Sources: Iowa hiring ex-WMU coach Lester as OC

Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior WriterJan 28, 2024, 02:02 PM ET
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- College football reporter.
- Joined ESPN.com in 2008.
- Graduate of Northwestern University.

The Iowa Hawkeyes are set to hire Tim Lester, the former Western Michigan head coach who spent 2023 as a Green Bay Packers analyst, as their offensive coordinator, sources told ESPN on Sunday.

Lester, 46, had been set to take a coordinator role at Troy under new coach Gerad Parker, sources told ESPN, but he will instead replace Brian Ferentz, the son of longtime Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz.

Iowa athletic director Beth Goetz, who supervised Brian Ferentz because of nepotism policies, announced in late October that Ferentz would not return in 2024. Iowa’s offense has tumbled to historic lows the past two years despite the team’s overall success, and it ranked last nationally in total offense and next to last in scoring offense in 2023.

Kirk Ferentz, the nation’s longest-tenured coach, has never fired a coordinator in his tenure, which began in 1999. Lester will be only his fourth offensive coordinator, following Ken O’Keefe, Greg Davis and Brian Ferentz.

Iowa also strongly considered Kevin Johns, who most recently was the offensive coordinator at Duke.

Lester, a record-setting quarterback at Western Michigan, went 37-32 with three bowl appearances at his alma mater before being fired after the 2022 season. He last served as an offensive coordinator with Syracuse in 2015 and coached Purdue‘s quarterbacks in 2016.

Iowa’s offense will return several players from injury, including standout tight end Luke Lachey and quarterback Cade McNamara, who started the first month of the season before sustaining a torn ACL.