Omar Young

Omar Young is in his first season as the running backs coach for the University of Iowa football team. Young has served as an assistant coach in both the National Football League and collegiate ranks.

Young has an extensive resume as an offensive assistant coach, including stints with four teams in the National Football League (NFL): New England, Chicago, Green Bay and Cleveland.

The native of Oakland, California, spent 2024 as an offensive assistant working with New England’s tight ends. During his two seasons with the Bears, he assisted with the offense that led the league in rushing yards in 2022. Chicago’s 3,014 rushing yards established a new franchise record and currently ranks seventh in NFL history. Young also helped the kickoff return unit that finished second in the NFL in return average in 2022.

Young was an offensive quality control coach with the Packers in 2017 and 2018, while also working with receivers in 2017 and running backs in 2018. He represented Green Bay at the 2018 NFL Combine.

While with the Browns, Young was an offensive assistant with the running backs in 2015. He ran the running back meetings at rookie mini-camp and taught the offensive system to all rookies, in-season free agents and practice squad running backs.

Young also has coaching experience in junior college, NCAA Division-II, FCS and FBS ranks. 

His most recent time coaching collegiate student-athletes was at Eastern Illinois from 2019-21. Young coached the running backs for three seasons, while adding co-special teams coordinator duties in 2020-21. Two of his running backs finished in the top 10 in rushing in the Ohio Valley Conference in the spring of 2021. He coached the special teams unit that ranked second in kick return defense, ninth in blocked kicks, 22nd in punt returns and 23rd in kick returns in 2020.

He was an offensive analyst (running backs) at South Carolina in 2016. Young was the director of quality control (special teams/defense) at Colorado from 2013-14. While serving as a special teams graduate assistant at San Jose State in 2011 and 2012, Young coached a Ray Guy Award candidate and Lou Groza Award semifinalist. Young and the Spartans won the 2013 Military Bowl.

Young was the special teams coordinator and secondary coach at Minnesota State Moorhead in 2010. He coached the kickoff coverage team that ranked seventh nationally in NCAA Division II.

Young helped De Anza College win the 2009 Southern Division Bowl Championship as its wide receivers coach and mentored a second-team JUCO All-American & first-team California All-Region player.

Young also was one of the running back position coaches at the 2025 Senior Bowl and 2018 East-West Shrine Game.

Young played defensive back for two years at Williamette University and was an honorable mention All-Northwest Conference honoree in 2001. He earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Savannah State University in 2005 and a master’s degree in sport management from the University of San Francisco in 2008.