This is a homerun. All these midwest-centric critiques of this hire, I have something to tell you. Alford, Lickliter...both hardcore midwest guys. Lute Olsen, Tom Davis, George Raveling....not.
Whether it is a positive or a negative Ive no strong opinion about: IMO the first requisite of success as a Hawkeye coach is to be able to connect to Iowans, both players & coaches but also fans. Obviously it is not a mandatory requisite: no Iowa HS has a field hockey program, but the Hawkeyes are a national power because of strong recruiting on both coasts.
But you are pretty much wrong in your classification of which Iowa coaches have had strong Midwest roots. Truth is, that McCaffrey would come to Iowa with the least time as a Midwest resident in the history of the Hawkeye program (whether that matters, who knows?)
Davis was born, grew up, played HS & college basketball about 60 miles from Dubuque, then got his MA in Madison. Went to U of MD for his PHD in American History, where he was an assistant to Lefty Drissell. He took a job as a college history teacher in Pennsylvania, doubled as basketball coach, then went into full time coaching at Boston College, then to Stanford--all in a time span of about ten years. He then returned to the Midwest, to Iowa, where he has lived the 25 years.
Lute Olsen was born, grew up in North Dakota, played college ball there, then coached HS in ND before taking a HS job in California--which led to coaching juco & a one-year stint at Long Beach State. He came to Iowa, then left 8 years to take on the daunting challenge of winning in a long-time losing program in Tucson (the Olsons had never spent time in Arizona previously)--and if it had been up to his wife they would stayed in Iowa City.
Raveling is the ONE Hawkeye coach in the past 75 years who was not a native of Iowa or another Midwest state. But he came to Detroit, spent more than a decade as a highly successful HS coach before he was lured to Pullman, WA & then to Iowa. Basically, the guy's life has been a third on the East coast, fifteen years in the Midwest, about 15 years on the West Coast, the rest as a peripatetic shoe salesman taking up temporary residence from LA to NYC.
As a native Hoosier myself, who has lived long periods in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Chicago, Ohio, Nevada, Washington suburbs as well as Indiana, my take on this is that Indiana is a very, very different milieu than other Midwest states (like downstate Illinois, much of the state still reflects its settlement by southerners) while Iowans are very much like Minnesota, Wisconsin, the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas in lifestyles and attitudes.
Neither Hoosiers Alford nor Lickliter were "at home" in Iowa, and Iowans did not warm to either of them. My guess is that McCaffrey's time in South Bend is no more preparation for Iowa than their time in Indiana was for Lickliter & Alford.
Which will mean nothing if the guy has the personal qualities and outlook to quickly demonstrate empathy with the Iowans who he needs to win over.
Initial reports suggest that he is someone who can fit into the Iowa community and is a good match for what the U of Iowa wants in its coaches. I'm eager & curious to know how he makes out.