The Iowa football staff just lost a member to the NFL.
CBS college football insider Matt Zenitz reported Tuesday afternoon that Keller Chryst is departing the Iowa football program for a position with the Seattle Seahawks after spending the past two years in Iowa City.
Chryst joined the Iowa coaching staff as an offensive analyst prior to the 2023 campaign and spent two seasons in that role.
The 29-year-old worked with former offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz for a year in 2023 where he and the Hawkeyes won 10 games and captured the Big Ten West crown.
Then, in 2024, Chryst worked alongside Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester. The duo helped the Hawkeyes improve their points per game average from 15.4 to 27.7 points per game, which ranked 72nd nationally. That was a 57-spot jump in the national points per game rankings from the season before.
Iowa also finished with the No. 24 rushing offense in 2024, averaging 197.2 rushing yards per game. Former Hawkeye running back Kaleb Johnson set new single-season Iowa records in rushing touchdowns (21), total touchdowns (23) and total points scored (138) during the 2024 season. Johnson’s 1,537 rushing yards in 2024 ranked third in single-season program history.
Prior to Iowa, Chryst was a graduate assistant at Wisconsin for two seasons where he worked with Badger defensive backs in 2021 and then with Wisconsin’s quarterbacks in 2022.
Before getting into coaching, Chryst enjoyed a five-year college career as a quarterback for Stanford and Tennessee, going 11-2 as a starter for the Cardinal before transferring to Tennessee final year in 2018.
Chryst is the son of longtime NFL coach, Geep Chryst, and the nephew of former Wisconsin head coach, Paul Chryst.
This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa football analyst joining Seattle Seahawks
Reporting by Zach Hiney, Hawkeyes Wire / Hawkeyes Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
