Mitchell Moore was named head football coach in 2021. Coach Moore is just the fifth Little Hawk head football coach since 1947. He is also the head athletics strength and conditioning coach at City High.
Moore has a diverse and successful coaching background at both the high school and college level. He participated and coached in six Division III national title games between the years 2005-2012, followed by a five-year stint at the Division I level.
Along with an extensive background in strength and conditioning, Moore has coached on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. At various stops, he has also specialized in recruiting and player development at the collegiate and high school levels.
Moore holds both a Health & Human Performance B.A. and a Master’s in Education from Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played and coached football.
In his first two seasons at City High, Coach Moore and his staff have helped lead one of Iowa’s proudest high school football programs to a resurgence. The Little Hawks broke out with a 10-2 season in 2021 that ended with a state semifinal appearance at the UNI-Dome. Moore’s group repeated as a playoff team in 2022.
Over the past two seasons, City High Football has broken 13 school records. Moore has coached nine Little Hawks to All-State finishes, as well as an Under Armor All-American in Hawkeye commit Ben Kueter.
Moore moved to Iowa City following a rebuilding effort at Des Moines Roosevelt from 2019-2020 that made the state take notice. In his first year as head coach, Moore led the Roughriders to their first playoff appearance in 23 seasons, earning regional coach of the year honors in the process.
Roosevelt, which had produced just two winning seasons in the previous 25 years, soared to top-ten rankings during that 2019 season before finishing 6-3 overall. Moore coached two All-Staters, as well as a school record 15 all-district football players. Moore was also the defensive coordinator, as the Roughriders posted top-ten finishes in sacks, tackles for loss and yards allowed in Class 4A. The Roughriders tied or broke 17 school records in 2019. The 2020 season saw the positive momentum continue, including with an early top-four ranking in Class 4A, although scheduling for all Des Moines Public Schools was significantly reduced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before his time at Roosevelt, Moore was a 2A district and regional coach of the year for the Greene County Rams in 2018. Moore turned a winless program around in just two years, guiding the Rams to their best overall record in school history, as well as their first district championship since 2006. The Rams set 17 program records, finished ranked inside the 2A top-ten and boasted two First Team All-State players.
Moore was an assistant for the Iowa State Cyclones from 2012-2016, serving in a multitude of roles over the course of those five seasons. Moore was hired by former head coach Paul Rhoads and retained by current head coach Matt Campbell.
With the Cyclones, Moore served in various positions across the offense, defense, special teams and recruiting department. While at Iowa State, he worked and forged relationships with a number of highly accomplished coaches, such as: Wally Burnham (former Iowa State D.C. and longtime Florida State assistant), Courtney Messingham (former Iowa State O.C. and current NDSU O.C.), Tom Manning (current Indianapolis Colt, former Iowa State O.C. and national O.L. coach of the year), Mark Mangino (former national coach of the year) and Tom Herman (current H.C. at Texas).
Prior to Iowa State, Moore served as an assistant coach at Wisconsin-Whitewater from 2010-2012 under four-time national coach of the year Lance Leipold. Today, Leipold is the head coach for the Kansas Jayhawks.
Moore started as a player with the Warhawks before returning to coach. Moore was a three-year letterwinner, appearing in three national championship games as part of teams that posted a combined 42-3 record during his playing days. Moore received the highly regarded Forrest Perkins Award his senior season. While working for the football program, Moore also became an academic advisor for the university.
During his coaching tenure, Moore coached for yet another national title team and was part of one of the longest winning streaks in college football history: 45 straight victories.
In addition to those stops, Moore served as a pass game coordinator, strength coach and recruiting coordinator for Southeastern Oklahoma State. From the years of 2008-2010, he was the co-offensive coordinator for two different high schools in the Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin, areas.
Moore was born in Ames, Iowa. He is the son of Laurie and Tom Moore; a public school teacher and small business owner. Coach Moore attended the Ballard Community School District. A 2002 high school graduate, he was coached by the legendary Al Christian. As a prep athlete, Moore was a first team all-district and first team all-area football player, while also lettering in baseball and track. He is married to Kelsi Moore, and they have three children: Carter (11), Cooper (5) and Kinsley (3).
Player Bio: ’07 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater | ’02 Ballard (Huxley)
Coaching Timeline: Head Coach – Iowa City High School (Iowa City, IA) | Head Coach – Theodore Roosevelt High School (Des Moines, IA) | Head Coach – Greene County High School (Jefferson, IA) | College Assistant – Iowa State University (Ames, IA) | College Assistant – Southeastern Oklahoma State University (Durant, OK) | College Assistant – University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (Whitewater, WI) | Assistant – Wauwatosa West HS | (Milwaukee, WI) High School | High School Assistant – Milton HS (Milton, WI)
Head Coaching: 2017 – GC: 1-8 | 2018 – #7 GC: 8-1, 2A Playoffs (2A Regional Coach of Year) | 2019 – #9 TRHS: 6-3, 4A Playoffs (4A Regional Coach of Year) | 2020 – #4 TRHS, DMPS Canceled Season 1-1 (Ranked 4th) | 2021 – #3 Iowa City High: 10-2, 5A Playoffs Semifinal (NFHS Field Turf Region 4 C.O.Y) | 2022 – #9 Iowa City High: 6-4, 5A Playoffs (finished ranked 9th)
Asst. Coaching Record: 79-14 | 3 National Championships | 4 HS Playoff Appearances | 2 NCAA Power-Five Bowl Games
