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Barta: ‘Ferentz the best coach for Iowa’
Ferentz is highest paid state employee, Big Ten coach
University of Iowa Head Footaball Coach Kirk Ferentz sits with UI Athletics Directory Gary Barta as he talks with members of the media about the recent off the field legal issues that members of the football team have been involved in as well as social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace Friday, Aug. 24, 2007 at the Hayden Fry Football Complex in Iowa City. (Gazette file)
IOWA CITY — The timing couldn’t be any more awkward on the PR front for Iowa athletics.
In the wake of a stunning and disappointing loss last weekend at Minnesota, Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz came in at the top of the state salary database, which was released Tuesday.
Of course, angry fans spent a lot of their Sundays, Mondays and maybe even now questioning the value.
Iowa athletics director Gary Barta said Tuesday that, yes, the Minnesota loss hurt, but it doesn’t change his overall outlook on Ferentz and Iowa football.
“It’s disappointing,” Barta said. “We’re all feeling that. Whether you’re a fan, the head coach, a student-athlete or the athletic director, you have that same feeling.
“I still feel the same way about Kirk today that I felt a couple years ago and that I felt when I arrived. He’s the best coach for Iowa. He’s one of the best coaches in the country.”
Barta and Ferentz agreed on a contract extension before the 2010 season started. The contract is worth $3.675 million a year and runs through the 2020 season. It made Ferentz the highest-paid coach in the Big Ten and one of highest-paid in the nation.
“I look at Kirk and who he is as a coach. Competitively, what he’s demonstrated,” Barta said. “Academically, what he does. His student-athletes graduate among the highest in the country. He’s been a part of this program now as an assistant and head coach for more than 20 years. He is a great fit at Iowa and that’s almost an understatement. He’s proven to be one of the best coaches in the country.”
Barta also said the state of Iowa isn’t unique in having a coach, football or basketball, as the state’s highest-paid employee. Coaches occupy the top spot for a lot of states, including California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Washington and Maryland.
“It’s a marketplace question,” Barta said. “What is Kirk’s market value? Set aside what I just said — he’s the best coach and he’s the best coach for us — but there’s also a market out there.”
Ferentz is paid from athletics department revenue. The department receives no government or institutional support.
Indiana University finance professor Ryan Brewer recently completed and released to the Indianapolis Business Journal a 242-page study that places valuations on college football programs as if they were businesses for sale. Brewer valued the college football franchises the way a Wall Street analyst would value a business operation, based on cash flow history and myriad other factors.
Iowa came in 15th with a valuation of $245.8 million.
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But it’s so difficult to recruit and win at Iowa he is worth every dime.
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No where in there does it say I MUST use my real name.
p.s. my friend Hig says to point out this is my real interwbz name.
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May be the highest paid coach, but NOT the best by a long shot.
Iowa has won one major bowl game in the last 50 years. That was 2 years ago. And yes, to be caught off-guard on the WI fake punt, and the MN onside kick should require some heads to roll. But, fire Ferentz, and you may just end up just like Minnesota.
Mike,
Iowa has been in two BCS bowl games in the past decade, won two Big 10 championships, and have gone to nine bowls in Ferentz’s 12 years at Iowa.
Not to mention that Ferentz’s Iowa teams have produced over 40 players during his tenure that have played in the NFL..of which over 30 are still playing in the league today.
So to insinuate that Ferentz hasn’t achieved much just simply isnt reality.
Uh, Todd. Where did I say Iowa didn’t acheive much? I said they had won one major bowl game in 50 years. The major bowl games are the Rose, Orange, Sugar, and the Fiesta which replaced the Cotton somewhere in the 80s. The Cap 1, Outback, etc. are second tier bowls. Until 2 years ago Iowa had not won a major bowl games since two Rose Bowl victories back in the 50s. I pointed out it was Ferentz that finally got that win, and if Ferentz were fired, and the wrong coach were hired, Iowa could easily become just like Minnesota.
I also pointed out that the fake punt and the onside kick were major failures by the coaching staff. Both of these plays were at critical times of the game, and indeed may well have changed the outcomes. Somebody was asleep at the switch, and these problems need to be corrected.
Ferentz is the best coach Iowa can get and he is a good leader. Now is the time for him to show his leadership skills and his value with 4 tough upcoming games. Ending up 9-3 will be a great accomplishment, which should land Iowa a New Years bowl game. If Iowa loses the next four then his value should be questioned and hopefully like every other high paid leader, tough questions and actions will follow.
