 Marc MorehouseHi, I'm Marc Morehouse. I've covered sports for more than 15 years, mostly in Eastern Iowa. I've had Hayden Fry [...] |
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Ferentz wants to cut Iowa’s deficit . . . in football
The Iowa coach expects OC Greg Davis back in 2012
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz offered no spin on the Hawkeyes' 4-8 season. "Unlike trying to put a spin on whatever it is, a $15 trillion deficit, I'm not going to go down that road. Bottom line, this was a disappointing season in terms of record and the fact we're not playing in a bowl game. There's no positive way to put a spin on that." (Brian Ray/The Gazette)
IOWA CITY — Kirk Ferentz twice Wednesday led into a statement about the Hawkeyes’ disappointing 2012 season with reference to the national deficit.
It only got worse from there.
Right off the bat, Ferentz was asked if offensive coordinator Greg Davis would be retained. Forget the stats — they were among the worst in Ferentz’s 14 seasons for the offense — if that’s the first question out of the chute for a postseason news conference, that’s pretty much everything you need to know about the 2012 Hawkeyes.
Well, there’s this, too: Iowa finished 11th in the Big Ten in scoring and total offense and 111th nationally in scoring and 114th in total offense.
“As far as I know, yeah,” Ferentz said when asked about Davis, who in his first season presided over an offense that generated 310.4 yards a game, lowest since 2000.
Pressed further . . .
“I think Greg is an excellent football coach, I think he’s a tremendous professional and a tremendous person,” Ferentz said. “I have every bit of confidence that Greg will be in . . . and I don’t want to get into tenures or job security and all that stuff, that’s really not what we’re here for, but Greg’s a tremendous football coach and we wouldn’t have brought him here 10 months ago if we didn’t feel that way.
“I feel stronger about the kind of coach and person he is now after working with him.”
Probably don’t read too much into that pause. This is five days after a 4-8 disaster that saw Iowa’s season end with a six-game losing streak, the quarterback throw the fewest TDs since 1999 (single-digit TD passes have happened just three times in the last 31 seasons at Iowa) and the defense allow 5.54 yards a play (worst since 2003).
Ferentz acknowledged at the outset that all of the rumors about assistant coaches, resignations and transfers weren’t true and wouldn’t be discussed. This is all still very fresh and so Ferentz might well be in a “no declarations” mode.
“This won’t be as interesting and dramatic as maybe people want it to be,” he said.
On if he’d consider any tweaks in a coaching staff that was overhauled prior to 2012 (all but two assistants changing positions): “We’re 4-8 right now, so I think we have to be open to everything, be it staff, players, where guys line up, all those types of things,” Ferentz said. “It’s not something you typically make a rash decision on. It’s things you have to look at, and I think we have to look at how all the pieces to the puzzle fit together.”
Asked if he anticipates changes, Ferentz said too early to tell, see how it plays out.
The hot transfer rumor that whisked around Iowa-dom last week centered on quarterback Jake Rudock. Ferentz said that definitely wasn’t true.
“The fact that the player in question came and grabbed me yesterday morning after the meeting and said, ‘Could I visit with you,’ ” Ferentz said. “We sat down at 2 o’clock, and it was the exact opposite of him going [transferrring] to New Orleans.”
Ferentz talked about “swings of momentum” this season — injuries to running back Mark Weisman and season-ending injuries to O-linemen Brandon Scherff and Andrew Donnal — and not being good enough to “push through.”
“We had a lot of good guys working their tails off this year, but we just didn’t have enough,” Ferentz said.
Beyond sending the offensive coordinator into the sunset, there was no talk about changing schemes. Ferentz was asked about philosophy and he boiled it down to what Iowa does best when it’s working at its best.
“Defensively, if you miss tackles and give up big plays [Iowa allowed 20 20-plus yard plays during a 0-for-4 November], you’re not going to successful,” he said. “Offensively, if you don’t block people . . . Some people can move the ball without blocking, that’s become a new art, but I don’t think fits here. I don’t think that’s ever going to fit here. It’d be really tough to pull off.
“My biggest thing is we’re doing things that are smart fundamentally, where people turn on the film and say, ‘hey, that team is coached.’ Quite frankly, there were some times this year where you can’t say that.”
Ferentz said Iowa has a “deficit.” It’s a matter of facing it head on.
