When you ask anyone currently or formerly associated with the Iowa football program about the culture in Iowa City, there’s a good chance that the word family will come up.
While it’s a cliché in most places, the Hawkeyes football team truly does feel like a family both on and off the field. The alumni base is very passionate about what’s currently happening on the field, often offering their time, money, or both to support the program. Sometimes, it also means that they come back home in an official role on the coaching and training staff. That’s exactly what happened this week.
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On Wednesday, the Des Moines Register’s Chad Leistikow reported that Iowa football is on the verge of hiring former Hawkeye linebacker Jay Norvell to its 2026 staff as running backs coach.
It was announced that Norvell was joining the staff as an offensive analyst in early February. A few weeks later, running backs coach Omar Young took a job with the Las Vegas Raiders, leaving a key positional coach opening to fill. Iowa decided to hire internally, promoting Norvell to the role for the 2026 season.
Norvell played at Iowa from 1982-1985, winning many games with those great teams in the early 1980’s. Following a short stint in the NFL, he joined the coaching ranks. After serving as a positional coach for 30 years, he got his first head coaching gig with Nevada in 2017. He led the Wolf Pack to 33 wins and two bowl game victories across five seasons before taking the head coaching job with Colorado State.
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He went 18-26 during his three-and-a-half seasons with the Rams and was let go midway through the 2025 season. Looking to get back into coaching, he’s now returned to his alma mater and will be a full-time member of the staff next season. He brings almost 40 years of coaching experience back to Iowa City.
Iowa is returning a fantastic running back room in 2026, led by juniors Kamari Moulton and LJ Phillips Jr. and sophomores Xavier Williams and Nathan McNeil. With the coaching of the experienced Norvell, fans should expect to see another strong year from that group next season.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa football reportedly set to hire Jay Norvell as RBs coach