I think that it’s great that the Iowa athletic department is self-funding on a current account basis. It is not correct, at all, to assert that Iowa football receives no financial benefit from the university or the state. For example, I don’t believe that the athletic department is paying rent to the SUI for their 20 acres of facilities, including Kinnick.
Further, there would be no football program in Iowa City absent the state university.
My point is not to be annoying in regard to financial accounting. My point *is* that Ferentz most definitely *is* a public employee.
He may be underpaid, at that. Woe betide this athletic department if Iowa football returns to 1978 levels of ineptitude (well, except when playing Minnesota). I’m sure Neal Cornrich has the spreadsheet that shows why it’s cheaper to keep him at $5 or $10mm than roll the dice on a new guy.
I wish I could have negotiated his last extension, though. I would have prohibited him from using certain phrases — “we need to execute better”, “they played better so we lost” (never thought of that, Coach!), “that deal …”, “this deal”, “this, kinda, deal”, “that …deal is a big deal, kinda”.
Sue Don… Ferentz’s salary is NOT paid with tax dollars. Ferentz’s salary comes out of the athletic department budget…and the athletic department does not receive a SINGLE dime of tax dollars.
Todd, there’s a reading comprehension problem here, since the very first sentence says what you are complaining about:
“I think that it’s great that the Iowa athletic department is self-funding on a current account basis.”
To assert, though, that Iowa athletics are an independent entity would be like saying Ruan Logistics would be an independent entity if it had the monopoly for Iowa public sector funding, and the government provided trucks, terminals and capital.
Here is the fact of the matter here folks.
Every football team..and I don’t care WHAT team it is..is going to have up years..and will have down years. That’s just the way it is.
Look at a well known football power like Florida. Florida is 4-4 right now..not more than a few years removed from winning two national championships.
Look at a school like Texas who didn’t even go to a bowl last year, finishing 5-7–coming off the year before having played for the National Championship!
So, the fools who think that Ferentz needs to be fired…ought to stop and think for a minute before they get the pitchforks and torches ready.
Let’s look at Miami, Todd. I watched that team give a win to Virginia, even though Miami had more and better athletes. Miami finished 7-6 last year with a team that had, what, 14 future NFL players on its roster?
It could be MUCH worse. We could have Al Golden as our coach!
Kirk Ferentz is worth every dime. Iowa Football is a self-sustaining program and creates a very large amount of revenue. Iowa, and Gary Barta, can pay Kirk whatever they feel like paying him because he is worth it.
Todd, you seem to be adept at setting straw men on fire. Who wants Ferentz fired?
Read any of the Iowa football blogs and websites lately? You’ve got bandwagon fans calling for Ferentz’s head and the rest of the coaching staff on a pike.
You’ve got media types writing stories about whether or not Ferentz’s “system” works anymore and asking speculative questions about coaching changes on the staff…
The insinuations are beginning to work their way through the woodwork, Sue-Don.
If Iowa ends up having a down season this year…you’re going to see the fairweather fans and media know-it-alls grumbling about how Ferentz isn’t cutting it anymore, etc, etc, etc.
Let’s take a stroll down memory lane:
Jerry Burns, Ray Nagel, Frank Lauterbur, and Bob Commings coached Hawk teams from 1961 to 1978. Only Burns posted a winning season, his first, in 1961. Lauterbur coached the only Iowa squad to ever go winless, 0-11, in 1973.
Folks, Iowa was a coaches’ graveyard before Hayden Fry turned the program around. Ferentz is only one of many Fry proteges, like Barry Alvarez, Bret Bielema, or Bobby Stoops, who have been successful Division 1 coaches. Iowa has had TWO head coaches since 1979: how many other Division 1 schools, including Ohio State, Michigan, Niotre Dame, or Southern Cal, have that kind of head coaching stability?
How soon we forget that Orange Bowl victory over Georgia Tech…
All of that is VERY true, Jeff…
Need people forget also that there are a TON of NFL teams that would kill for a coach of the quality and integrity of Kirk Ferentz coaching their team. Ferentz is one of the most respected college coaches not just within college football..but within NFL circles.
