Iowa State Cyclones Coach Drawing Interest From Michigan State Spartans

An Iowa State Cyclones head coach could be making a move to the Michigan State Spartans this offseason.

Sep 4, 2015; Kalamazoo, MI, USA; General view of Michigan State Spartans helmet on field prior to a game against Western Michigan at Waldo Stadium. | Mike Carter-Imagn Images

There have been a lot of changes with the Iowa State Cyclones football program over the last few weeks. Matt Campbell’s decision to accept the head coaching job with the Penn State Nittany Lions set off a chain reaction that will impact the team for years to come.

He was replaced by Jimmy Rogers, formerly the head coach of the Washington State Cougars. There is work to do when it comes to filling out the coaching staff and roster, which has seen plenty of defections.

Several coaches followed Campbell to the Nittany Lions, including offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser, wide receivers coach Noah Pauley and offensive line coach Ryan Clanton.

Rogers has started filling out spots on his staff as well. Jesse Bobbit, the current interim head coach of the Cougars, is going to become Iowa State’s defensive coordinator. Derrick Sherman is being hired to replace Pauley as the wide receivers coach.

Hank Poteat drawing interest from Michigan State Spartans

Iowa State's cornerback coach Hank Poteat talks to media at the school football facility on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK

There are still positions on both staffs to be filled, but one person whom Campbell and the Cyclones are familiar with who could be going in a different direction is Hank Poteat.

For the last three years, he has worked on the defensive side of the coaching staff as a defensive backs coach. However, he is moving on, and it isn’t to follow his former head coach to the Nittany Lions.

According to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, Poteat is drawing interest from the Michigan State Spartans for a job as a defensive backs coach.

Michigan State is targeting Iowa State’s Hank Poteat for a defensive backs coach job, sources tell @CBSSports.

Poteat, who played 10 years in the NFL as a defensive back, worked at Iowa State under Matt Campbell the last three years. Before that, worked at Wisconsin. pic.twitter.com/F4j1WzGTVr

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) December 20, 2025

A 10-year NFL veteran who won a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots, Poteat has extensive coaching experience at the collegiate level. He started in 2011 with Kentucky Christian and has steadily moved up through the ranks.

There have been stops with his alma mater, the Pittsburgh Panthers, along with the Kent State Golden Flashes, Toledo Rockets and Wisconsin Badgers. With Kentucky Christian, he was a defensive backs coach and was a graduate assistant with Pittsburgh. At all of his other stops, he was a cornerbacks coach.

Poteat did wonderful work with the Cyclones, having a lasting impact on his players. When he shared a message on social media about moving on, one of his current players, Jontez Williams, wrote a nice response to him.

Should the Spartans land him, the defensive backs on the team should be very excited. He helped get two Iowa State players, TJ Tampa and Darien Porter, into the NFL. Williams and Jeremiah Cooper, both of whom are entering the transfer portal, both should have professional opportunities as well.