Seahawks hire NIU head coach Thomas Hammock as running backs coach: Sources

Northern Illinois head coach Thomas Hammock is leaving the job he has held for seven years to become running backs coach for the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, program sources told The Athletic on Wednesday.

Hammock, 44, went 35-47 as head coach of his alma mater, including a huge upset of Notre Dame early in the 2024 season. The Huskies went to bowl games three times under Hammock, but slipped to 3-9 last season.

NIU announced Hammock’s departure for the NFL on Wednesday, but did not confirm a move to Seattle.

Athletic director Sean T. Frazier also announced second-year defensive coordinator Rob Harley will be promoted to interim head coach for the 2026 season. Because of the coaching change, NIU players will have the opportunity to enter the transfer portal for 15 days after Harley is officially named coach.

“Under Coach Hammock’s leadership, the Huskie football program has achieved historic milestones on the field as well as academically over the last seven seasons,” Frazier said in a statement. “His genuine love for NIU made his decision to leave at this time very tough for him.”

NIU is leaving the Mid-American Conference this year to become a football-only member of the Mountain West Conference.

With Seattle, Hammock will reunite with head coach Mike Macdonald. The two coached together for five seasons with the Baltimore Ravens from 2014 through 2018.

Several MAC head coaches have moved on to positions as assistants in the NFL or with power-conference schools in recent years. Last February, former Bowling Green coach Scot Loeffler left the MAC to become the Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterbacks coach. Maurice Linguist left Buffalo to become a defensive assistant at Alabama in 2024, and Sean Lewis left Kent State to become Deion Sanders’ offensive coordinator at Colorado in 2023 before jumping to San Diego State as head coach in 2024.