Its no wonder that Iowa football players in the NFL are so well regarded by NFL teams–they know they’re getting well coached, prepared players who bust their tails at 100%.
let’s hope one of those NFL teams makes Kirk an offer he can’t refuse (like KC)…but who we kidding? to make $4 mil in the NFL, he’d be expected to have a playoff contender and a Superbowl winner. At Iowa, he has neither expectation. So in Iowa City, he doesn’t have to “work”, versus anywhere else, or in the NFL, the results would have to be there for the big $$$.
Wow..the bandwagon fans never cease to amaze me. If Iowa isn’t going undefeated, its time to fire everyone. If Iowa does well…everyone’s a genius.
‘bandwagon fans’. not sure who you are referring to. a REAL fan knows when to call an audible (to use a QB or coaching term) and the Iowa trend is ‘down’. if you are not sure what that means, ask someone with a background in management, marketing, or sales.
let’s go back to the point here. Kirk will never leave Iowa unless he first runs them into the ground (like Hayden did at the end). That is because the fact is if he is going to earn his kind of salary ANYWHERE else, at ANY level (pros or college) – there will be expectations (championships) that are tied to it. Not in Iowa City. He knows that. EVERY college coach knows that. That is why Iowa’s job would be one of the most coveted (if not THE most coveted) in America – because you can earn the maximum amount of cash, hang around FOREVER, with few expectations for a big return on investment. If you are in it for the money of course. If you want to build a university’s legacy, tradition, etc (I.E. Michigan, PSU, etc), you hold the coaches accountable and make changes when necessary.
Iowa could easily go 5-7 this year…but i am sure lemming nation will still insist that KF is worth every cent. I am sure the majority of you were still solidly behind Hayden at the end, even when it was clear the gas tank was empty if for no other reason than “look at what he did for us! do you want to go back to the Nagel years???”
i wonder if you all had the same level of support for other mediocre coaches…Davis, Alford and Licklighter (sp) anyone? Eventually, the time came to take take the program to the next level, and the trigger had to be pulled. It’s a matter of time…eventually the big corporate donors are going to grow tired of 7-5, 6-6, etc, and the money will ‘influence’ the skirt to make a change….just like it did for Fry, Davis, al-fraud, etc, etc.
but with the vote of confidence – we can count on more of the same old-same old.
Do i hope Iowa can win out? absolutely! do i think it will happen? no. that’s not being ‘bandwagon’ or a pessimist. that is being honest and a gut feeling based on what I’ve seen on the field over the last couple of seasons.
trending my friend….trending….
Who would you replace Ferentz with, Matt? Has it occurred to you that coaching stability has made the Iowa program what it is?
But, I guess we can find some schmoe like Spurrier and cheat our way to a title…
William.. do you expect Ferentz to up and tell you the game plan for each week’s game? Or how about the list of offensive plays that are planned to be run?
They can’t discuss injuries in detail because of medical privacy laws. And Ferentz has never been a coach that will publicly call out players who aren’t playing well.
This is a young team that is going to make its share of mistakes…is it frustrating? Of course…but I dont care who the team is…you are going to have years where a team loses games it should win..and wins games that it might have no chance of winning.
We’ve seen the good in this team..and the very bad in this team. That’s how football works and Ferentz knows that. The bandwagon fairweather fans dont.
Always nice to have one who knows everything about everything! Sad that some can’t agree to disagree. We all have different opinions and that doesn’t make them right or wrong. Some of these holier then thou attitudes is very disturbing, since we are talking about just a game!
Well, I have some questions:
1. If KF is not paid by The State of Iowa, why is he reported as a state employee?
2. Is his salary a reward for past accomplishments or current and future expectations?
3. Is the Iowa football program/system a “farm team” for the NFL?
I, for one, don’t want to see anyone fired but I do want to see performance improvement!
Harry Reid–(if that’s even your real name)
KF is considered a state employee because he works for a state entity–the University of Iowa. His salary comes from the athletic department which is a self-sustaining operation that does not take a DIME in tax dollars.
All revenues generated by the athletic department go towards its operations.
2. Harry–I dont know about you, but’d I’d call two BCS bowl appearances, two Big 10 championships and 9 bowl appearances in 11 years an excellent track record as a successful football coach.
3. Yes, in many ways, college football is a preparation level for the NFL.
George Custer was one of the best Army Generals in the U.S, he just didn’t prepare well.
Uh, Custer graduated at the very bottom of his class at West Point…
And distinguished himself as a cavalry officer in the Civil War.
