 After his year as head coach at Westminster College, George Seifert
followed his former Utah coach, Ray Nagel, to the University of Iowa.
In 1966, Nagel brought a brand new staff to Iowa, which had suffered
through five straight losing seasons under coach Jerry Burns.
The new coaching staff included four of Nagel's former Utah players and
assistant coaches, including George Seifert and Lynn Stiles. Seifert worked
with the offensive line as a graduate assistant coach while pursuing a Ph.D.
in physical education.
Overall, the new staff faced the challenge of introducing a new offensive
system (the winged-T with a split end) and working with defensive players
shifted to new positions.
The outlook was grim, as evidenced in the Hawkeyes' 1966 media guide
preview of the season:
"Disquieting deficiencies of depth and talent may be just too much
for the new staff and dedicated players to overcome in one season, no matter
how hard all of them work."
The forecast was accurate as the Hawkeyes went 2-8 in 1966 (game results
at right).
|
|
| Iowa 1966: 2-8 | W Arizona 31-20
L Oregon State 17-3
L Wisconsin 7-0
L at Purdue 35-0
L at Minnesota 17-0
L Northwestern 24-15
W Indiana 20-19
L at Michigan St. 56-7
L Ohio State 14-10
L at Miami, Fla. 44-0
|
|