“I’m not going to try to spin that [4-8 in '12],” Ferentz said. “That’s like saying ‘what $15 trillion deficit?’ There is one and it ain’t going away, so we’ve got to knock our deficit down.
“We’ve got to realize there is one and work on that.”
Quick slants
– Fullback Brad Rogers will undergo back surgery this offseason. He missed four games and played sparingly this season. Ferentz said one other starter from 2012 might face surgery, but didn’t name the player or injury.
– O-linemen Brandon Scherff (broken fibula, dislocated ankle) and Andrew Donnal (ACL) should be full speed this spring, Ferentz said. Also, cornerback Jordan Lomax (torn labrum) and safety Ruben Lile (ACL) should be good to go this spring. Ferentz said Lomax has a strong shot at one of the starting corner spots.
– Iowa will have three contenders at quarterback next fall, sophomore Jake Rudock, junior Cody Sokol and redshirt freshman C.J. Beathard. Here’s what Ferentz said he’d be looking for: “Who moves the team, who reacts under pressure, who is accurate throwing the football, and who has leadership capabilities? All of those kinds of things. There is a lot that goes into it. I think all three of the guys are eager to compete.”
– On recruiting needs: “We have three senior linebackers, but we’re thin and we’ve been depleted there medically, so that is certainly a concern. Then on the offensive side, guys who could score touchdowns would be a good thing. We’ve got a couple, so if we could get some more, that would be great.”
Ferentz transcript
The Iowa coach mentions Iowa’s postseason honorees, the fact that the 4-8 season was disappointing, some of the positives over the years, six games lost by an average of 4.5 points.
Q. Do you tweak your staff in any way going into next year?
COACH FERENTZ: Yeah, we’re 4‑8 right now, so I think we have to be open to everything: Be it staff, players, where guys lineup, all those types of things. It’s not something typically you make a rash decision on. It’s things that you have to look at, and I think you have to look at how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. I think I said it Friday or last Tuesday. I think it was Friday, but we’ve got good people on our staff, good coaches.
“The majority of these guys were here in ’08 and ’09. It’s not like we’ve got a bunch of dumbbells here. They did a good job of carrying me during that period, so hopefully we can get back to that point. We have good people here.”
Q. At what point do you confirm a transfer?
COACH FERENTZ: It could be any time. That was another rumor that came to me. That was not only out there. It landed on my desk somewhere in the last 48 hours. Someone had one of our quarterbacks transferring to a school in New Orleans, which may be true. I don’t know.
“But the fact that the player in question came and grabbed me yesterday morning after the meeting and said, Coach, we sat down at 2:00, and it was the exact opposite of him going to New Orleans. I just said I can’t tell you the source on that one either, but it was interesting. Had me nervous for a while. Said I can’t wait till 2:00 o’clock to find out what’s going to happen here.”
Q. How does a season like this affect recruiting short term and longer term?
COACH FERENTZ: I would be more concerned longer term than short. I think, you know, it’s like transfers. I think anything could happen at any time. We’ve got approximately 15 guys committed. As far as I know, everything’s solid, and our guys were actually out seeing people and talking to them face‑to‑face as opposed to the phone and things like that. All of our guys are out seeing the guys right now. Everything’s really positive.”
Q. At quarterback, you’re going to have at least three guys competing. What is going to go into the evaluation period as far as determining whether one of those guys is going to stand out?
COACH FERENTZ: The bottom line, the acid test for everything is how are they playing in games? And we’re not going to know that until next September. I know there is some clamoring to get guys throughout for a series here and there. It’s something that we’re going to have to go through and we know that. We knew that a year ago going into this thing.
But basically, we’ll make it a fair competition. We’ll evaluate them like we would anybody. They’ll have a chance to go first offense, and hopefully they’ll work better with the first offense than the second and factor all that in. And we’ll make a call when it’s appropriate and go with whomever.
The good news is we’ve for a long time felt good about all three of the guys here on campus. Cody got here last year, was here for the spring ball practice, and C.J. joined us in August, and Jake was here prior to both of those guys. We’ve had a good vibe about all three of them. So I think it’s going to be a really good, healthy competition, and I’m anxious to see those guys compete. I think Greg feels the same way.”
