Reese Morgan retiring



Dang. Yeah what a man he is! We were fortunate to have had him all these years. Between recruiting the state of Iowa and coaching up all the kids he has in HS and while at Iowa over the years he's been a true treasure. He'll be missed. But if anyone deserves to enjoy retirement it's that man. Good for him
 


IOWA CITY, Iowa - - Reese Morgan, a member of the University of Iowa football coaching staff for 19 years, has announced his retirement. The announcement came Wednesday from head coach Kirk Ferentz. Morgan will step away prior to spring practice.


“On behalf of our coaches, players and fans, I want to wish Reese and Jo the best in this well-deserved retirement,” said Ferentz. “Always the professional, Reese’s entire life has been dedicated to education and coaching. I am thankful for the opportunity to work alongside him and appreciative of what he has meant to our players, our program, and the University of Iowa.”


Morgan, 68, has coached Iowa’s defensive line for the past seven seasons. He previously coached Iowa’s offensive line (2003-11) after serving as recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach (2000-02).


Iowa has posted a 151-91 record over the past 19 seasons with Morgan on staff, appearing in 16 bowl games, including 11 January contests, and the 2015 Big Ten Conference championship game. Iowa earned a share of the Big Ten title in 2002 and 2004. The Hawkeyes have finished in the Big Ten’s first division in 16 of the past 18 years.


“A genuine and authentic person, Reese handled every challenge we threw his way in magnificent fashion. Every player and coach who had the opportunity to work with Reese Morgan is much better for it,” said Ferentz. “It’s like losing a great player – Reese’s shoes will be hard to fill.”


Throughout his career, Morgan has coached three Outland Trophy winners (Chad Hennings at Benton Community High School, Robert Gallery, Brandon Scherff), and John Mackey Award recipient Dallas Clark. Four of his players have been named Big Ten Player of the Year at their position and three have earned consensus All-America honors.


“Coach Ferentz took a chance on me and I have nothing but appreciation and gratitude for the opportunity to be part of this wonderful Hawkeye program – it’s been an amazing experience,” said Morgan. “I’ve always felt that we learn as much from our players as they learn from us. They teach us lessons that go beyond football. And when a player arrives lacking a little maturity and confidence but leaves as a young man prepared to tackle life, that’s the real reward for me.”


Kelvin Bell, a member of the Hawkeye coaching staff for the past seven seasons, will serve as interim defensive line coach during spring practice. Bell has assisted Morgan with the defensive line for the past three seasons while also serving as recruiting coordinator.


Hennings is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Former Iowa kicker Nate Kaeding, who earned consensus All-America honors and enjoyed a lengthy NFL career, was coached by Morgan at Iowa City West High School.


Seven players coached by Morgan have earned first- or second-team All-America recognition. Nine earned first-team All-Big Ten honors and 14 were named second-team All-Big Ten. Thirteen of Morgan’s players have been selected in the NFL Draft, including five first-round selections. Three have gone on to earn NFL All-Pro recognition.


Morgan joined the Iowa staff after eight years as head coach at Iowa City West. West won state Class 4A (largest class in the state) titles in 1995, 1998, and 1999. Morgan left the program with a 26-game winning streak.


From 1994-99, Morgan’s West teams were 62-7, while his overall record at West was 67-20. He also served as Assistant Principal and Dean of Students at West. Morgan was a teacher (1973-92), assistant football coach (1973-77), and head football coach (1978-91) at Benton. He led Benton into the state playoffs on three occasions.


Morgan totaled 146 career prep victories and is a member of the Iowa High School Coach’s Hall of Fame. In October, 2018, Morgan was listed by the Des Moines Register as one of the 50 Greatest High School Coaches in state history.


Morgan is a native of Lorain, Ohio, where he lettered three times in football and one year in track and field at St. Mary’s High School. Morgan was a four-year letterman (linebacker) at Wartburg College and was team captain as a senior in 1971. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Wartburg and a master’s degree from Northern Iowa.


Morgan and his wife, Jo, have been married for more than 40 years. The couple have two daughters, Jessica and Caitlin, along with granddaughters Morgan and Hayden, and grandsons Cade and Jace.


“My wife, Jo, and our family have been so supportive over all these years allowing me to enjoy the sport that I love,” Morgan said. “I can never thank them enough. Now it is time for me to give back to them.”
 

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Iowa/South Dakota/Minnesota recruiting is going to take a hit. That guy was as good as any guy in the country at spotting small-town, under-the-radar kids. It seems like every damn one of them ended up on an All B1G team before they were done.

