Sources: Iowa employing ex-WMU coach Lester as OC

Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Elder 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 work with Tim Lester, the previous 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 informed ESPN, but he will rather change Brian Ferentz, the son of long time Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz.Iowa athletic director Beth Goetz, who supervised Brian Ferentz due to the fact that of nepotism policies, announced in late October that Ferentz would not return in 2024. Iowa’s offense has actually tumbled to historical 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. Editor’s Picks 2 Associated Kirk Ferentz, the nation’s longest-tenured coach, has never ever fired a coordinator in his tenure
  

  , which started in 1999. Lester will be only his 4th offensive organizer, following Ken O’Keefe, Greg Davis and Brian Ferentz.Iowa likewise highly thought about Kevin Johns, who most recently was the offensive coordinator at Duke.Lester, a record-setting quarterback at Western Michigan, went 37-32 with 3 bowl appearances at his university before being fired after the 2022 season. He last served as an offensive planner with Syracuse

  in 2015 and coached Purdue’s quarterbacks in 2016. Iowa’s offense will return several players from injury, consisting of standout tight end Luke Lachey and quarterback Cade McNamara, who started the very first month of the season before sustaining a torn ACL.