Yeah, and the qualities he showed then, reckless physical courage and a disregard for keeping open an avenue for retreat, cost him and his troopers their lives at Little Bighorn.
Agreed, he didn’t prepare well!
I think our coach is one of the very best and has been very good for our team. I can’t think of any other coach and staff that would be better for Iowa City. These negative posts and articles are not helping our recruiting.
Vanilla
get the coach fired up and the players will be, instead of chewing gum, chew some butt……
13 years
13 graduating classes
13 recuit years
13 freshman
13 sophmores
13 juniors
13 seniors
with approx 25 kids coming in and out every year that means there are 75 upper classmen…..So, why is every year young? In training? finding their way? Stop making excuses, do your job like every other Uof I employee has to….or get canned
Is there a plan? I think the top 25 yearly has one, is their a coaching for dummies book we can buy?
One for KF and one for Barta
Doug…do you know a WORD about what you’re talking about?
Nothing in that post made a lick of sense whatsoever. Then again..fairweather fans like yourself don’t usually have any idea of what they are talking about.
“Barta: ‘Ferentz the best coach for Iowa’” Translation: Get ready for even MORE mediocre football, no serious contention for a national championship, no rose bowls, etc…
i wonder how fast the AD will exchange his skirt for a pair of trousers when (inevitably) the big corporate sponsors start getting tired of seeing their contributions going to pay $4 mil a year for the product that on the field, and the results that just aren’t there? Let’s be real folks – it’s all about the money. As long as the lemmings continue to fork over big $$$, Kirk is safe and there will be no changes in Iowa football. Hayden was once (as) loved too, but when the big donors started grumbling, then the skids were greased for his departure. it’s only a matter of time.
before Jeff & company start pouncing on me – I’ve never said KF was a bad coach. not once. just not worth the $4 mil being paid out given the return on investment. that’s all. the other 9 coaches in the ‘top ten’ paid club all have a national championship (at least one). won’t happen at Iowa because that is not an expectation of the job. “all we gotta do is go to a bowl game”. proves the adage about a “fool and his money…”. Iowa could EASILY go 6-6 this year. and they’d still hope for a bowl game as a ‘reward for the kids that worked hard all season’. That would be embarrassing. Finish .500 and go to a BOWL?
wish we could all work for the skirt. think of it. we could turn in half-rear ended performances, and not only KEEP our job, but get a contract extension AND a pay raise!
Matt…
How does riding the bandwagon feel? Ferentz has taken the Iowa program to heights that it hasn’t seen before.. Two BCS bowl appearances…two Big 10 championships. Nine bowls in 11 years.
You want to complain about how much he’s making?? Funny..considering that not a dime of that is coming out of tax revenues what business of anyone’s is it how much he gets paid??
Let me fill you in on something, Matt…football teams have up and down years. As I posted earlier…Texas had a 5-7 season last year…a year removed from playing for the National Championship…
Florida won TWO National Championships in recent years..and right now..they have a WORSE record than Iowa does right now…
I’m so damn sick and tired of bandwagon fans like you who think if Iowa isn’t going undefeated–that its time to start firing people.
Don’t hold back, Todd! BTW, Florida and Texas both have better athletes than Iowa, but Ferentz has never recruited purely on athletic ability. He’s smart enought to know Iowa has to look at those players other schools don’t recruit, and, with a few notable exceptions (including that right-wing crackpot Stanzi!) has to look at a young man’s character and work ethic.
You’re very right in noting the reputation Ferentz’s staff has earned of developing players.
“i wonder how fast the AD will exchange his skirt for a pair of trousers”
i cannot believe you posted that, Matt.
How about, since you are so concerned about Ferentz’s coaching, that you volunteer to coach the Hawks for a week or two? Maybe serve as a tackling dummy?
I Have to commend KF’s Loyalty to his staff, BUT, a good CEO knows when changes need to be made and or pressure needs to be put on certain department heads. Barta Sticking up for KF mirrors KF sticking with Coaches Parker & O’Keefe. Let’s see what adjustments are made on Saturday vs Michigan. Remember the definition of insanity…… ” Doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results”
Bringing in a few new assistants might shake up the existing staff enough to motivate them to perform better in their respective jobs. Players have to earn their position. Assistant coaches should too.
It’s tough to be in AD Barta’s situation. He has an employee in a key position who is nearly irreplaceable, no CEO likes that.