Q. Have other people done that when you guys have been preparing?
COACH FERENTZ: Yeah, I’ve said that before. Decembers are crazy when you’re in a bowl. It’s a good crazy, but you’re sitting there recruiting and trying to do some game prep. You’re trying to keep an eye on everybody on campus. It’s a real contradiction in college sports. Our guys all hit the road Sunday, our coaches did Sunday, Monday morning, and our players are in the most critical period academically. They have two weeks of class and finals coming up, and we’ll be on the road all three of those weeks and I’ll be gone a lot here in the next two weeks.”
Q. Are you going into new recruiting territories?
COACH FERENTZ: You guys probably know more about it than I do, but basically we try to accentuate the Big Ten areas which are expanding. I guess we beat them to the punch on that, because we’ve gone around to New Jersey and Maryland, and D.C. area. We fool around a little bit down in Texas. I think that’s a little bit more of a challenge than maybe it was just the way things have gone in the conferences and TV and all that type of thing. Then we’ll look at other areas too, but that is the focus right now.”
KF can make a lot of sense of most of the issues just makes me wonder how much talent we really have. I hope he can turn the Hawks around because its going to be tough with next years schedule.
Davis to be back plus were looking for leadership from next year’s starter at QB, as well as accuracy and performance. Wish we had looked for that this year.
Before all the nay-sayers on Kirk finish dinner, I want to say that this man has the drive and will bring the Hawks back. I wish we could re-post the comments of many who were dispariaging of Ken O’Keefe and Norm the past few years. 25 Touchdown passes from Vandenburg and the Bend but don’t break defense seems ok now doesn’t it? The fish bowl of sports in Iowa does not have a long memory. Let Kirk coach, he will bring it around. As he outlined here he didn’t just change one coach, he changed over his whole staff to different positions. Kirk has a vision few in coaching have. I still have faith in the man. “In Kirk I trust”, maybe I will put that on a t-shirt…..
Brett:
So your rebuttal is “KOK wasn’t really that bad and neither was Norm – told ya so!”? That, and Kirk Ferentz is a hard worker…Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but then again 6 of the last 8 years have been filled with mediocrity with a dash of excellence, so it’s not an easy thing to positively endorse.
no my point was this. We Hawkeye fans don’t seem to know the full story here. Kirk is not prone to failure, look at the totality of his tenure and career. His ENTIRE coaching staff flipped over. In essecence the RESET button was pushed and he was the only continutiy. Give the man and the team a break. We fans seem to believe we need to be undefeated to consider a season a success. Kirk is not Pete Carroll, win at all cost sacrificing the dignity of the sport and men he coahes. Kirk is better for the university and football program than we know. But just as in the past the fish bowl full of critics helped run off Lute Olsen, and ushered the exit of Tom Davis and KOK. And after each left, the teams they had coached suffered a bit, but none of their critics thought to say, “he wasn’t too bad after all”. I fear the same may be said of Kirk one day. For all the good he brings to our state and university, give him and the team our support in good times AND bad. They have earned it. But I got the response I knew would occur. Not surprising, but none the less disappointing.
Brett:
Very few Iowa fans have said – or expect – to go undefeated every/ANY year. Stop acting as if people that dare to criticize the HC/program also demand more than 6-8 wins a year with so much “NFL talent” (Iowa’s words, not mine) are demanding national titles, and then trying to say how Iowa isn’t USC and Ferentz isn’t Pete Carroll – it’s a tired and irrelevant comparison for the most part.
Here’s the deal Brett: from 02-04, Iowa was great, got a few breaks (they made some of their own too), and we had enough playmakers (especially defensively and on special teams) to cover up some flaws in scheme and game management issues. From 2005-2011 (before the “reset” button was pushed = YOUR words), Iowa was mediocre to average save 1 1/2 seasons. Some of the other seasons COULD have been altered if the game management (i.e. COACHING) issues that were covered with better players in 02-04 had been fixed; however, they weren’t and those issues are still front and center today.
As for the “reset” button: yes, there were some changes in staff. Many, many, MANY programs have several changes each season – they don’t get a pass because of the changes, but some understanding is allowed for some struggles. Did you ever think that perhaps some of these changes could have happened over the past several years rather than having no more than a single coaching change or two every 3-4 seasons? Did you consider that this is the first time in several years that some of the staff perhaps had to actually work at things a little harder, only to fail much of the time because the talent level was so mediocre in the upper classes (and maybe lower classes too?)? Why are you so eager to just so “oh well, he’s a good guy and a hard worker, and he’s the only coach that could ever be a really good coach here”? This is the same coach that after 14 seasons STILL can’t seem to figure out how to handle end of half/game situations? When was the last time Iowa ran a good (or even DECENT) 2-minute drill? 2004? Penn State in 08? MSU in 2009? As you know, the “The Play” only happened because a playmaker at QB (mostly disallowed at Iowa after the first year as a starter) made a great decision that covered the glaring uncalled timeout mistake by the head coach. You know that in all these always-close games that Ferentz likes to play against EVERYONE (even the less-talented teams) that Iowa is 13-26 since 2005? A HUGE reason is because of game management issues, not just “execution” issues.
