Jon Budmayr Hired as Iowa's Next WR Coach
As shared by the Iowa athletic department on Wednesday, Jon Budmayr is set to be hired as Iowa's next wide receivers coach. He had served as a the senior special assistant to the head coach at Iowa after being an offensive analyst in 2022.
Budmayr will take over for the previous receivers coach Kelton Copeland. GIA informed premium subscribers over a week ago that he would be filling the wide receiver coach position.
He'll now be promoted from analyst to on-field coach. He has never previously coached wide receivers at the collegiate level.
“Jon is an excellent coach and a perfect fit for this position,” said Kirk Ferentz said in a release.. “He has a wealth of knowledge and a familiarity with our program that make him a natural to take this role.”
“My wife and I are very appreciative to have the opportunity to be at Iowa,” Budmayr added. “I have so much respect for Coach Ferentz and the program he’s built over many years. I’m excited to work for him and alongside the great people on our staff. I’m also very appreciative of the opportunity to work with an incredible group of student athletes and help them develop on and off the field.”
Budmayr's previous coaching stints prior to ending up at Iowa included stops at his alma mater Wisconsin as well as Colorado State. He spent six seasons in Madison, with the final three as quarterbacks coach. Prior to that he served as a quality control assistant and graduate assistant. He also served as a GA for Pittsburgh in 2014.
Under Budmayr's tutelage at Wisconsin, then-junior Jack Coan finished with the third-most passing yards in school history (2,727) and the third-best passing completion rate in Wisconsin history (69.6 percent) in 2019. Coan’s passer rating is also the third-highest at Wisconsin for a single season (151.8). Budmayr was also pivotal in the recruitment of Graham Mertz, a four-star quarterback and the No. 42 player in the class of 2019.
Other than Coan's standout year in 2019, Wisconsin QBs were fairly average under Budmayr in 2018 and 2020.
In 2021, he left for Fort Collins and spent one season as the offensive coordinator for the Rams. During his tenure there, the Rams averaged 23.7 points per game while averaging 163.9 yards per game rushing and 251.8 yards per game passing. Starting quarterback Todd Centeio completed 229 of 380 passes (60%) for 2,960 yards and 15 touchdowns, while throwing 10 interceptions. CSU went 3-9 that season. Budmayr's most productive wide receiver in 2021 was junior Dante Wright, who caught 43 passes for 540 yards and three touchdowns over eight games.
In his time at Iowa, he has been praised by both Cade McNamara and Deacon Hill, who have both stated that Budmayr was integral in their respective decisions to end up in black and gold.
He was also a big motivator for 2025 three-star quarterback Jimmy Sullivan to commit to Iowa.
"When I made it up for my visit, Coach Bud and I had an hour-long conversation before the game really getting to know each other," the Sullivan said following a game day visit this fall. "I really like the guy a lot. I think that's really what I'm looking for when I make my decision -- that relationship. I could definitely see myself playing for him."
"He did a really good job asking me and my parents what we were looking for, and it did seem like he really wanted to get to know us."
Budmayr will be tasked with improving the performance of a wide receiver unit that ranked as the Big Ten's least productive in the last few seasons. Iowa receivers combined for just 755 yards and three touchdowns in 2023.