record last season, winning the Papajohns.com Bowl over East Carolina.

The Bulls finished in a tie for fourth in the Big East and beat West Virginia 24-19 on Nov. 25, taking away any chance the Mountaineers had of making a BCS bowl game.

“I’ve known Coach McCarney since 1989 when I was a graduate assistant with Iowa [where McCarney also coached],” Leavitt said. “He is absolutely the best defensive line coach I’ve ever been around, and we are very fortunate to have him at USF.”

The USF defense was strong last season, allowing just 16.9 points per game, good for third in the Big East and 18th nationally.

The Bulls were ranked second in their conference in total defense, allowing 298 yards per game.

He will be reunited with former Cyclone Tyrone McKenzie, a linebacker who transferred to South Florida after the 2006 season.

McCarney spent 12 seasons with the Cyclones, taking the program to unseen heights before stepping down after the 2006 season.

Iowa State’s five bowl games in McCarney’s 12 seasons were more than the program’s entire previous history.

The Cyclones were just plays away from consecutive trips to the Big 12 title game, sharing the North title with Colorado in 2004 and finishing one game behind the Buffalos the next season.

McCarney left as Iowa State’s winningest head coach, winning 56 games with the Cyclones.