Lastly, don’t compare football and basketball. They’re on COMPLETELY different ends of the spectrum when it comes to running those programs – the right coach in basketball can turn a program around and then maintain success in 1-2 years with proper coaching and a 1-3 terrific players. Football is clearly a different animal that requires lot of moving parts to “execute” the game plan nearly perfectly each and every game in order to win. College football today is about scoring more points, moreso than in the past; yet somehow, our stubborn HC insists that pretty much everything that worked in 02-04 is the way to go at all times. Unfortunately, with the parity in today’s game, he ways have proven to be barely adequate most of the past 8 seasons. Hoping and guessing that the other team will make game-deciding mistakes before you is NOT a winning strategy.
Well said Mike, you are right on the money. I like the part where KF said “He has a great job”, no bull s—
Yep, +1 for Mike Miller.
I have realized that it was never KOK holding the Iowa offense back. It was Captain Kirk playing “not to lose.” When KOK was allowed to open up his playbook, he had some nifty stuff, like the fake into the line with short yardage and Stanzi’s pass to a wide open, all alone tight end to seal the deal vs. Missouri in the Insight Bowl. Did he do the same to Davis this year or is Davis the culprit. Norm hated to blitz and sometimes he was right, and I hate the prevent (cost us the Central Mich. game year) but Norm played to win and KF plays “not to lose.” His salary is to high to keep forgiving him. He took two talented teams to 7-5 and you cannot blame attrition of running backs and injuries for that. It was lousy coaching. Lousy, lousy, lousy.
Good idea with the T-shirt. After all, words mean FAR more than actual (lack of) performance. So I’ll buy one and hang next to my other cherished shirts:
(1) Yes, there is a Santa Claus (2) Love the Easter Bunny and (3) Give it up for the Tooth Fairy.
That T-shirt of yours and 4 mil a year will get Iowa 4 wins a year. Nice. Merry Christmas.
“I want to say that this man has the drive and will bring the Hawks back.”
No, he doesn’t.
All of the things can happen that Kirk says but if Davis continues to call up 3-yard plays when we need 5-8 yards we won’t finish drives next year either. Its a good thing Davis is a “great” coach because if he wasn’t I would have hated to see how bad the offense would have been. But I hope Kirk finds a way to turn it back around.
A Kirk Feretnz press conference rarely tells you much of anything. They’re usually a 45 minute mic check. But, there was a nugget of sorts right in the middle that is worth shinning a little light on. Kirk said, and I bet it was almost with a sneer, that it is a new art to move the ball without blocking. He said, pretty definitively that Iowa cannot do that. What that tells me is that if Greg Davis returns next year the offense will very much eschew any plays that require: trickery, speed, quickness, no-huddle, and anything else that most spread based offensive teams rely upon. I’m sure Davis will accomodate the King and give him his KOK-ish offense. But, it tells you that the man is pretty cynical in this regards when compared to, say, Paul Rhoads or Pat Fitzgerald–two coaches that have a supreme recruiting disadvantage compared to Ferentz but nevertheless choose not to stick their heads in the offensive sand.
Complete and total insanity if they keep Greg Davis as OC.
“This won’t be as interesting and dramatic as maybe people want it to be,” Ferentz said.
This quote from your article, Marc, was intended to be Grandpa Ferentz describing his press conference. Unfortunately, Grandpa Ferentz was also unwittingly describing every other aspect of the football program, and especially the so-called “offense.”
This is not a matter of opinion any more so than 2 + 2 = 4. The 2012 Iowa offense was an utter and absolute disaster. The FACTS prove it. How the person in charge can sit there and mouth meaninglessl platitudes and label the offensive coordinator “a great coach” defies any semblance of logic or accountability.
