Iowa Announces 4 Football Staff Hires

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa Moon Family Head Football Coach Kirk Ferentz announced the hiring of four new staff members on Friday. Jay Norvell will serve as the senior football analyst (offense), Kevin Spencer will be special teams quality control, while Kyle Hazell (offense) and Mac McLeran (defense) are football analysts. 

“Hiring analysts to support our football program makes us better in every way,” said Ferentz. “Analysts allow our coaching staff to get a jump start on preparation and can offer a fresh perspective on trends and opportunities as we prepare for the season. I am pleased to add these four leaders to support our football program.”

JAY NORVELL
Norvell is a former Hawkeye, winning 35 games and advancing to four bowl games during his four-year career (1982-85). He was a first-team All-Big Ten honoree and an Iowa MVP his senior season in 1985. The native of Madison, Wisconsin, recorded a conference-high seven interceptions and ranked fourth on the team with 76 tackles in 1985, helping the Hawkeyes win 10 games, a Big Ten championship and a spot in the Rose Bowl.  

“Jay was an outstanding player at the University of Iowa when I was here in the 1980’s” said Ferentz. “He has a long and varied coaching career that will be a real benefit to our offensive coaching staff and players.”

Following graduation, he began a career in coaching as a graduate assistant under Hayden Fry (1986-87). Over the next decade, Norvell had coaching stints at Northern Iowa (1988), Wisconsin (1989-94) and Iowa State (1995-97).

From there, Norvell expanded his coaching resume to the professional ranks, serving as the wide receivers coach for the Indianapolis Colts (1998-2001) and tight ends coach for the Oakland Raiders (2002-03) -- a period that included an AFC Championship and appearance in Super Bowl XXXVII in 2002.

After six seasons in the NFL, Norvell returned to college football, coaching at Nebraska (2004-06), UCLA (2007), Oklahoma (2008-14), Texas (2015) and Arizona State (2016). During his time as an assistant, Norvell coached in every BCS bowl game during the BCS era, including the 2009 BCS National Championship with the Sooners. 

After nearly three decades as an assistant coach, Norvell earned his first head coaching job at Nevada in 2017, followed by three-plus years at Colorado State (2022-25).

Norvell was Iowa's honorary captain this fall when the Hawkeyes beat Michigan State in their home finale on Nov. 22, 2025.

KEVIN SPENCER
Spencer, who has nearly five decades of coaching experience at multiple levels, returns to the Hawkeyes after a couple previous stints in Iowa City (2017-18 and 2020-21).

“Kevin spent nearly three decades coaching in the National Football League and many years in college football,” said Ferentz. “He knows first-hand the importance of special teams to our program and will be an asset to that unit going forward.”

Spencer was first hired by Ferentz and the Hawkeyes in 2017 as a special teams quality control assistant. The 2017 squad won eight games, including the Pinstripe Bowl, while the 2018 Hawkeyes recorded nine victories, including winning the Outback Bowl.

Ferentz and Spencer worked together with the Cleveland Browns in the early 1990’s when Ferentz was offensive line coach and Spencer was the offensive quality control coach.

Spencer has worked on the coaching staffs with seven National Football League teams, most recently as the special teams assistant with the New England Patriots in 2019. He was the special teams coordinator with the San Diego Chargers (2013-15), Arizona Cardinals (2006-12), Pittsburgh Steelers (2002-06) and Indianapolis Colts (1997-2002). Spencer won a Super Bowl with the Steelers and was on the Cardinals staff in 2009 when they played in Super Bowl XLIII. He served as the special teams coordinator, defense quality control and linebackers coach with the Oakland Raiders (1994-97), and was offense, defense and special teams quality control with the Cleveland Browns (1991-94).

Spencer returned to the Hawkeyes in 2020, assisting with game film review and game planning. In 2021, the Hawkeyes won 10 games and played for the Big Ten Conference Championship. 

In 2023-24, he was the special teams coordinator for St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland. Most recently, Spencer was a part-time film evaluator for Sumer Sports, grading NFL linebackers and specialists.

He was the head coach at Wesleyan University for five seasons (1987-91) and was an assistant at Ithaca College from 1982 to 1987. He has also coached at St. Augustine High School in San Diego, Gilman School in Baltimore, Cornell University and Detroit Country Day School.

KYLE HAZELL
Hazell joins the Hawkeye staff after serving as an offensive graduate assistant and assistant quarterbacks coach at the University of Toledo for one season (2025-26) and Youngstown State (2024-25), and as an offensive graduate assistant and tight ends coach at the University of Dayton (2023-24). 

He was a two-year starter at wide receiver and four-year team member at the University of Dayton. He played in 20 games during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, catching 34 passes for 402 yards (11.8 yard per catch average) with one touchdown. 

A native of West Lafayette, Indiana, Hazell’s father Darrell had a 32-year coaching career, including stops with Kent State, Purdue and the Minnesota Vikings.

MAC MCLAREN
McLeran joins the Iowa staff after serving as the defensive run game coordinator and linebackers coach at Southern Illinois University for four seasons (2022-25). During his tenure, he guided the development of All-American linebacker Ben Bogle, as well as two-time all-conference linebacker Branson Combs, plus MVFC All-Newcomer linebackers Chris Harris and Colin Bohanek.

In 2024, Bogle became the first Saluki linebacker to earn All-America status since 2009. He led the league in tackles for loss (16.5) and added 87 tackles, 5.5 sacks and two interceptions. Bogle was a finalist for the prestigious Buck Buchanan Award, which goes to the top defensive player in the FCS. He finished 20th in the voting.

In 2023, McLeran’s linebacker corps was instrumental in helping the Salukis achieve a top 10 ranking in the FCS in numerous statistical categories -- scoring defense (4th/16.2 points per game), total defense (4th/282.3 yards per game), sacks (6th/3.00 sacks per game), rushing defense (5th/94.2 yards per game), pass efficiency defense (7th/111.73), turnovers gained (7th/25 turnovers) and fourth down defense (8th/0.333 conversion rate).

During McLeran's tenure at SIU, the Salukis advanced to the Sweet 16 of the FCS Playoffs in 2023 and posted marquee wins over Big Ten Northwestern (2022) and Northern Illinois (2023). 

Before joining the Salukis staff, McLeran served as the tight ends coach (2021) and assistant linebackers coach/defensive analyst (2020) at UNI.

An all-state offensive lineman from North Liberty, Iowa, McLeran played three seasons (2013-15) at the University South Dakota and was a team captain before suffering a career-ending injury. He started his coaching career with the Coyotes, serving as a graduate assistant with the linebackers and defensive line in 2019. 

“Kyle and Mac both have experience in player development and have helped their programs improve at every level,” Ferentz said. “We look forward to Kyle joining our offensive staff and Mac becoming involved with our defensive staff.”