Twitter handle: @CoachBlaz

Blazek transferred into the Hawkeye program from Butler Community College in Kansas. He immediately made an impact with the team as he started the first three games of the season and ended up starting five overall. His Senior season Blazek would go on to earn Honorable Mention All-Big Ten honors and started every game of the season. After his collegiate career ended, Blazek joined the Chicago Rush of the Arena Football League while also serving as a Student Assistant during the 2001 season and a Graduate Assistant on the Iowa coaching staff for 2002 through 2004. He remained in that capacity until he left in 2005 to join the staff at Fort Hays State. Blazek took over as Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach until 2008. In ’08 he joined the Winona State staff as the Offensive Line Coach and took over in 2009 as Co-Offensive Coordinator as well as coaching the Offensive Line and Tight Ends. After their 2011 season came to an end, Blazek was nominated as a Finalist for the AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year in Division II. He remains in that position today for the Warriors.

Bobby Elliott was a hometown kid that joined the Hawkeye program after graduating from West High. He was a three year letter winner and graduated from Iowa as a candidate for a Rhodes Scholarship. However, he joined the Hawkeye coaching staff in 1976 as a Graduate Assistant for one season. He left to take over the Secondary Coaching duties as Kent state the following season. He left after one season to take the same position with Ball State in 1978 and took over as Defensive Coordinator in 1980. In 1981 he came back to his home state but joined the rival Cyclone program as their Secondary Coach. After two seasons, Elliott went to the other side of the ball and began coaching Wide Receivers and Tight Ends at North Carolina. He remained at North Carolina from 1983 through 1986 before he rejoined his alma mater and flipped back to defense. He began in 1987 as the Secondary Coach before adding the Defensive Coordinator title in 1996. In his final season with the Hawkeyes on Hayden Fry’s staff he was also the Assistant Head Coach. After a year away, Elliott headed back to Ames and in 2000 took over as Associate Head Coach, Secondary Coach and Special Teams Coach. He remained there for two seasons before joining the Kansas State coaching staff as the Defensive Coordinator in 2002. He held that position until 2006 when he was former Hawkeye Chuck Long’s first hire as Head Coach of San Diego State University. Elliott took the position of Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator as well as adding the Inside Linebackers to his responsibility in 2008. He remained at SDSU in the athletic department for a year then rejoined the Cyclone football program in 2010 as Secondary Coach and Recruiting Coordinator.

Kittle was a 4 year letter winner as an Offensive Lineman with the Hawkeyes and was Co-Captain his Senior year when Iowa went to the Rose Bowl. After that Kittle’s football career appeared to be over. He stuck around on Hayden Fry’s staff as a Graduate Assistant for two seasons and then another two as a voluntary Assistant. After that, Kittle went back to school. Law School to be exact. Football was behind him. But under the mantra that “it’s never too late,” Kittle got back into coaching when his son started playing in high school and he fell back in love with it all. In 2010 he joined the Oklahoma Sooners as On Campus Recruiter under his former college teammate, Head Coach Bob Stoops. Heading into the 2011 season, Kittle will take over as Offensive Line & Tight Ends Coach.

Tom Hayes is an Iowa native, raised in Keokuk before joining the Hawkeye football program.  He was a Defensive Back and a letter-winner for 3 of his seasons with the Hawkeyes. After graduating Tom became a high school coach for 5 years before making a one year stop at Coe College. In 1977, Hayes re-joined the Iowa program as a Secondary Coach for a couple seasons. He headed West in 1979 and became the Defensive Coordinator and Secondary Coach at Cal State Fullerton. He was only there one season before joining the UCLA coaching staff under Head Coach Terry Donahue. He began as the Secondary Coach for two seasons before taking over as Co-Defensive Coordinator and Secondary Coach from 1982-1988. While there, the Bruins won the Pac-10 four different times. He left in 1989 to take over as Assistant Head Coach and Secondary Coach at Texas A&M under Head Coach R.C. Slocum. He remained at A&M for two seasons before joining the Oklahoma coaching staff in 1991 as Defensive Coordinator and Secondary Coach under Head Coach Gary Gibbs. He remained at Oklahoma for four seasons before jumping to the NFL ranks as the Secondary Coach for the Washington Redskins under Head Coach Norv Turner in 1995. He remained with the Redskins until 1999. In 2001, Hayes was the Defensive Coordinator and Secondary Coach at Kansas and eventually took over as interim Head Coach for the final three games of the season. After a couple years away from the game, Hayes joined the Stanford staff as Defensive Coordinator and Secondary Coach for one season before jumping to the NFL again and becoming the Defensive Backs Coach for 2006 & 2007. He joined the Tulane staff as Secondary Coach for one season before joining the Wildcats for the 2011 season as their Defensive Coordinator and Safeties Coach.

