Tom Moore, 87, has returned to Iowa, where his football career began nearly seven decades ago. He is a senior consultant to head coach Kirk Ferentz and an offensive adviser, bringing decades of NFL coaching experience to the program where he once played quarterback and placekicker, according to the Associated Press.
Moore will turn 88 during the upcoming college football season, according to NFL.com. He joined the Hawkeyes in 1957, lettered in 1959 and 1960 as a quarterback and placekicker, and earned a bachelor's degree in history, according to Iowa Hawkeyes Athletics. Moore made Iowa's travel roster as a placekicker and served as the scout-team quarterback, The Athletic reports.
A Career Across College and the NFL
Moore's path back to Iowa runs through six decades of stops. He served as a graduate assistant coach at Iowa in 1961 and 1962 before spending two years in the United States Army, where he also coached football, the Iowa athletics profile notes. From there, Moore 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, according to the same account.
Moore spent 13 seasons in Pittsburgh, coaching receivers from 1977 to 1982 before Chuck Noll promoted him to coach quarterbacks and serve as offensive coordinator from 1983 to 1989, according to Iowa athletics. He was part of Steelers teams that won Super Bowls in the late 1970s. Moore later won two more Super Bowls with Indianapolis and Tampa Bay, making him a four-time champion.
A Range of Offensive Roles
Moore’s coaching career included work with offenses led by Terry Bradshaw and Peyton Manning, as well as a Detroit Lions stint during Barry Sanders’ career, The Athletic reports.
That eye for talent extended across 13 seasons coaching Peyton Manning with the Indianapolis Colts. Moore was the team's offensive coordinator from 1998 through 2008, senior offensive coordinator in 2009, and senior offensive assistant/offensive consultant in 2010. Working with Moore, Manning set Colts franchise records with 54,828 passing yards, 399 touchdowns and 4,682 completions, according to the National Football Foundation Minnesota Chapter. Moore most recently 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
Moore’s role at Iowa 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.
Recent Iowa Offensive Context
Moore serves as senior consultant to the head coach and an offensive adviser. The Iowa Hawkeyes Athletics profile for Tom Moore lists his title. The Iowa Hawkeyes Athletics profile for Tim Lester says Iowa averaged 27.7 points per game in 2024 and 29.3 in 2025, offering 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
Moore’s return to Iowa has coincided with family caregiving responsibilities, The Athletic reports.
Support for Family Caregivers
North Carolina's Family Caregiver Support Program offers eligible unpaid caregivers services including counseling, support groups, training and short-term respite care, according to 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.
