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It’s confirmed. Tim Lester will be the Iowa Hawkeyes’ new offensive coordinator, the university formally confirmed on Wednesday, following the revelation of the leaks the previous weekend.
As previously mentioned, Lester joins Iowa City following a season as an offensive analyst for the Green Bay Packers, where he oversaw the weekly preparation of the scout squad offence to provide an excellent look for the first team defence.
Lester was the head coach of Western Michigan University for six years before entering the NFL. The Broncos finished 1-2 in their three bowl games and won 37 games during that span. Lester was the key play caller from 2018 to 2020 in addition to serving as the head coach during that time. In each of those seasons, WMU’s offensive was ranked in the top 35 in the country.
The significant decline in his last season under the helm is not mentioned in the official UI release, though. Lester lost his job because of that terrible 2022 season. Lester called plays for two of the three seasons he spent as offensive coordinator at Syracuse, a fact that is also totally disregarded. The figures are significantly lower there than they were at Western Michigan.
Of course, the hiring announcement also is focused only on who Iowa did hire and not who the could have hired. It’s simple to compare credentials when one knows that former Duke offensive coordinator Kevin Johns was in town late last week for a job interview. You can quibble over who was calling plays at what time, but Johns was good enough for Lester to appoint him as his offensive coordinator at Western Michigan in 2017, and the offences he has worked on have produced results that are without dispute.
So, was Kirk Ferentz correct on this one? Is Tim Lester the best candidate for the position? Fans of Hawkeyes, how do YOU feel about it?
Does any of it really matter in the end? Will Kirk Ferentz’s demands and ideologies allow Lester to operate his business, even if he is extraordinarily talented?
Share your opinions with us in the Reacts Poll this week and in the comments section below.
