The Wisconsin Badgers have a football claim to fame this offseason. They've seen a lot of former coaches head to the NFL, get promoted in the NFL, or simply move around the coaching carousel of the NFL. This time, Thomas Hammock, a coach best known for his coaching prowess at NIU, actually began his coaching career at Wisconsin, and now he's going to be part of the staff of the Super Bowl Champions, the Seattle Seahawks.
According to multiple reports, Thomas Hammock is set to join the Seahawks as the running backs coach and has had interest from other NFL teams. He's leaving a memorable run as the head coach of the Northern Illinois Huskies.
The #Seahawks are expected to hire Northern Illinois head coach Thomas Hammock, sources tell me and @chris_hummer.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) February 18, 2026
Was the head coach at Northern Illinois the last seven seasons. Before that, was an NFL running backs coach with the Ravens. pic.twitter.com/yGzHnOgnCa
Former Wisconsin coach Thomas Hammock is back in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks
Related: Jim Leonhard hires another former Badger for his NFL staff
While working on his master's in educational leadership at the University of Wisconsin, he was also part of the coaching staff for the Badgers as a graduate assistant. He jumped to his alma-mater, and where he played college football, the Northern Illinois Huskies to be the running backs coach.
He ended up on the Minnesota Golden Gophers staff after that and then eventually back with Wisconsin as the running backs coach from 2011 to 2013. The jump from Wisconsin to the NFL actually happened originally after this stint. He joined the Baltimore Ravens and helped with the offense as the associate head coach, and also coached the running backs.
This paved the way for him to become the head coach for the team he played and coached for once again, Northern Illinois, but this time as the head coach. That brings us to today, where he's now leaving for the NFL once again to join the champions.
Wisconsin has seen Jim Leonhard, Terrance Jamison, Eddie Faulkner, and Jay Valai as some of the notable NFL moves this offseason. Hammock is now another to join the list.