Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa Hawkeyes added to their coaching staff on Monday.
Per Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, Iowa football is hiring Warren Ruggiero as a senior analyst. Ruggiero joins the Hawkeyes after spending the past 11 seasons as the offensive coordinator at Wake Forest.
Ruggiero helped guide the Demon Deacons to the nation’s No. 4 scoring offense in 2021. Alongside standout quarterback Sam Hartman, Wake Forest scored a program-best 574 points and averaged a school-record 41.0 points per game during the 2021 college football season.
Ruggiero was a Broyles Award finalist for his work with Hartman and the Wake Forest offense during the 2021 season.
A 1988 graduate of the University of Delaware, Ruggiero previously served as the quarterbacks coach at Kansas State during the 2008 season where he coached Josh Freeman to a first-round selection in the 2009 NFL draft.
Then, Ruggiero was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Bowling Green from 2009-13. During his time with the Bowling Green Falcons, receiver Freddie Barnes broke the all-time NCAA record with 155 catches in one season in the 2009 campaign. Barnes finished with 1,770 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns in that 2009 season.
Bowling Green quarterback Tyler Sheehan threw for over 4,000 yards as the Falcons’ offense finished sixth in the country in 2009. In 2013, Bowling Green ranked fourth nationally in total offense per possession and first nationally in time of possession under Ruggiero’s direction.
Former Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson resigned after 11 seasons following a 4-8 (2-6 ACC) finish in 2024. When Clawson stepped down and into an advisory role, Wake Forest hired Jake Dickert as its next head football coach.
Dickert then tabbed former South Alabama offensive coordinator Rob Ezell as the Demon Deacons’ offensive coordinator for the 2025 season, meaning Ruggiero’s stint in Winston Salem, N.C., had come to a close.
With the addition of Ruggiero, Iowa brings in another offensive mind with a wealth of Power Four experience to help second-year offensive coordinator Tim Lester continue to restore the Hawkeyes’ offense.
With Lester pulling the strings, Iowa enjoyed a record-setting campaign from former star running back Kaleb Johnson. Johnson set Iowa single-season records in scoring (138), overall touchdowns (23) and rushing touchdowns (21) in 2024.
Iowa ranked 24th nationally in rushing offense, averaging 197.2 rushing yards per game.
The Hawkeyes brought in former South Dakota State quarterback Mark Gronowski this offseason. Gronowski was a two-time national champion at South Dakota State where he passed for 10,309 yards and 93 touchdowns and ran for an additional 1,767 yards and 37 scores.
Gronowski was recently ranked in the top half of Big Ten quarterbacks heading into the 2025 season per Athlon Sports.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa football adds to coaching staff with new senior analyst
