UNI football coaching job drawing quick response

CEDAR FALLS — Northern Iowa athletics director Megan Franklin, along with consulting and search firm Collegiate Sports Associates, are entering the final stages of their search for a new head football coach.

Franklin acknowledged the search for a new coach had begun just after Mark Farley’s retirement news conference on Nov. 11, and the online posting of the position requested materials from applicants be submitted by Nov. 22, clearly indicating an expedient timeline.

“For the betterment of our student-athletes on the roster right now, and our prospective student-athletes, those timelines are important,” Franklin said when asked about a search with early December transfer portal and signing day windows looming. “We will be responsible in moving diligently.”

Multiple sources have confirmed details of UNI’s search to The Gazette, including six candidates who have either had discussions and/or formal interviews for the position.

Those six include UNI assistant head coach and defensive line coach Bryce Paup, Grand View head coach Joe Woodley, Army co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Matt Drinkall, South Carolina wide receivers coach Mike Furrey, Wyoming offensive coordinator Jay Johnson and Boise State assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Erik Chinander.

Former UNI defensive coordinator Jeremiah Johnson and former Panthers’ and current Iowa State offensive line coach Ryan Clanton turned down requests for an interview.

Of the six candidates who have had either formal interviews, or informal discussions with Franklin regarding the position, four have ties to UNI.

Paup’s ties are the most obvious, having spent 11 of the past 12 seasons on Farley’s staff as defensive line coach, adding the assistant head coach title ahead of the 2022 season.

Furrey, 47, played wide receiver at UNI from 1997 to 1999 and put up numbers big enough to be named a three-time All-American and ultimately earn an induction into UNI Athletics’ Hall of Fame in 2017.

He was named South Carolina’s wide receiver coach before the 2024 season and has previous head coaching experience at Kentucky Christian University (NAIA) and Division II Limestone, where he amassed a combined record of 33-34. Furrey also was at Marshall from 2013-2015 and with the Chicago Bears from 2018-2021 as a wide receivers coach.

Johnson played quarterback at UNI from 1989 to 1992, starting from 1990 to 1992 ahead of future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner.

Johnson, 55, has coached at 13 different universities in a three decade-long career, but has never been a head coach. Records indicate he’s making $1.65 million per year as Wyoming’s offensive coordinator, but the former Panther is among a first-year staff in Laramie facing scrutiny amid a 2-9 record.

Chinander — an Allison, Iowa, native who played offensive line for the Iowa Hawkeyes from 1999-2002 — was tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at UNI under Farley from 2004-2009.

His time at UNI came during the program’s peak that included a run to the 2005 FCS national championship game the Panthers lost to Appalachian State, 21-16.

Chinander, 44, has more than two decades of coaching experience, but has not been a head coach. After leaving UNI, he most notably gained experience at Oregon, the Philadelphia Eagles, UCF and Nebraska before joining the Boise State staff before the 2023 season.

He was named a top-25 recruiter by Rivals in 2021, has institutional knowledge of UNI given his six-year stint as an assistant. He has routinely assisted or led in the build of aggressive defenses at his various stops throughout his career.