For the 22 Iowa College Football teams that we cover (D3, NAIA, D2, and FCS – Drake) the coaching carousel has been spinning. If you follow College Football at the FBS and FCS level you know this year might have had the most coaching changes ever. That Coaching rate of change runs downhill and has affected the Iowa Colleges and Universities that SGI Covers at a dizzying pace.
Head Coaching Changes – Drake (FCS) – Walford (NAIA) – Loras (D3)
This week, news broke that Head Coach Mike Woodley took an assistant role at Rutgers (B10) and the Drake Defensive Co-Ordinator Adam Cox also joined Woodley on the Rutgers Staff. Woodley moved over to Drake for 2025 after leading Grand View Football to a record run which included the National Title in 2024. The move comes 5 days after signing day and AD Brian Hardin is quickly working to fill this crucial role as the Bulldogs have won 3 Pioneer League Championships in a row (that includes 3 straight FCS appearances).
Drake Bulldog Football (FCS)
SGI Coaching Attractiveness Grade –A+ Level. Drake is the class of Non-Scholarship Football (Pioneer League) so this is a very attractive position for a rising head coach. Todd Stepsis the Drake HC in 2024 (two PFL Championships in 23-24) took the Head Coaching job at UNI in 2025.
Loras College Football (DIII)
Brandon Novak as the next head coach of the Loras College football team. Novak comes to Loras after serving as an assistant coach for the Saint John’s University Johnnies for 26 years. In DIII Football, St. John’s is one of the most successful and well-known DIII football programs in the US.
SGI Coaching Hire Grade – B+ – This is a great hire for the DuHawks. Coach Novak has hired new key leaders Hayden Sanders (Defensive Coordinator) and Jon Powers (Offensive Coordinator) and Erik Bjork to date (link to full story from Loras). It’s a new start for the DuHawks, who have been in the bottom half of the American Rivers Conference for a while and were 3-7 in 2025. This change signals a renewed focus on football success inside the Rock Bowl at Loras.
Waldorf College Football (NAIA)
The Warriors from Forest City, IA made a leadership change and named David S. Calloway as Head Football Coach. Calloway has more than 25 years of football experience at the collegiate level.
SGI Coaching Hire Grade – B This NAIA program moved to the rugged Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) two seasons ago, and it has been rough as they are winless since joining the GPAC and they are 0-21 the past two years. (now with a 24-game losing streak over 2+ years). The program needed a proven Head Coach and program builder and getting a coach of David Calloway’s stature is huge, and signals that Waldorf wants to get competitive on the Gridiron. It will take time of course but getting a head coach with years of head coaching and program building experience is big.
Big Co-Ordinator Moves
Upper Iowa Peacocks (D2)
The Peacocks had a record year in Fayette (most wins in the history of the program in 130 of football). That success makes their coaching staff sought after and Heath Parling, who served as the offensive coordinator for the last four seasons, recently took the offensive coordinator position at Central Washington. Upper Iowa football announced on 2.9.26 that Max Longman has been promoted to the offensive coordinator role with the team. Longman has coached the offensive line and tight ends for the Peacocks during the last two seasons after joining the team in the summer of 2024.
Central College (DIII)
Cody Baethke is back on the staff as the team’s new associate head coach and defensive coordinator.
Baethke previously served for five years as an assistant coach for the Dutch from 2013 to 2017. He has been the defensive coordinator at Coe College since 2018, adding associate head coach to his title before the 2024 season. He was the American Football Coaches Association Division III Assistant Coach of the Year in 2024 while spearheading a Kohawk defense that was consistently among the best in Division III.
Coe College (DIII)
Reid Miller to the program’s defensive coordinator Wednesday morning. Miller, a member of the Kohawk staff since January of 2025, helping Coe reach the NCAA playoffs for the third straight season last fall. Miller replaces Cody Baethke who moved to Central College
Trevor McConnell to the program’s offensive coordinator Monday afternoon. McConnell, a member of the Kohawk staff since January of 2024, has helped elevate the offensive unit and program as a whole as the wide receivers coach, recruiting and video coordinator. McConnell will replaced Jacob Donohue who took the head coaching job at Nebraska Wesleyan.
Coe is coming off three straight NCAA DIII playoff appearances and a first round playoff win in 2025. that success has made their coaches in demand and Coach Staker promoted two assistants to the key Offensive and Defensive Co-Ordinator roles for 2026.
Cornell College (DIII)
Seasoned play caller Jake Olsen has been named Cornell’s new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach on Curt Ritchie‘s football staff. Olsen spent the past 12 seasons at Loras College as associate head coach, offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator. The Osage, Iowa native helped the Duhawks establish more than 50 offensive school records, in addition to four American Rivers Conference marks while in Dubuque.
Cornell is building under Iowa High School Hall of Fame Coach Curt Ritchie who is entering his second year in Mt. Vernon.
Simpson College (DIII)
Anfernee Roberts and Alex Boyer have been promoted to co-offensive coordinators. Roberts transitions from his previous role as special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach and will now serve as co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach. Boyer will continue coaching the offensive line while adding co-offensive coordinator responsibilities.
Coach Hoskins made a few other role changes in Indianola this spring coming off a strong campaign.
Northwestern College (NAIA)
Blake Fryar ’22 will return to Northwestern to step into the role of offensive coordinator. A 2022 Northwestern graduate Fryar returns to Orange City with a bolstered coaching resume. Last season, Fryar served as the wide receivers coach at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, where his position group accounted for 261.0 yards per game and 61 touchdowns.
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