Don’t sit there, Grandpa Ferentz, and tell me what I’ve just seen. I know what I saw, and it’s as plain as 2 + 2 = 4. STOP THE MADNESS!
In my fantasies I see 70,000 Iowa fans milling around outside the stadium for the season opener next fall, but refusing to enter Kinnick Stadium until Davis is fired and Ferentz admits some interesting and dramatic changes must be made. Many have used it before me in recent weeks, but this waste of time called a “press conference” served to show nothing more than how delusional Grandpa Ferentz is. Mr. Hlas used the word “maddening.” That is accurate, but seems far too understated for what Iowa football fans are feeling knowing they are absolutely powerless to do anything about it.
I can’t wait until September to see that stupid, bewildered look on his gum-chewing face as he tries to solve the mighty, MAC behemoth known as the University of Northern Illinois. You can bet your sweet @@@ I won’t be watching from a seat in Kinnick though! 7-6, 6-7, 4-8…..that’s some drive to be successful!
Just a few predictions from a long time Iowa athletics supporter (40 + years attending games and contributing money to the University and athletic department.):
1. No offensive and defensive coordinator changes for 2013.
Kirk Ferentz has gone on record as 100% supportive of his coaches.
Gary Barta has gone on record as 100% supportive of Kirk Ferentz.
2. 2013 football season will be a repeat of 2012 (or worse) in terms of
wins and losses. Repeated play predictability, clock management issues,
holes in the defense and no pressure on quarter backs of opposing
teams.
3. Alumni, season ticket holder, and financial contributor pressure on U of
I administration during and after the 2013 season to get rid of current
athletic director. New athletic director hired AND will fire offensive
coordinator and maybe some other assistant coaches with or without
the blessing of Kirk Ferentz.
4. If still no improvement in Iowa football program and Kirk Ferentz does
not change his coaching philosophy and system, Then his legacy at the
end of his 2020 contract will be a dead end street/cul-de-sac on the
outskirts of Iowa City (named Ferentz Way, as contrasted with Hayden
Fry Way running through Coralville).
Coach Ferentz is the classic nice guy in nice guy land. He’ll be here until his contract runs out or he resigns. We’ll have mediocre, B1G Ten style football and talent while he continues to look at college football as a developmental league for the NFL. From Barta on down it’s much more about some mystical ‘correct way to do it’ than winning, which is secondary… form before function.
I came to Iowa the year AFTER Evy moved up to AD. It appears that Ferentz will join the Jerry Burns, Ray Nagle, F. Lauterbur and Bob Cummings fraternity rather than the elite two of Evy and Fry. The staunch Ferentz defenders remind me of the “Mrs. Lickliter” letters. The facts are facts, not to be confused with the rose colored glasses we can always hope approach. A high likelihood is that the bottom has not been reached. If Iowa is not the worst team in the Big 10 they are definitely in the worst position. Other struggling programs will either improve or replace their coaches like Illinois and Purdue. Iowa will not until Barta is replaced. And as the Big 10 expands, Iowa will slip lower. If losing to Central Michigan and going 0 for 6 is not humiliating enough, wait until they lose to Rutgers in Giant stadium and the NY media has their say. Do I hope Ferentz turns the ship around and Iowa wins the Big 10? Absolutely! But it appears he may have blown his rare chance to replace both coordinators with creative modern ones. And being pathologically conservative and resistant to change, and stuck in the 80s, it does not seem likely he is going to transform into a Penn State O’brien. Recruiting under Ferentz has always been sub par. With Rutgers in the Big 10 it is unlikely they will pull another Shawn Green out of NJ. Recruiting to Iowa can be done, but will take far more effort than has been put in so far.
I’ve been following this site for a pretty long time seeing as I am pretty young. I’ve seen some flashes of good and bad this last season (Mostly bad). Here’s the deal though, bitching about the coaching, or the players, isn’t going to change anything. In fact, it will just make you even madder. There are things I’m upset with. I’ve been a loyal fan all my life! But here is the deal, we can’t change what we have. What the coaches do, is up to them. Yes we would like to see changes. But instead of whining about how much this sucks, why don’t we suck it up, take the punch, and be supportive? Why don’t we take a stand behind our players and coaches? Regardless of who is in charge, it is still Iowa. It is still a program we love. Let’s not fight against what we cannot change and fix our attitudes. The players need it and the program needs support (Including KF!!!) So what do you say, is it going to be arguments that will never be won, trying to move a brick wall, and fighting against what cannot be changed; or will we rise up to be something different. Support a program through its’ faults and its’ victories! Cheer when you lose. Laugh when fingers are pointed. Love when there is nothing left….What do you say?