Twitter handle: @LeVarWoods

Woods joined the Hawkeyes and became a two year starter at Outside Linebacker. He was a 2nd Team All-Big Ten selection his Senior season. Despite not being drafted, Woods was signed by the Arizona Cardinals in 2001 & played for them over 5 seasons. In 2005, Levar signed with the Detroit Lions where he remained for a season and a half. He then signed with the Tennessee Titans in 2006 where he played for another season and a half. When his NFL playing career came to an end after 7 seasons, Woods joined the Iowa coaching staff as an Administrative Assistant. He still holds the same position today, although when Defensive Coordinator Norm Parker was hospitalized during the 2010 season, Woods helped out in that capacity.

Twitter handle: @ChicEjiasi

Ejiasi, or “Chick” as he is known, joined the Hawkeyes and left as a 4 year letterman as a Defensive Back. He played sparingly for most of his career, but made an appearance in every game as a Senior. Once his playing career ended, Chick went to NIACC (North Iowa Area Community College) and worked as the Defensive Backs Coach & Special Teams Coordinator. He only lasted one season before returning to the Iowa program as an Administrative Assistant. For the 2008 season, after an offseason of turmoil for the Hawkeye program that resulted in many arrests and run-ins with the law, Ejiasi was named the first ever Director of Player Development, a job which he still holds.

Raih did not have an illustrious playing career with Iowa, in part because he was injured during multiple seasons. He served as a backup to multiple different quarterbacks but saw action in the 2001 season. After his playing days ended, Raih worked as an assistant to Offensive Coordinator Ken O’Keefe during the 2004 season. However, he left coaching for a couple years before convincing UCLA Head Coach Rick Neuheisel to give him a chance to get back into the game. Neuheisel granted him an opportunity to intern with the football team and he spent the 2008 season working with Offensive Coordinator Norm Chow alongside the Quarterbacks. The following season he assisted the Special Teams Coach Frank Gansz Jr. and worked with the Tight Ends as well. During both seasons with UCLA, Raih helped the coaching staff with on-campus recruiting. For the 2010 season, Raih returned to his alma mater and filled the role of Graduate Assistant Coach, helping with the Offense. He remains in that position today.

Norvell came to Iowa despite living in the heart of Badger country and having his father as a former Wisconsin player. He left Madison and opted to join the Hawkeyes under Coach Hayden Fry. He redshirted in 1981 when he first got to campus and his next two season with Iowa, he was mainly a scout team player and a backup Defensive Back. His Junior season, he finally found his way on to the field as a special teamer. His final year with the Hawkeyes, Norvell made the most of it. He led the Iowa Defensive Backs in tackles with 45. He also led the Big Ten in interceptions with 7 on his way to an Honorable Mentions as both an All-American and All-Big Ten. He helped lead the Hawkeyes to a Big Ten title and a trip to the Rose Bowl. After his college career, Norvell became a Graduate Assistant at Iowa before heading to the NFL the following season to play one season with the Chicago Bears. After his short stint with the Bears, he rejoined the college coaching ranks and his new career was off and running. He went to the University of Northern Iowa to coach Receivers in 1988. He was only there for one season before heading to his hometown team, the Wisconsin Badgers. He coached Receivers, Special Teams and the Offensive Line from 1989 – 1994. He returned to the state of Iowa after that, joining the Iowa State coaching staff as an Assistant Head Coach as well as being responsible for the Quarterbacks and Receivers. He was there through 1997 before heading to the NFL and joining the Indianapolis Colts staff as a Wide Receiver Coach. He remained in Indy through 2001, before heading West to join the Oakland Raiders as their Tight Ends Coach in 2002. He was there for two seasons before returning to the college ranks as Nebraska’s Offensive Coordinator as well as coaching Quarterbacks. In 2007 he took the same job with UCLA but was only there for one season. He left for a job with his former college teammate, Bob Stoops, at the University of Oklahoma as Assistant Offensive Coordinator and Receivers Coach. In 2010, his title changed to Co-Offensive Coordinator and he remained the Receivers Coach, where he remains today.

