Iowa High School Football Team Hires National Champion Coach

Colfax-Mingo alum Jacob Lietz returning to lead program.

Colfax-Mingo has hired Jacob Lietz as its new head football coach. Lietz coached at Grand View this past fall, helping them win the NAIA national championship. | Colfax-Mingo CSD/Facebook

An Iowa high school football team has hired a head coach who won a college football national championship this past fall.

Colfax-Mingo Community School District announced the hiring of Jacob Lietz to lead the Tigerhawk football program. Lietz was part of the Grand View University football coaching staff that won the NAIA national championship in 2025.

“I’m excited and honored to return to my alma mater as head football coach,” Lietz said in a release from the school. “I have been in the coaching community for nearly 10 years across multiple different sports at varying levels that have prepared me for the opportunity to lead the CM program.

“I look forward to continuing the work of building a strong program that our players, school and community will be proud of.”

The hiring must still be approved by the Colfax-Mingo School Board.

Jacob Lietz Coached Linebackers At Grand View This Past Fall

Lietz played for Grand View after concluding his high school career at Colfax-Mingo, becoming a three-time NAIA Scholar Athlete. He was hired in 2025 to work with the linebackers for the Vikings after eight seasons as an assistant football coach with the Tigerhawks.

Colfax-Mingo went 0-8 last season and is just 2-23 over the last three years. The last winning season for the Tigerhawks came in 2018 when they went 5-4.

Since 2008, Colfax-Mingo has produced just five seasons with at least five winnings, highlighted by an 8-3 mark in 2015.

Several Key Pieces Set To Return For Colfax-Mingo, New Head Football Coach

The Tigerhawks are expected to return starting quarterback Camden Cunningham, who threw for 8-6 yards and six touchdowns as a sophomore. Leading rushers Fisher Grove and Chase Trotter were both underclassmen, as was leading receiver Wyatt Carpenter.

Trotter ran for 312 yards and scored three touchdowns, adding 168 yards receiving and a TD on 11 catches. Grove ran for 232 yards while Carpenter caught 12 passes for 183 yards and scored four touchdowns.

Drake Buscherfeld, a standout at Bishop Garrigan High School, announced in early March that he was stepping down as head coach at Colfax-Mingo.