"Phil Parker had the opportunity to leave Iowa for a defensive coordinator's job at another major program more than once, yet chose to stay with the Hawkeyes.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz certainly appreciated Parker's loyalty to the program. But Ferentz said Wednesday that he promoted Parker from defensive backs coach to defensive coordinator after 13 seasons simply because Parker was, in his eyes, the best man for the job.

The Hawkeyes announced Tuesday that Parker would take over for Norm Parker (no relation), who ran Iowa's defense from 1999 until last season."