Phil Parker (born March 13, 1963) is the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

for the

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 22 sports, 8 for men and 14 for women; a 15th women's sport will be added in 2023. The teams partici ...

. A native of

Lorain, Ohio Lorain () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 65 ...

, Parker was a first team all-Big Ten defensive back at

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

Playing career

Parker was a four-year letterman at Marion L. Steele High School in

Amherst, Ohio Amherst () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. It is located west of Cleveland. The population was 12,681 at the 2020 census. History The original village, which eventually became known as Amherst, was established/founded by pione ...

from 1978 to 1981. He played halfback and

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

, and returned punts and kickoffs. Parker played defensive back for

. He was first team all-Big Ten in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

, and

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

. Parker was defensive MVP at Michigan State in 1983 and 1985. Parker was also named MVP of the

1984 Cherry Bowl The 1984 Cherry Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan between the Army Cadets and the Michigan State Spartans on December 22, 1984. The game was the final contest of the 1984 NCAA Divis ...

. He was invited to the

Hula Bowl The Hula Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game held annually, usually in January. From inception through the 2021 playing, it was held in Hawaii; since the 2022 edition, it has been played in Orlando, Florida. The game was first st ...

after his senior season.

Coaching career

Parker began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Michigan State. He then spent 11 seasons as a defensive backs coach for the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of T ...

. Following the retirement of

Hayden Fry John Hayden Fry (February 28, 1929 – December 17, 2019) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Southern Methodist University (SMU) from 1962 to 1972, North Texas State University—now know ...

, Parker joined the coaching staff of

Kirk Ferentz Kirk James Ferentz (born August 1, 1955) is an American football coach. He is the current head football coach at the University of Iowa, a position he has held since the 1999 season. From 1990 to 1992, Ferentz was the head football coach at the ...

at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

in 1999. He then spent 13 years as the defensive backs coach before being promoted to

following the departure of

Norm Parker Norm Parker (October 9, 1941 – January 13, 2014) was an American football coach. He was the defensive coordinator of the Iowa Hawkeyes from 1999 to 2011. In 2005, Parker was a finalist for the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation's top ...

Personal life

Parker received an undergraduate degree from Michigan State in 1986. He and his wife, Sandy, have two children.

References

External links

Iowa profile
1963 births Living people American football defensive backs Iowa Hawkeyes football coaches Michigan State Spartans football coaches Michigan State Spartans football players Toledo Rockets football coaches Sportspeople from Lorain, Ohio Coaches of American football from Ohio Players of American football from Ohio {{Amfoot-bio-stub