Chris White

Chris White is in his fourth year as an assistant football coach at the University of Iowa. Chris spent the previous four years on the coaching staff of the Minnesota Vikings. White coaches Hawkeye running backs and coordinates special teams. He was recognized by Rivals.com in 2014 as one of the top recruiters in the Big Ten Conference.

The Hawkeyes posted a perfect 12-0 regular season record in 2015, winning the West Division of the Big Ten Conference.  Iowa participated in the 2016 Rose Bowl following a last-minute loss to Michigan State (16-13) in the Big Ten championship game and ended the season in the top 10 in the national rankings. 

Iowa has participated in January bowl games the past three seasons, including the 2014 Outback Bowl, the 2015 TaxSlayer Bowl and the 2016 Rose Bowl.  The Hawkeyes have ranked in the final top 10 of both major polls five times in the past 14 seasons.

Iowa’s offense in 2015 averaged 30.9 points and 386.1 yards total offense.  The Hawkeyes averaged 181.7 rushing yards per game, their highest rushing average since 2008.  Iowa ranked in the top 25 nationally in fourth down conversions, fewest penalties and fewest turnovers.

Iowa featured a trio of running backs in 2015.  Jordan Canzeri led the ground game with 984 yards and 12 touchdowns, while LeShun Daniels, Jr. added 646 yards and eight touchdowns, and Akrum Wadley totaled 496 yards and seven scores.

Those three averaged 5.2 yards per carry while combining for 2,126 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns.  Canzeri completed his career with 2,073 yards to rank 13th in career rushing, while Daniels and Wadley return in 2016.

While also directs Iowa’s special teams.  The Hawkeyes were second in the Big Ten and 11th in the nation in punt returns last season and fourth in the nation in kickoff returns.  Individually, Desmond King was second in the league and seventh in the nation in punt return average.

In 2014, running back Mark Weisman concluded his career with over 2,600 rushing yards, ranking sixth in career rushing and 10th in career scoring.  His 16 rushing touchdowns in 2014 rank third best at Iowa for a single season.  Weisman signed a free agent contract with Cincinnati immediately following the 2015 NFL Draft.

In his first year with the Hawkeyes, White assisted with an Iowa offense that averaged 377 yards total offense per game, including 179 rushing yards per outing. Iowa posted eight wins, including five in the Big Ten to tie for second in the Legends Division.

Weisman rushed for 975 yards to lead Iowa’s ground game in 2013, while Canzeri gained 481 yards and Damon Bullock rushed for 467 yards.

In 2013, Kevonte Martin-Manley ranked second in the Big Ten and eighth in the nation in punt returns (15.7), returning back-to-back punts for touchdowns in a win over Western Michigan. Jordan Cotton ranked fourth in the Big Ten with a 25.2 average on KO returns, setting an Outback Bowl record with a 96-yard return.

Prior to his four seasons with the Vikings, White coached on the collegiate level for 17 years. White assisted in coaching the Viking special teams in his four years in Minnesota. In 2012, Minnesota posted a 10-6 record, earning a Wild Card playoff berth while setting a team record for biggest turnaround in victories from one season to the next.

  In 2012, Minnesota’s special teams were recognized with the No. 1 ranking in the well-respected Dallas Morning News season-ending special teams’ evaluations. The special teams unit was headlined by rookie kicker Blair Walsh’s record-setting season, as he earned All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors. His 141 points are the second-most ever by an NFL rookie and rank second in club history.

In his last two seasons in Minnesota, the Vikings’ 26.8-yard kickoff return average led the NFL. Defensively, the Vikings led the NFL by allowing only 18 kickoff returns of 20-plus yards. Minnesota was third in the NFL with an average starting field position at the 24.6 yard line following kickoff returns, and had six kickoff returns of 40-plus yards. The return units earned a place in the Minnesota record book by returning both a kick and punt return for a touchdown at Detroit.

  After joining the Vikings in 2009, White helped oversee a special teams unit that sent a pair of members to the Pro Bowl and made an impact on the Vikings record book along the way. The Vikings special teams were instrumental in the team winning a second consecutive NFC North title and winning 12 games in the regular season, tied for the second-best total in team history.

The 2009 special teams were represented at the Pro Bowl by returner Percy Harvin and cover man Heath Farwell. Harvin set a Vikings record by returning a pair of kickoff returns for touchdowns during the season, including a 101-yard return that ties as the second-longest in Vikings history.

White joined the Vikings after a nine-year stint at Syracuse University where, at different times throughout his tenure, he coached wide receivers and tight ends, and was the special teams’ coordinator and recruiting coordinator. White’s nine seasons at Syracuse were highlighted by a 2001 Insight Bowl victory and a share of the Big East championship in 2004. A combined seven units ranked in the nation’s top 20 under White’s direction as special teams coordinator from 2000-03.

White served as the Orange’s wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator, a post he moved to prior to the 2005 season. He spent his first three years at Syracuse working with the tight ends and as special teams’ coordinator. From the start of the 2000 season until he left his post as special teams coordinator in 2003, only seven teams in the country blocked more kicks than the Orange (22). Syracuse also scored eight touchdowns on special teams during the same time frame.

White served a dual-role at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo in 1999, working as both defensive and special teams’ coordinator. White spent three seasons at UNLV (1996-98), serving as linebackers coach and special teams’ coordinator. The lone head coaching job of White’s career came during a three-year stint with Bishop Manogue High School in Reno from 1994-96. He was named the Northern Nevada Coach of the Year in 1996.

White’s first full-time role in coaching came as the assistant quarterbacks coach for the College of the Holy Cross (Mass., 1993-94). In his two years at that post, both of the Crusaders starting quarterbacks ended their respective seasons with quarterback efficiency ratings over 100. White began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at Syracuse (1990-91) and Arkansas State (1992).

In his first stint at Syracuse, White worked with former Vikings quarterback coach Kevin Rogers and Paul Pasqualoni. The Orange won the 1990 Aloha and 1991 Hall of Fame bowls.

During his college career, White was a four-year starter at quarterback for Colby College (Maine) and was a team captain as a senior. As a prep, he attended Philips Exeter Academy. White earned his bachelor’s degree in government in 1990 and a master’s degree in education from Syracuse in 1992.

White was born June 29, 1967, and is a native of Groveland, Massachusetts. He and his wife, Angel, have two daughters, Payton and Riley.