By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Kirk Ferentz just hired a veteran coach who also played for Forest Evashevski at Iowa.

That’s right, Forest Evashevski, who last coached the Hawkeyes in 1960.

Tom Moore was a quarterback/kicker for Iowa in 1959 and 1960. Iowa posted a 13-5 record in those two seasons, including an 8-1 mark in 1960. As a kicker, Moore connected on five field goals and 40 PATs in two seasons.

Moore would go on become a hugely successful coach in both college and the NFL, and now at the age of 87, he is returning to his college alma mater to serve as a senior consultant to the head coach and offensive advisor.

Iowa made the announcement on Tuesday.

It appears that Kirk Ferentz couldn’t pass up the opportunity to hire a person with Moore’s vast coaching experience, who also just happens to be a former Hawkeye.

Ferentz is taking advantage of this new era in which Power 4 coaching staffs are allowed an unlimited number of assistants to instruct athletes.

In 2024, the NCAA Division I Council voted to expand coaching staffs, allowing all staff members to provide technical and tactical instruction to athletes during practice and games.

And now with Tom Moore reuniting with his college alma mater, Kirk Ferentz will have someone with more than six decades of coaching experience as a consultant/advisor.

“I have known Tom Moore for over a decade and am thrilled that he has agreed to join our program in an advisory role,” Kirk Ferentz said in  a release. “Coach Moore has had a long and very successful career in football. He was a player at Iowa, coached at the collegiate level and spent many years working alongside Hall of Fame coaches in the National Football League. I am grateful that a four-time Super Bowl champion will share his wisdom and perspectives with us – coaches and players.”

Besides bringing a wealth of coaching experience, Moore also connects the past with the present of Hawkeye football since he played for Evashevski while at Iowa.

Imagine the stories that Moore could tell about Evashevski, who built Iowa into a national power before retiring in 1960 at the age of just 42.

Evashevski has become almost a mystical figure over time, and now Iowa has one of his former players on its coaching staff as crazy as that seems in 2026.

Moore served as a graduate assistant coach at Iowa in 1961 and 1962 before serving two years in the United States Army, where he also coached football. Moore coached on the collegiate level at Dayton (1965-68), Wake Forest (1969), Georgia Tech (1970-71) and Minnesota (1972-73, 1975-76).

Moore joined the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers, serving as receivers coach (1977-82) and offensive coordinator (1983-89). He later coached with Minnesota (assistant head coach, 1990-93), Detroit (offensive coordinator, 1994-96), New Orleans (running backs, 1997), Indianapolis (offensive coordinator, 1998-2008). He served as the Colts’ senior offensive coordinator in 2009 and was senior offensive assistant and offensive consultant in 2010.

Moore was offensive consultant with the New York Jets in 2011 and Tennessee in 2012. He was assistant head coach and offensive consultant with Arizona from 2013-17. Most recently, Moore was with Tampa Bay the last seven seasons as an offensive consultant (2019-25).

Moore is a four-time Super Bowl champion; winning two in Pittsburgh (XIII and XIV), one with Indianapolis (XLI) and another with Tampa Bay (LV). Moore helped five teams earn conference championships (1978, 1979, 2006, 2009, 2021). He coached under Chuck Noll with the Steelers and Tony Dungy in Indianapolis.

Hiring somebody with Moore’s credentials would have made sense under almost any circumstance, even without a Hawkeye connection.

His connection to Iowa just makes it a better fit.

Of course, much has changed since Moore last played for Iowa over 60 years ago.

But once a Hawkeye, always a Hawkeye.

In some ways, Tom Moore has come full circle as a coach.

He obviously has nothing to prove at this stage of his career.

But his desire to coach, and to be around a game that has brought so much joy and happiness to his life, still must outweigh any desire he has to retire from coaching.

Kirk Ferentz will be 71 when the 2026 season starts, but he shows no signs of slowing down, nor has he given any hint about retiring.

Iowa’s offense has often been a work in progress under Kirk Ferentz, and sometimes a slow work in progress, especially the passing game.

The hope is that Moore’s “wisdom and perspectives” will help to address the shortcomings on offense.

And while skeptics will question the decision to hire someone as old as Tom Moore, it wouldn’t have happened if Iowa had any concerns about his age.

If the Rolling Stones still can thrive as a rock band with its remaining members now in their 80s, then so can Tom Moore as a football coach.

Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester should be thrilled to have Moore on the staff.

The offense has certainly made strides in two seasons under Lester, but there still is room for improvement.

So it makes a lot of sense to hire somebody as highly respected, and as established as former Hawkeye Tom Moore.

Editor’s note: hawkeyesports.com contributed to this article.