I don’t support KF or Barta.That’s why I’m not spending another dollar on Iowa football tickets until this circus gets sorted out. Call me an “unloyal” fan or what have you, but Monsieur Barta only communicates in presidents, I’ll keep Ben Franklin in my wallet.
I love the Iowa Hawkeyes. The history, Kinnick on game days, and the campus/people of Hawkeyenation. This athletic administration and coach are making it a laughing stock. I’ve never really agreed with a lot of decisions and how Gary Barta has handled things in general. Kirk, overall has brought positives to the program and memorable moments, but since the 2004 season, we’ve basically had 1.5 years of really good football (End of ’08 and ’09). The rest has been marred by ineptitude and mediocrity.
Kirk Ferentz is loyal, passionate, and seems like a real stand up guy. However, once you start defacing the program the I’ve grown up to love and constantly destroy it’s reputation with the same fixable mistakes (ultra conservatism, predictability, clock management, etc.) that make me pull my hair out year after year, than we have an issue.
Ultimately, Kirk Ferentz is a good representative for the university, the man IS passionate, and has brought some good things here. However, at the end of the day it’s NOT getting done for whatever reason you wish to attach to the failure. I don’t believe he possesses the plan to reconstruct the team. Barta messed the whole thing up by giving him so much leverage. Iowan’s demand better, Iowan’s deserve better. We’re not asking for Ohio State/Michigan level success, but this bleep show needs to cease to exist. People who think this post is anti-Iowa football is missing the point. I’ve supported the program through a lot of bad times, but the most loyal thing for Iowa football you can do is stop supporting it to affect real change. The department to the coaches to the administration needs to feel the angst in the form of cash money, it’s the only way the create actual change. To blindly support as to be perceived as “loyal” is only making the problem worse. I love the Hawkeyes. I love Iowa. I do not love KF, Barta, and the gang.
I agree with you, John E. The mistakes are fixable, and even often avoidable. During the Purdue game, with both of the very critical delay of game penalties, which may have cost Iowa a win, three of us sat here yelling “Call time out.” If James VB didn’t have th presence of mind to do that, , KF should have done it. I can tell you that Hayden would have seen it. Three years ago, when we lost the first of two to Minnesota, a whole bar full of people were yelling, “Watch for the onside kick!” and they weren’t and Minnesota did it and recovered and won the game…did the same thing the next year, twice, and we lost again. When we were playing Wisconsin in 2010, a guy in an Iowa watch bar said, as the clock was running down, “Only way Wisconsin can win this game is if we muff the punt or they fake it.” HE was ready for a fake punt, but KF was not. The defenders turned around after the ball was snapped and headed the other way, to block for a return. We had the game won….Why were we set up for a damn return. The point is, the guy in the bar wasn’t making a dime. Ferentz is being paid nearly $4 million a year. He can’t have his head up his you know where for that kind of money, especially. The forgiveness line is very thin when you get paid about 15 times more than the President of the United States, and probably 100 times as much money as the average Iowa fan suffering in the seats or in front of the television…who can see what KF sometimes doesn’t. Hell, if he needs a guy to watch the clock, he should hire someone out of his pocket money for $50k. Same goes for a special teams coach. He should take a cut in pay and hire a special teams coach. We are paying the guy to win football games, not to be a nice fellow. Give me an a-hole who is not at all likeable but can put together an unpredictable offense, and who plays to win rather than “not to lose.”
CS your right on some of your comments. We can’t change things. You say your young well I’ve been a Hawk for over 60 yrs and KF is 100 times better than Cummings, Nagal. Burns and Lauterbur but we have a right to complain I suppose that is because John Hayden Fry showed us that the Hawks can play and win with pretty much anyone in the country. KF followed that and was good but in the last several years, I don’t know if he has gotten complacent or the all mighty dollar has taken the desire away or what, but mediocre is not what us die hard old Hawks want from our football team and that starts with the Head Coach in his staff, recruiting, play calling, time management of the play clock (which KF has never been able to do), etc. So until KF produces or retires we/i will comment. Believe me I hope and pray that KF turns this thing completely around. Black and Old Gold forever!!!!! GO HAWKS!!!!!