People remember Greenway and Josey, obviously, but I think the one that seems so far-fetched was Karl Klug. How he ever saw DT in that guy is beyond me....and the guy played for like 10 years in the League.
 


Iowa/South Dakota/Minnesota recruiting is going to take a hit. That guy was as good as any guy in the country at spotting small-town, under-the-radar kids. It seems like every damn one of them ended up on an All B1G team before they were done.

People remember Greenway and Josey, obviously, but I think the one that seems so far-fetched was Karl Klug. How he ever saw DT in that guy is beyond me....and the guy played for like 10 years in the League.
The thing about him that nobody replacing him could have is just all the relationships he's built up over the years. The guy knows all the predominant HS HCs over the state of Iowa. Probably their ADs as well. He just knows everyone and has great relationships with them all. You'll be hard pressed to hear a bad word spoken about him. The reason Iowa mops up in state pretty much has been him as much as anything all these years. KF would freely admit that I would bet.
 




When he took over the Iowa City West football program, the Trojans were the worst team in Iowa. When he left West to coach at Iowa, West had won three Class 4A state championships....95, 98 & 99. West should have won it in 97 as well, but they got hit really hard with injuries to a number of key players.
 






https://hawkeyesports.com/news/2019/3/6/reese-morgan-retires-from-iowa-football.aspx

It was coming at some point, but this is a loss for the program.

A huge loss, he had the network with high school coaches, alumni, former players etc to be super well thought of.

I heard him at an I Club banquet in Des Moines around 2000 or so and he was so positive. I hadnt really heard of him that much so I looked him up. He stuck around to answer peoples questions and talk to fans. Not a big guy but a big heart and a great coach. Just reading Vandervelde's tweet above says it all, he would name his kids after the guy.
 


A huge loss, he had the network with high school coaches, alumni, former players etc to be super well thought of.

I heard him at an I Club banquet in Des Moines around 2000 or so and he was so positive. I hadnt really heard of him that much so I looked him up. He stuck around to answer peoples questions and talk to fans. Not a big guy but a big heart and a great coach. Just reading Vandervelde's tweet above says it all, he would name his kids after the guy.

I had a similar experience with Coach Ferentz when I was coaching HS football, which played a big role in me becoming an Iowa fan (I am an out-of-state transplant). He was speaking at a coaching clinic, and he was supposed to be the final speaker. I think it was only scheduled to be about 30 minutes, mostly a "make an appearance and impress the attendees" sort of thing. He got up there and went on for over an hour on the intricacies of how they teach zone blocking at the college level and how he thinks it should be adapted at the HS level. He was very animated, he was physically demonstrating, he was happy to answer questions, and it was just clear that he loved to teach and to coach. I came away very impressed.
 


Huge loss for the program. He's just a special guy and coach. I'm not sure I can think of an assistant coach at Iowa that received more praise from players and recruits. He is special. Hope his health is solid and that he enjoys his retirement.
 


When he took over the Iowa City West football program, the Trojans were the worst team in Iowa. When he left West to coach at Iowa, West had won three Class 4A state championships....95, 98 & 99. West should have won it in 97 as well, but they got hit really hard with injuries to a number of key players.
Would love to have seen him at Iowa City West about a decade earlier. He would have been matching wits with Wally Sheets (Cedar Rapids Washington) Greg Purnell (Linn-Mar) Bob Timmerman (Dubuque Hempstead) and Tom Kopatich (briefly Dubuque Wahlert). All four in the Iowa coaches Hall Fame. Sheets in particular sent a lot of players to division 1 schools. Gary Clark, the Hobbs brothers, the Puk brothers, Kirk Abernathy, Bill Happel, Doug Burrell, Dedric Ward just for starters.
 


This is not gonna' happen. I have some dirt on this guy and will blackmail him without shame so he will return to coach another year. (damn) (crap) (puke)
 


Great coach/recruiter. Huge loss especially given the suddenly thin d-line. I was hoping he would be here as long KF.

The good news is I believe the other Ferentz's who aren't on staff yet have never coached defense. :p

Did KF see it coming? Will there be a reshuffling of coaches or someone from outside?
* See above.
 
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FML. This is horrible news. The work that Reese did with our Dline was finally starting to change the game for us.
 


I’d be surprised if Kelvin Bell weren’t promoted from assistant DL coach to DL coach. Like Seth Wallace when he moved to LB coach, I think Bell would relinquish his recruiting coordinator hat. That’s likely the position that will need to be filled.
 


https://hawkeyesports.com/news/2019/3/6/reese-morgan-retires-from-iowa-football.aspx

It was coming at some point, but this is a loss for the program.

Opens up a position for . . .

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