Jerome Monahan Burns was an American college and professional football coach. He played in college for the Michigan Wolverines before becoming a coach. He was the head coach for the Iowa Hawkeyes from 1961 to 1965, compiling a record of 16–27–2, and for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL) from 1986 to 1991, tallying a mark of 52–43 in the regular season, and 3–3 in the postseason. Between his head coaching stints Burns was a defensive assistant (1965–1967) for the Green Bay Packers, helping the team win Super Bowls I and II, and Offensive Coordinator (1968–1985) for the Minnesota Vikings, where he coached the team to four Super Bowl appearances.

The Iowa Hawkeyes football program represents the University of Iowa in college football. The Hawkeyes compete in the West division of the Big Ten Conference. Iowa joined the Conference in 1899 and played their first Conference football season in 1900. They are a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The Hawkeyes play their home games in Iowa City, Iowa, at Kinnick Stadium, with a capacity of 69,250. The Hawkeyes are coached by Kirk Ferentz, who is in his 25th season as the head coach and is the longest current tenured head coach in NCAA Division I FBS. The Hawkeyes have won 13 conference championships. Iowa has been ranked #1 in the AP and Coaches Poll 15 times.