Tim Lester deserves chance to show what he can do with struggling Iowa offense
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Whether you agree with Kirk Ferentz’s decision to hire Tim Lester as his new offensive coordinator, Lester at least deserves a chance to perform his duties before he gets judged.
He might not be the home run hire that Iowa fans were hoping Kirk Ferentz would make in this case.
But it was silly, and even a little foolish to think that Kirk Ferentz would swing for the fence with this hire, or if he did swing for the fence, that he would make contact.
The Iowa offense is damaged goods right now and that might explain why no other Power Five offensive coordinator was linked to this job search or rumored to be a candidate.
Lester spent the 2023 season as an advisor for the Green Bay Packers after having been the head coach for Western Michigan for six seasons from 2017 to 2022.
He seems to have used the job with Green Bay as a temporary landing spot and that strategy has now paid dividends.
Lester was fired as the Western Michigan head coach following a 5-7 season in 2022.
But that was his only losing season with the Broncos, who also played in three bowl games under Lester.
Lester had a less-than-impressive run as the play caller for Syracuse for 19 games in 2014 and 2015 as Syracuse finished just 5-14 in those games.
But in his defense, Syracuse was decimated by injuries during much of that time, especially at quarterback where the fifth-team quarterback eventually became the starter.
Kirk Ferentz didn’t become the third all-time winningest coach in Big Ten history by knowing less about football than those who write about his team or cheer for his team.
His offense is a mess right now, so bad that it cost his son his job as offensive coordinator, and it also kept Iowa from having any chance of being elite in each of the past two seasons despite being rock solid on defense and special teams.
So, Kirk Ferentz understands what is at stake with his hire.
He can’t just rely on defense and special teams to carry the load forever, and he has a new boss in Iowa Athletic Director Beth Goetz, who fired Brian Ferentz as offensive coordinator in late October.
Kirk Ferentz can’t afford to be wrong with this hire.
Well, he can afford it in a literal sense, obviously.
But if Lester fails to get the job done, and the offense continues to perform woefully, Kirk Ferentz could be facing a serious problem if the defense and special teams ever fall below elite status.
There will be pressure on Lester to deliver, but the bar also won’t be set very high as the offense could just be average and that would be a major step up from a productivity standpoint.
It’s unfair and short-sighted to assume that the 46-year-old Lester will fail in this new job, and that Kirk Ferentz just hired another yes man that he can control.
However, the concern with this hire, and with overall search, is that Lester ultimately proved to be the best candidate among those that actually wanted the job.
Paul Chryst reportedly was Kirk Ferentz’s first choice, but Chryst supposedly turned down the job, although, neither he nor Kirk Ferentz have confirmed that.
Chryst would have been a better hire than Lester from a public relations standpoint since Chryst used to be the head coach for Wisconsin and Pittsburgh.
But the PR part only goes so far.
This hire will ultimately be judged by what happens on the field.
Some Iowa fans were disappointed that Lester was hired rather than former Duke offensive coordinator Kevin Johns.
But why?
There is no reason to believe that Johns would have been a better hire than Lester.
One thing is certain, though, which is Lester is far more qualified for the job compared to Brian Ferentz when his father promoted Brian Ferentz to offensive coordinator in 2017.
Brian Ferentz, a former Iowa offensive lineman, never had coached quarterbacks before he became Iowa’s offensive coordinator, and he still hadn’t coached quarterbacks when his father made him the quarterback coach in 2022.
Lester, on the other hand, not only has coached quarterbacks and been a head coach; he also played quarterback for Western Michigan where he threw for 11,299 yards with 87 touchdowns during his career, setting 17 school records.
It just makes more sense to have a former quarterback coaching the position than someone who never has coached the position.
Lester, who grew up in suburban Chicago, was Purdue’s quarterback coach in 2016 and the team averaged 294.9 passing yards a game, ranking 21st in the country.
Lester certainly faces a daunting task in trying to fix the Iowa offense, which has suffered through a stunning decline in the last two seasons from a productivity standpoint.
But it remains to be seen how much freedom and flexibility Lester will have as a play caller and strategist, because remember, it’s Kirk Ferentz’s offense and the buck stops with him.
Some have questioned why it took Kirk Ferentz so long to hire an offensive coordinator, but now it seems pretty obvious, especially if Chryst turned down the job.
It seems that Kirk Ferentz waited for Green Bay’s season to end before interviewing Lester.
The receiver position has contributed very little over the past two seasons for Iowa.
The good news is that Lester has shown a knack for developing receivers, albeit at a different level.
He coached both Dwayne Eskridge and Skyy Moore at Western Michigan and they both would go on to finish with more than 2,000 career receiving yards, and now they both play in the NFL.
Lester also recruited Jayden Reed to Western Michigan, and Reed made an immediate impact with 56 receptions for 797 yards and eight touchdowns as a freshman in 2018 before transferring to Michigan State.
Reed now plays for the Green Bay Packers.
So, that’s three receivers that Lester coached at Western Michigan that would go on to play in the NFL.
To put that in perspective, Ihmir Smith-Marsette is the only former Hawkeye receiver now playing in the NFL.
Kirk Ferentz is currently in the process of hiring a new receiver coach, and rumor has it that current Iowa staff member Jon Budmayr, a former Wisconsin quarterback and assistant coach, is the leading candidate.
The person Kirk Ferentz ultimately hires to coach receivers will face a big challenge in trying to improve the position.
As for the quarterback position, Lester has a history of using his quarterbacks in the shotgun formation and running RPO plays.
But he also now has a starting quarterback in Cade McNamara, who is recovering from his second season-ending knee injury.
It’s uncertain right now how healthy McNamara will be next season.
What is for certain, though, is that Tim Lester is Kirk Ferentz’s fourth different offensive coordinator at Iowa.
Lester deserves a chance to do his job because there is always the chance that Kirk Ferentz got it right with this hire.
So again, let it play out instead of assuming the worst.
Tim Lester’s Coaching Career
Team………………………………………………Position, Years
Green Bay Packers……………………………… Senior Analyst, 2023
Western Michigan……………………………… Head Coach, 2017-22
Purdue……………………………………………… Quarterbacks, 2016
Syracuse…………………………………………… Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks, 2014-15
Syracuse…………………………………………… Quarterbacks/Recruiting Coordinator, 2013-14
Elmhurst…………………………………………… Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator, 2008-12
North Central…………………………………….. Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator, 2007
Western Michigan……………………………… Quarterbacks, 2005-06
Saint Joseph’s (IN)………………………………. Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator, 2004
Elmhurst…………………………………………… Offensive Coordinator, 2002-03
Saint Benedict at Auburndale HS…………… Offensive Coordinator, 2001
Wheaton Warrenville South HS…………….. Offensive Coordinator, 2000