Former Wisconsin Badgers RBs Coach Jumps to NFL to Coach Super Bowl Champion Seahawks RBs

The man who coached Montee Ball, Melvin Gordon and James White for the Wisconsin Badgers is taking his talents to the NFL.

Former Badgers running backs coach Thomas Hammock is joining the Seattle Seahawks in that same role, where he's expected to become the highest-paid RBs coach in the league.

He most recently worked as the head coach of Northern Illinois for the past seven years.

Sources: Northern Illinois head coach Thomas Hammock has accepted a job to become the next running backs coach/senior offensive assistant for the Seattle Seahawks. He’s expected to become the NFL’s highest paid RB coach and chose Seattle amid multiple NFL opportunities. . pic.twitter.com/fGq3ZZ6rrM
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 18, 2026

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He started his coaching career at Wisconsin, when Barry Alvarez brought him in as a graduate assistant in 2003 and 2004.

Hammock then coached running backs at NIU and Minnesota before returning to the Badgers as running backs coach under Bret Bielema in 2011.

In his first season coaching the position for Wisconsin, Montee Ball led the nation with 1,923 yards and 33 touchdowns while quarterback Russell Wilson took UW to the Rose Bowl.

In Hammock's second season, Ball led the Big Ten with 1,830 yards and 22 touchdowns before making the jump to the NFL.

When Wisconsin's running backs ran ALL OVER Nebraska in the 2012 Big Ten Championship Game.

Melvin Gordon III: 9 CAR, 216 YDS, 1 TD
Montee Ball: 21 CAR, 202 YDS, 3 TD
James White: 15 CAR, 109 YDS, 4 TD, 1 Pass TDpic.twitter.com/yQryNo1Qp7
— Football’s Greatest Moments (@FBGreatMoments) July 5, 2024

The following year, both Melvin Gordon and James White had over 1,400 yards and double digit touchdowns under Hammock's tutelage.

That earned him his first NFL opportunity with the Baltimore Ravens, coaching their running backs from 2014-2018 before returning to NIU as head coach.

Related: Jim Leonhard adds 3rd former Wisconsin Badger to his new Buffalo Bills coaching staff

Baltimore is where he worked with current Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald, forming a connection that reunites them again in Seattle.

The other Badgers connection on the Seahawks staff is offensive analyst Keller Chryst, who is the nephew of former Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst.

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