Ferentz promotes Lester’s ‘best fit’ for Iowa OC function

Jan 31, 2024, 04:38 PM ET

IOWA CITY, Iowa– Former Western Michigan coach Tim Lester was worked with Wednesday to reverse Iowa’s underperforming offense.Lester replaces

coach Kirk Ferentz’s child Brian, who completed this previous season on the personnel after athletic director Beth Goetz informed him in late October that he wouldn’t return in 2024. Lester, 46, spent a year as a senior analyst for the Green Bay Packers after Western Michigan fired him in 2022. “His experience as both a head coach and a coordinator at a number of various levels of football gives him an excellent perspective,”Kirk Ferentz said.”I believe his knowledge and personality make him a best fit for this position. “Editor’s Picks 2 Associated Lester was 37-32 in 6 seasons at WMU, where he had been a star quarterback in the late 1990s. He previously was quarterbacks coach at Purdue in 2016 and offending organizer at Syracuse in 2014-15. He also has actually coached in Divisions II and III.”When you have actually coached at every level of football like I have, you have a real appreciation for a chance like this at the University of Iowa,”Lester said.”I know the tradition and history of the Hawkeye program, and I am thrilled to get to work with the exceptional players and coaches.”Iowa has had the Huge Ten’s least efficient offense two straight years and ranked second-to-last in 2021. The system under Brian Ferentz was panned for being obsoleted and unimaginative

. Iowa was one of 2 groups in the country with a pass completion rate under 50 %this past season. Seven pass receivers have gone into the transfer website over 3 years.The Hawkeyes have still managed to win 28 games given that 2021, consisting of 2 10-win seasons, mainly due to the fact that of a defense that consistently ranks amongst the nation’s best.But Iowa has actually wilted on the biggest stages. Last season the Hawkeyes were shut out 31-0 at Penn State, 26-0 versus Michigan in the Big 10 championship game and 35-0 against Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl.Lester’s offenses at Syracuse had a hard time, ranking 13th in the 14-team Atlantic Coast Conference in 2014 and 2015. WMU’s offense was ranked in the leading 35 nationally in overall offense four consecutive seasons( 2018-21 )under Lester. He was the main playcaller from 2018 to 2020.

His 2022 WMU offense, coordinated by Jeff Thorne, was worst in the Mid-American Conference at 301 backyards and 19

points per game.