I have only one more comment about Ferentz-Davis and the predictable offenses KF has put together, and which have bottomed with Davis this year:Albert Einstein summed it up with this quote, “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Ferentz will never change his way of thinking and now Barta with the contract he gave Ferentz, has made it impossible for Iowa to have another coach without mortgaging the entire state. Ferentz shows disdain toward any criticism and insults the fans by hinting that they know nothing about the game. A lot of them may not know the ins and outs and x’s and o’s and coaching methods, but they know a hell of a lot more about playing to win instead of playing not to lose, the way Ferentz does. He has had the talent and teaching to win way more games than he has. Paul Newman, as Fast Eddie Felson said it best in the movie “The Hustler,” when he turns to the character “Bert” and says, “Percentage players die broke, don’t they Bert.” We need someone who can play it fast and loose, especially if it’s true that we can’t get the talent other teams do. Predictable offenses better have some huge horses on the line to push people around. We better start fooling people. Iowa ran one flea flicker for a touchdown and didn’t run the play again the rest of the season. Where was that play, with the wind, when running plays were going pretty well, vs. Nebraska? Or even Purdue or Indiana? I’ve given up on Ferentz, especially if he’s keeping Davis without demanding Davis make huge overhauls in his scheme and get a vertical passing game. Since getting his big contract, Ferentz has lost as many as he has won. That’s not $4 million a year results, people. Time to stop coddling this guy. It’s a business and he’s not getting it done. There’s the door, here’s your GD $20 million walking money. We could get big time coaches for that kind of dough.
I just want to make a couple of observations after reading every post on this particular article. Observation #1: those who are calling for KF’s job are the same people who were telling KOK to pack up and leave last year. I feel that those people should be happy with this year… right? They wanted him to go, he went. In reality you big-mouthed complainers are in some part responsible for the offense this year. So as a Hawkeye fan I want to (sarcastically) thank you. Observation #2: no one who is complaining about KF’s coaching here seems to have any real understanding of what it takes to coach – not just on game day – but year-round in a Division 1 football program. Sure, its easy to critique 4-8… its easy to not spend another dollar on the football program with a record like that, but I would love to know the qualifications of these big-talkers who know so much about running a Division I football program. Observation #3: everyone thinks that it is so easy to recruit players to come to Iowa, everyone thinks it is so easy to get coaches to come to Iowa. Iowa doesn’t have a large population base as a state (this we all know) so the U of I will always have to recruit other states to become competitive (this we also know); what I think is missed is how people perceive the State of Iowa across the nation. From the time I was young, I remember going on vacations and telling people I was from Iowa to the immediate response, “you guys have the best potatoes.” I figured that this was the response of a few uneducated individuals across the country who hadn’t listened during geography class (probably most of us from Iowa have had this experience at one time or another). The thing is, we who grew up here are proud of our state; our agriculture that feeds the world, our mid-western “nice-ness,” our work ethic, our education system, our universities, that this is the best place in the world to raise a family. The sad fact is, the rest of the nation doesn’t know that we exist. I moved to Texas to become a high school teacher several years ago, and I was amazed at the questions that I was asked in interviews; “what is the University of Northern Iowa?” (where I did my undergrad), “what is the education system in Iowa like?” “have you ever been in an urban school setting before?” These were common interview questions asked by educated Texas adults. After getting a job, the kids questions were even better (or worse). Remember, I teach high school students so these are the kids that Iowa coaches have to recruit. Some examples of questions that the kids asked: “that’s the Buckeyes right? They play UT next year.” “Isn’t that a long way north?” “That’s by Indiana isn’t it?” “Is that out by Colorado?” “It gets really cold out there doesn’t it?” “How do you live in a place that is so cold all of the time?” “Are there any cities in Iowa?” “Are there any professional athletic teams in Iowa?” When it gets to 50 degrees in Texas, the kids break out their winter jackets. A football game in Texas in November means a 70 degree night. And, once I saw a student wearing a Hawkeye basketball jersey – during the Lickliter era no less – I was elated, and immediately went to talk to him thinking he was probably from Iowa since I had not seen such a thing in Texas before – his reply, “where is Iowa, I just got the jersey ’cause I liked the colors.” The point here is that we don’t understand how little the rest of the nation thinks of us; and, how difficult it is to recruit both coaches and players to come to this state. How many Iowans would want to go to play football at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks? That is the closest I can come to an analogy of the way Texas students think of the University of Iowa. Recruiting here, getting good coaches here, requires a lot of education and selling, not just the program, but the state as well. This is why we had the Alford debacle, the Lickliter debacle, and now possibly the Greg Davis debacle. We do have things to be proud of here in Iowa, but we should also realize that being a major division one coach at the the U of I is a tough job.
