Iowa football hires Chris Polizzi as new special teams coordinator

IOWA CITY — The Hawkeyes have found their new special teams coordinator.

Following the departure of longtime-coordinator LeVar Woods, Iowa football announced Thursday afternoon that defensive analyst Chris Polizzi will take over as the Hawkeyes special teams coordinator. Polizzi confirmed the news earlier on his social media, changing his bio to reflect the new title.

“I am honored by the opportunity to be the special teams coordinator at the University of Iowa,” Polizzi said in a statement with Hawkeye Athletics. “I appreciate the trust Coach Ferentz has placed in me. I look forward to contributing to a program focused on tough, smart and physical football.”

Polizzi brings two decades of coaching experience to the coordinator position, after spending last season as a defensive analyst with Iowa’s secondary. Polizzi was also a graduate assistant at Iowa from 2012-14, where he helped coach former Hawkeye Micah Hyde and was a part of the 2013 Outback Bowl and 2014 TaxSlayer (Gator) Bowl staff.

The Great Barrington, Mass.-native had previous coaching stops at Tulsa, serving as the defensive coordinator and safeties coach (2023-24), UT-Martin (2018-22), coaching linebackers before earning a promotion to DC for three seasons in 2020, as well as UCLA, Utah, Western Carolina and Tennessee Tech.

Polizzi also has recruiting experience, working as the recruiting coordinator at Tennessee Tech. He served as a special teams coordinator at UT-Martin before his promotion to defensive coordinator, focusing specifically on kickoffs and kick returns.

Polizzi is an alum of Lake Forest College, where he played linebacker (2001-04). Polizzi was coached by Iowa assistant head coach Seth Wallace in 2003.

“Special teams have been a foundational part of our program’s success throughout my time here,” Iowa football head coach Kirk Ferentz said in the program’s announcement. “Chris is an excellent coach with a proven track record, and his background with several programs gives him the experience and insights that will continue to contribute to our program.”

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Polizzi takes over the special teams coordinator position during a major turnover, with three key pieces of the special teams unit needing replacement over the offseason. Sophomore punter Rhys Dakin followed Woods to Michigan State, and two-time Jet Award winner Kaden Wetjen and Iowa’s program record-breaking kicker Drew Stevens both exhausted their eligibility.

“The trick will be to find the next LeVar Woods. He's done a fantastic job,” Ferentz said of Woods’ departure in December.

The Hawkeyes added kicker Eli Ozick to their roster from the transfer portal last week, bringing in the North Dakota State transfer before Polizzi’s hiring was official. Iowa hasn’t received any commitments from a punter yet during this transfer portal window, which closes Friday.

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