By Pat Harty

 IOWA CITY, Iowa – The next offensive coordinator for the Iowa football team, whomever that might be, heard some good news on Friday as tight end Luke Lachey announced that he will return next season.

“More work to be done,” Lachey posted on X, which was formerly known as Twitter.

Lachey hasn’t played since he suffered a lower leg injury in the third game of the season against Western Michigan.

The Ohio native was leading the team in catches (10) and receiving yards (131) when he was injured.

Lachey also had four of Iowa’s seven touchdown receptions in the 2022 season while playing alongside All-Big Ten tight end Sam LaPorta, who is now a rookie with the Detroit Lions.

There was speculation before and after Lachey was injured that he might choose to enter the 2024 NFL draft.

But he has decided to stick around for one more season, and will soon have a new offensive coordinator running the offense with Brian Ferentz being relieved of his duties once this season ends.

The tight end position has been one of the few bright spots for the Iowa offense since the start of the 2022 season.

Lachey and Michigan transfer Erick All were expected to form a potent one-two punch this season, and they were doing just that until injuries ended both of their seasons.

All suffered a lower leg injury in the seventh game against Wisconsin and hasn’t played since.

He was leading the team with 299 receiving yards and 21 catches when he was injured.

All could also return for one more season, but he has yet to announce his decision.

Lachey joins senior linebacker Jay Higgins as two key players that have announced their decision to return next season.

Higgins led the Big Ten in tackles during the regular season.

Iowa now waits for fifth-year senior linebacker Nick Jackson and defensive backs Cooper DeJean, Sebastian Castro and Quinn Schulte to announce whether they will return next season.

DeJean is and injured and won’t play in the Citrus Bowl, but the third-year junior projects as a first-round pick.