Iowa to hire former Hawkeye standout as tight ends coach

Iowa is hiring a familiar face to its coaching staff.

The Hawkeyes are expected to name Abdul Hodge as their new tight ends coach, sources told On3’s Matt Zenitz. He played linebacker at Iowa from 2002-05 and went on to have a five-year career in the NFL.

Hawkeyes offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz also served as the tight ends coach the last few seasons. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Ferentz is moving to quarterbacks coach to replace Ken O’Keefe, who stepped down last month.

Hodge ranks third on Iowa’s all-time tackles list with 458 in his career, including 158 during his senior season in 2005. The Green Bay Packers selected him in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft, and he spent two years there. He also played for the Cincinnati Bengals and Carolina Panthers.

For the last three years, Hodge has been the outside linebackers coach at South Dakota State. Now, he’s heading back to his alma mater.

Iowa went 10-4 overall and 7-3 in Big Ten play this past season. The Hawkeyes made an appearance in the Citrus Bowl, where they eventually fell to Kentucky 20-17.

Iowa quarterbacks coach Ken O’Keefe steps down

Last month, Hawkeyes announced Ken O’Keefe is stepping down from his role. He will remain with the program in an off-field role. O’Keefe wrapped up the fifth year of his second stint with the Hawkeyes after a trip to the NFL. He previously served as Iowa’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 1999-2011.

“My entire family and I are incredibly grateful to coach Ferentz, the players — especially the quarterbacks I have been privileged to work with — the staff, the University of Iowa, and the great Hawkeye football fans for all of their support these many years,” O’Keefe said in a statement. “When you love what you do, and where you do it, when you love being around the staff and working with tremendous men like I do day-in and day-out, it is hard to walk away. But I am confident that the time is right for me to step off the field and embrace a new opportunity.”

O’Keefe, 68, started coaching in 1974 at New Haven. He also worked as a head coach at Allegheny College and Fordham before Kirk Ferentz brought him to Iowa. From 2012-15, he worked for the Miami Dolphins as wide receivers coach and spent 2016 as a senior analyst.

He has 45 years of coaching experience — including nearly 20 at Iowa.

“Ken has been an important part of our football program for almost two decades,” Ferentz said in a statement. “He was one of the key components of building our program’s foundation 23 years ago and has been a friend for far longer than that. Ken hired me to be on his staff at Worcester Academy in 1978, and it has been a professional and personal honor to work alongside him all of these years.”