Bob Stoops, or Bobby as he was known when he came to the Hawkeyes was the 1st in a trio of Stoops brothers to don the Black & Gold. Stoops was an effective play maker at Safety for Iowa and currently sits 17th overall with 8 interceptions throughout his career. He also sits 38th overall after compiling 230 tackles in his career. His senior season he was the team captain as a Defensive Back and along with being named team MVP, was chosen 1st Team All-Big Ten.  He immediately went into coaching, beginning as a graduate assistant with Iowa in 1983 and held the same position the following year. In 1985 he became a volunteer coach, holding that position through the duration of the 1987 season. He left for Kent State to become an Assistant Coach from 1988-1989 and then joined the staff at Kansas State, working on the staff of Bill Snyder, a former Hawkeye Offensive Coordinator. From 1989-1990 Stoops was the Defensive Backs coach and then in 1991 he took over as Co-Defensive Coordinator through the 1995 season. He left Kansas State and joined the Florida staff from 1996-1998 as an Assistant Head Coach & Defensive Coordinator.  In 1999 many expected Stoops to be named the next coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes, but Stoops elected to take the Oklahoma Sooners top spot while the Hawkeyes would go on to hire Kirk Ferentz. Stoops won a National Championship in his 2nd season with the Sooners and would also be named the Walter Camp National Coach of the Year, AP National Coach of the Year, the Home Depot Coach of the Year and also win the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award. In 2003 Stoops would again be named the Walter Camp National Coach of the Year and has currently won 7 Big XII Championships. He has compiled a record of 138-34 while at Oklahoma. In 2011 his team was a preseason #1, however they failed to live up to the expectations and ended up heading to the Insight Bowl where they were matched up against Coach Stoops’ alma mater. The results for his #19 2011 Sooner team:

Week 1 vs. Tulsa: Win (47-14)
Week 2: Bye
Week 3 vs. #5 Florida State: Win (23-13)
Week 4 vs. Missouri: Win (38-28)
Week 5 vs. Ball State: Win (62-6)
Week 6 vs. #11 Texas: Win (55-17)
Week 7 vs. Kansas: Win (47-17)
Week 8 vs. Texas Tech: Loss (38-41)
Week 9 vs. #8 Kansas State: Win (58-17)
Week 10 vs. Texas A&M: Win (41-25)
Week 11: Bye
Week 12 vs. #22 Baylor: Loss (38-45)
Week 13 vs. Iowa State: Win (26-6)
Week 14 vs. #3 Oklahoma State: Loss (10-44)

Twitter handle: @BretBielema

Bret Bielema came to the University of Iowa as a walk-on and by the end of his first season he had earned himself a scholarship.  A hard working and tough Hawkeye was born & he epitomized what the Iowa style was all about. Bielema finished his collegiate career as a 4 year letter winner and was named team captain in 1992, his senior season.  He signed a free agent contract with the Seattle Seahawks but never made the team.  He returned to the Midwest and signed with the Milwaukee Mustangs of the Arena League.  While his playing career had come to an end, coaching was calling and Bielema became a graduate assistant with the Hawkeyes for the 1994 & 1995 seasons. He took over as Linebackers Coach for the 1996 season and held that position through 2001. He left the Hawkeyes to join the staff of Kansas State under their Head Coach Bill Snyder, a former Hawkeye Offensive Coordinator. Bielema took over as the Co-Defensive Coordinator in charge of Linebackers for 2002-2003. He left KSU and went to work for another former Hawkeye in Barry Alvarez, who was the Head Coach at Wisconsin. Bielema took charge as the Defensive Coordinator & Linebackers coach for 2004 & 2005, although it was somewhat expected that he was being groomed to replace Alvarez as Head Coach. In 2006 that became a reality & he remains the Head Coach of the Badgers this season. Bielema has compiled a 60-18 record overall while in his 6th year running the Wisconsin program. His #9 Wisconsin Badgers 2011 results:

Week 1 vs. UNLV: Win (51-17)
Week 2 vs. Oregon St.: Win (35-0)
Week 3 vs. Northern Illinois: Win (49-7)
Week 4 vs. South Dakota: Win (59-10)
Week 5 vs. #8 Nebraska: Win (48-17)
Week 6: Bye
Week 7 vs. Indiana: Win (59-7)
Week 8 vs. #16 Michigan State: Loss (31-37)
Week 9 vs. Ohio State: Loss (29-33)
Week 10 vs. Purdue: Win (62-17)
Week 11 vs. Minnesota: Win (42-13)
Week 12 vs. Illinois: Win (28-17)
Week 13 vs. #19 Penn State: Win (45-7)
Big Ten Championship vs.  #13 Michigan State: Win (42-39)