Iowa elevates former Colorado State head coach to RBs coach
A former Mountain West Conference head coach who previously was hired as a senior analyst at Iowa has been elevated to a positon coach.
After being fired as the head coach of the Colorado State Rams after four seasons, Jay Norvell took a job with the Iowa Hawkeyes as a senior assistant earlier in the offseason. But just a few months later, and with running backs coach Omar Young being hired as an assistant with the Las Vegas Raiders, Norvell has been elevated to fill Young's spot as the Hawkeyes' running backs coach, per ESPN's Adam Rittenberg. The 2025-26 campaign will be Norvell's first at Iowa and first as a position coach since 2016, when he served as the wide receivers coach at Texas .
Before his time with the Longhorns, Norvell was an assistant at Northern Iowa, Wisconsin , Iowa State, UCLA and Oklahoma . He also briefly spent time on the staff of the Indianapolis Colts and Oakland Raiders before returning to the college ranks. In 2017, Norvell was hired as the head coach of the Nevada Wolfpack, eventually guiding them to a 33-26 record in five seasons at the helm.
His tenure featured three bowl appearances, with victories in the Arizona Bowl (2018) and Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (2020). Iowa makes it official and announces Jay Norvell, who had joined the staff as a senior analyst, will be running backs coach following Omar Young's departure to the NFL. Norvell, an All-Big Ten defensive back at Iowa, is the former head coach at Colorado State and Nevada.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) March 30, 2026 In four seasons as the head coach at Colorado State, Norvell guided the Rams to an 18-26 record. He became known as one of the more brash coaches in the sport, with a heated exchange with Colorado head coach Deion Sanders to boot. With his head coaching prospects appearing to dry up after being fired midway through the 2025 campaign with the Rams, Norvell will now serve as the running backs coach for an Iowa squad hoping to contend in the Big Ten.