Luke Lachey calls out jokes about Iowa’s offense: ‘No one likes to hear that kind of stuff’

Entering the 2023 season, there were questions about what Iowa’s offense would look like. The Hawkeyes struggled in 2022, and despite adding Cade McNamara from the transfer portal, all eyes were on coordinator Brian Ferentz.

That noise grew louder when a report came out about a clause in Ferentz’s contract. According to the reworked deal, Iowa had to win seven games and average 25 points per game for a bonus to kick in. That led to plenty of jokes about the “Drive for 325.”

Luke Lachey said the Hawkeyes heard those quips, and with Ferentz now working as an analyst at Maryland and Tim Lester in as offensive coordinator, they’ll look to move on. It’s safe to say, they’ve heard enough.

“We are,” Lachey told Andy Staples on Andy Staples On3 when asked if Iowa is tired of the jokes. “No one likes to hear that kind of stuff. We’re just trying to move forward from it.”

Iowa ranked 132 out of 133 teams a year ago with just 15.4 points of offense per game and finished last in the FBS with 234.6 yards on average. That’s nearly 30 yards fewer than Eastern Michigan, which was right in front of the Hawkeyes.

Now with Lester coming in after a year with the Green Bay Packers and five years experience as a head coach at Western Michigan, Luke Lachey said Iowa is confident in its new coordinator. As for what fans can expect from the new-look offense, he suggested tuning in Aug. 31 against Illinois State.

“I think Coach Lester’s gonna put us in the right position to succeed,” Lachey said. “I think all the guys are really locked in and ready to go. We’ll see come Week 1.”

Kirk Ferentz: Tim Lester is ‘really good fit’ at Iowa

As Iowa gets ready to debut its new look on offense, Kirk Ferentz spoke highly of Tim Lester at Big Ten Media Days. As he worked through the process of replacing his son, Ferentz said Lester separated himself from the pack and his head coaching experience is also important as he joins Iowa’s staff.

“Tim just really stood out,” Ferentz said. “I think he’s a really good fit for us. Whether he talked about his personality, obviously his offensive background, his expertise. Played quarterback, coached quarterbacks, has been a coordinator that had a rare opportunity last year to really almost take a coaching sabbatical, if you will, and worked with the Packers and got great exposure to a lot of people offensively. 

“(He) helped out on the defensive side. So he comes with a wealth of knowledge. One thing I do appreciate you as a former head coach that wasn’t a requisite but … I think he’s got a deep appreciation for how football works and offense can complement defense, special teams.”