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Linn-Mar tabs Duane Orr as its new head varsity football coach
Has experience as head coach at Council Bluffs Lewis Central and Mount Vernon, as well as assistant coaching experience at Cornell College

Jan. 24, 2025 7:09 pm, Updated: Jan. 25, 2025 10:40 am
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CEDAR RAPIDS - Linn-Mar would seem to have what it takes to match the big dogs in suburban Des Moines when it comes to high school football.
That’d be tremendous facilities, large enrollment, money.
Duane Orr is very aware of that and says he’s focused on making sure the matching things happens. The school announced his hiring Friday as its new varsity head football coach, pending school board approval.
“There is a tremendous amount of energy here,” Orr said Friday afternoon. “Our kids are very motivated to achieve and excel. Of course with the resources that we have, it’s just a really unique opportunity. We will be setting our sights on being able to compete with the very best.“
Orr takes over a program that went 9-3 this past season and was a playoff qualifier in Class 5A under interim co-head coaches Ben Martens and Chad Tompkins. Neither one of them wanted the job permanently, so the school conducted a search, went through interviews this week and landed on Orr.
He is an associate principal at Boulder Peak Intermediate school in the district and has over 30 years of coaching experience at the prep and college levels. That includes being head coach at Mount Vernon and Council Bluffs Lewis Central and assistant coach at Cornell College.
He hasn’t been on the sidelines since being linebackers coach at Cornell in 2017 and hasn’t been a head coach since 2013 at Mount Vernon. But he’s beyond eager for this chance.
“It has been a few years, and yet that fire, it burns inside us coaches. It never goes out,” he said. “So I’m just real grateful for this opportunity.”
“With a proven track record of success at every school he’s been a part of, Coach Orr brings a wealth of knowledge, passion, and dedication to Linn-Mar’s football program,” said Linn-Mar Athletics Director Tonya Moe in a press release. “Coach Orr is a leader who truly cares about kids. He’s not only knowledgeable about the game but has an exceptional ability to connect with his players and coaching staff, creating a culture of respect, collaboration, and growth. We are thrilled to have him lead the Linn-Mar Lion football family.”
Orr is a Columbus Junction native and says hall of fame former Wildcats Coach Warren Woepking always has been his biggest mentor. He also coached under other hall of famers in Jim Bellamy, Don Knock and Steve Padilla.
He said he sent a message Friday on Hudl to Linn-Mar players, telling them how historically respected the football program always has been and how excited he is to get to work.
“It is recognized as a program that has been built right,” he said. “It’s an awesome responsibility for all of us to continue to move this program forward.”
Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com