Omar Young, who was set to enter his second season working with the Iowa running backs in 2026, is leaving for the NFL.
CBS Sports shares that Young is set to join the staff of the Las Vegas Raiders and new head coach Klint Kubiak.
Young helped the Hawkeyes win nine games in 2025, including a win over Vanderbilt in the ReliaQuest Bowl to end the year, while ranking among the top 20 teams in college football running the ball, outrushing their opponents in 10 of 13 games.
During the 2025 season, Iowa ran for over 200 yards an impressive five times.
The job with the Raiders marks a return to the NFL for the coaching veteran.
Young previously spent time with four different organization in the league.
The 2024 season saw Young work as an offensive assistant with the Patriots, working with their tight ends. He also spent two seasons with the Bears, and was with the team when they led the league in rushing in 2022, rushing for over 3,000 yards which was a new franchise record. The 3,014 yards that year ranks 7th all-time in NFL history. While in Chicago, Young also assisted with a special teams unit that finished second in the league in return average.
An offensive quality control coach in Green Bay during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, Young helped with the Packers receivers in 2017 before moving to running backs in 2018.
In Cleveland, during the 2015 season, Young gained experience working with the running backs including running meetings at rookie mini-camp.
Here's a bit more on Young's background, from his Iowa bio:
His most recent time coaching collegiate student-athletes was at Eastern Illinois from 2019-21. Young coached the running backs for three seasons, while adding co-special teams coordinator duties in 2020-21. Two of his running backs finished in the top 10 in rushing in the Ohio Valley Conference in the spring of 2021. He coached the special teams unit that ranked second in kick return defense, ninth in blocked kicks, 22nd in punt returns and 23rd in kick returns in 2020.
He was an offensive analyst (running backs) at South Carolina in 2016. Young was the director of quality control (special teams/defense) at Colorado from 2013-14. While serving as a special teams graduate assistant at San Jose State in 2011 and 2012, Young coached a Ray Guy Award candidate and Lou Groza Award semifinalist. Young and the Spartans won the 2013 Military Bowl.
Young was the special teams coordinator and secondary coach at Minnesota State Moorhead in 2010. He coached the kickoff coverage team that ranked seventh nationally in NCAA Division II.
Young helped De Anza College win the 2009 Southern Division Bowl Championship as its wide receivers coach and mentored a second-team JUCO All-American & first-team California All-Region player.
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