hoodline
At 87 years old, Tom Moore has come back to Iowa, the place where his football journey began nearly 70 years ago. He now serves as a senior consultant to head coach Kirk Ferentz and as an offensive adviser, infusing the program with his vast NFL coaching background. According to the Associated Press, Moore once played quarterback and placekicker for the Hawkeyes, and he will celebrate his 88th birthday during the upcoming college football season, as noted by NFL.com.
Moore first joined the Hawkeyes in 1957, lettering in 1959 and 1960 as a quarterback and placekicker, and he earned a bachelor's degree in history, per Iowa Hawkeyes Athletics. The Athletic reports that he made Iowa's travel roster as a placekicker and also served as the scout-team quarterback.
A Career Spanning College and the NFL
Moore's return to Iowa is the latest chapter in a coaching odyssey that stretches over six decades. He was a graduate assistant at Iowa in 1961 and 1962, then spent two years in the United States Army, where he also coached football, according to his Iowa athletics profile. After that, he made college stops at Dayton, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, and Minnesota before Chuck Noll hired him as the Pittsburgh Steelers' wide receivers coach in 1977.
Moore spent 13 seasons in Pittsburgh, coaching receivers from 1977 to 1982 before Noll promoted him to coach quarterbacks and serve as offensive coordinator from 1983 to 1989. He was part of Steelers teams that won Super Bowls in the late 1970s. Later, he added two more Super Bowl victories with Indianapolis and Tampa Bay, making him a four-time champion.
Offensive Roles and Star Quarterbacks
Moore's coaching career included work with offenses led by Terry Bradshaw and Peyton Manning, as well as a stint with the Detroit Lions during Barry Sanders' career, The Athletic reports. His keen eye for talent was evident during 13 seasons coaching Manning with the Indianapolis Colts. Moore served as the team's offensive coordinator from 1998 through 2008, senior offensive coordinator in 2009, and senior offensive assistant/offensive consultant in 2010.
Under Moore's guidance, Manning set Colts franchise records with 54,828 passing yards, 399 touchdowns, and 4,682 completions, according to the National Football Foundation Minnesota Chapter. Most recently, Moore worked as a Tampa Bay offensive consultant, with Hawkeyes' official materials describing that run as 2019 through 2025 and the Minnesota chapter's release describing it as a senior offensive assistant role continuing to the present—accounts that differ on Moore's exact title and end date.
An Advisory Role at Iowa
At Iowa, Moore's role is advisory rather than operational: The Athletic reports that he spends time with offensive coordinator Tim Lester during the offseason and offers perspective on the offense. Lester has credited Moore's input with helping improve Iowa's execution. Moore serves as senior consultant to the head coach and an offensive adviser, as listed on the Iowa Hawkeyes Athletics profile.
The Iowa Hawkeyes Athletics profile for Tim Lester notes that Iowa averaged 27.7 points per game in 2024 and 29.3 in 2025, providing recent scoring context without attributing those results to Moore. Moore and Ferentz had met at coaching clinics, and Moore had attended Iowa practices before joining the staff, The Athletic reports.
Family Responsibilities and Future Plans
Moore's return to Iowa has coincided with family caregiving responsibilities, according to The Athletic. North Carolina's Family Caregiver Support Program offers eligible unpaid caregivers services including counseling, support groups, training, and short-term respite care, per the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Despite the demands of caregiving and a coaching career that began in 1961, Moore has said he is not interested in retirement, per The Athletic's reporting.
He grew up in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, about 50 miles south of Iowa City, according to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Iowa's official athletics profile lists him as being in his first season with the program.
Originally reported by hoodline.