Mahaffey fitting mold for a UNI assistant sought by Farley

CEDAR FALLS — When Northern Iowa Coach Mark Farley wants something from or for his football team, he's long pursued his course with that fiery passion seen personified on the sidelines each Saturday.

In both his players and assistant coaches, he's long wanted the same excitement and energy for the game that he has. From his coaches specifically, the same level of dedication to teaching and developing talent into winning football players.

That bar he's set has meant plenty of turnover on his staff. And the latest change has meant bringing in a new co-offensive coordinator who's not all that far removed from the field himself. Former UNI tight end Ryan Mahaffey took over for the departed Joe Davis and has his head-coach-turned-boss fired up with what he's seen so far in spring practice.

'He's been excellent. He's got such fire for the position. He coaches with intensity, he tries to draw that tenacity out of the players, and he has that edge we want out of our players on offense,' Farley said of Mahaffey. 'When I go look for coaches, I look for great teachers. Great teachers can communicate clearly with the player and motivate the player. And there's a camaraderie between the two where you don't have to worry and discipline isn't a problem.

'When a player feels he's getting better, he's responsive. It's when he's not getting better where it starts to fall apart. It's very evident those are the kind of coaches I want. Those are the kind of coaches who move beyond here and do very well because everybody wants that, and this is a great place to learn it. He has all that.'

Mahaffey returns to UNI after two years at Notre Dame as an assistant wide receivers coach under Irish head coach Brian Kelly. He spent a season as the tight ends coach for the Panthers in 2013 before that, so it's not like Farley and Co. don't know what they have in Mahaffey as a coach as much as what he was as a player.

In coming back, Mahaffey knows the message Farley has of aligning goals with the players is of utmost importance — especially when it's a group with a lot of talent.

Mahaffey said it's been the relationship part that's been the biggest time investment so far, as opposed to schematics.

'I think the aspect that sometimes, that somewhat gets overlooked and the thing that's taken the most time is making sure to establish relationships with our players,' Mahaffey said. 'I understand where they're coming from and we have to make sure we understand where they're coming from — and just every single day to make sure they understand it's about them and them taking ownership of the offense. It's their opportunity to go out and play. We view ourselves as a coaching staff as people who are just bringing them along and giving them direction in terms of what's going to help them be the most successful.'

One relationship that Mahaffey didn't have to spend a ton of time on was that with junior-to-be Daurice Fountain. Mahaffey recruited Fountain in the season he spent in Cedar Falls before departing for South Bend, Ind., so it was a reunion of sorts.

Farley's push for a better passing game was enough to get Fountain excited at the outset of this spring, but to have Mahaffey there not only as the co-leader of the offense with Bill Salmon, but also as the wide receivers coach, was the cherry on top.

'It's been awesome. He had a chance to work with NFL Draft prospect this year Will Fuller, so it's really fun having him teach me what he taught Will at Notre Dame. It's exciting,' Fountain said. 'In talking to Aaron (Bailey), Tyvis (Smith) and Robert (Rathje) about it, we really like what's going on right now. Last year it seemed, by the end of the year, we were one-dimensional. Now we're starting to feel like a full team. We'll have the passing threat and the running threat. It should be fun.'

Both Farley and Mahaffey talked much more about fitting the players to the system than the system to the players. Heading into his 16th season as the head coach, that's something Farley said he's learned as well. The well-documented talent pool is deep enough that Mahaffey has a lot to work with.

Both also couldn't help but use the word exciting, both in talking about Mahaffey's addition to the staff and what the offense could become because of their shared view on how to make it work.

'It's always exciting when we have guys on that side of the ball who can go out and make plays and have experience. It opens up the playbook a little bit because you're able to do more just because of that experience,' Mahaffey said. 'We want to be accountable to one another, and go out there and have fun. The most fun is playing at a high level, so we have to focus on the little things. We want to be great at the little things and great in the margins. That's the difference between winning and losing.'

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