Congrats ZM on your fine education and job as an educator. You made one correct statement at the end of your comment ” being a major division one coach at the U of I is a tough job”. Don’t blame the people that comment here for KOK moving on. Do you really think the AD and President at Iowa read these comments and decide to keep or get rid of coaches because of the comments here? If you do you are not very educated in reality.
You have to admit we have been no more than an average to below average football team the last few years and KF is not going anywhere because he has a “great job” as he put it. I have lived through some very very bad years of football at Iowa and some very good years. Sometimes coaches just lose their ability and desire and when they do they need to ride off into the sunset. I don’t know if KF is at that point yet but I’m sure we all will know by the end of the 2013 season.
Zach tells a good story. But I also lived in Texas and found that people aren’t quite as naive about Iowa as he explains. As a matter of fact during the 2009 season I found an awful lot of them very familiar and excited about Iowa football. When I would tell them I’m from Iowa, they would say “oh yeah the Hawkeyes”. I can remember being at a packed bar watching Iowa-Mich St and having the crowd go nuts on Iowa’s final game winning drive. So lets stop this “feel sorry for us we’re from Iowa and can’t succeed at football” nonsense. When we play fun competitive football the nation is interested. John Emery listed a bunch of schools that have more disadvantages than we do and they on average are having more success. He didn’t even list Iowa State and Northwestern who for the last several years have been stealing our lunch money. The Iowa football program gets almost anything it asks for from the generous people who support it. So please stop the excuses. Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern isn’t whining about his disadvantages or mediocre salary for that matter.
Zach, as a “big-mouth complainer”, I’d like an opportunity to respond.
1. We didn’t chase away anyone, namely KOK, with our criticism. To believe that mid-50′s year-old coach would leave a job over public criticism is ludicrous – it’s not as if he’s 9 or something.
2. I’m never been in the crowd that blamed KOK for everything; I noticed long ago that Ferentz has an extremely tight hold on everything that goes on over on the offensive side, as did many others. It’s VERY clear his play not-to-lose philosophy is well-rooted in his entire staff – which until this year was very largely unchanged for most of his tenure.
3. The statistics you speak of are absolutely true; however, none of these were a concern when Iowa was winning in 02-04 – so why are they just supposed to be a the catch-all reasons for losing now? They haven’t changed much since then, so why are they such a catch-all at this point?
4. You live about an hour from Darrell K. Royal / Texas MStadium. While it’s not surprising that knowledge doesn’t roll off the tongues of people in your area, let’s be reasonable: there are a number of people who not only recognize Iowa’s statehood but even their football program (gasp!) too; and their journalism program, their medical program, etc. As an secondary educator in Texas as well, I’ve even had students recognize my UNI flag (undergrad) and name a couple of Panthers like Kurt Warner and Brad Meester (a lineman? That’s heresy!) too!!! So all y’all saying that we’re just “little ‘ol Iowa” ought be fixing to come up with a new excuse for lack of recruiting – such as the most of the longtime coaching staff just NOT gittin ‘er done!
Finally, I really, really, REALLY do hope that Ferentz can turn the program around AGAIN – and this time for long-term success. I hope this for two reasons: first, I have no confidence in our current AD being able to choose a viable, cohesive candidate (and contrary to popular belief, Iowa IS a good job to have in college football); secondly, no competent Iowa AD would ever give ANYONE the equivalent of a lifetime contract extension that pretty much precludes Iowa from changing coaches anyway for at least the next 2-3 years. I want the program to succeed, but the most of the last EIGHT years haven’t given me more than a short-term flash of hope.
Zach, I for one, liked your post. You made perfect sense to me. I believe that being the 30th state in population (with only NE) behind us, it is a fact that Iowa is at a recuiting disadvantage. That is not an excuse, it is fact. I’m also not please with our record, but I do understand that years like this happen in sports every year.
Finally, for Mr. Steve Davis. You attack the Iowa coaches and players on nearly every post you make. Today, you turn your attacks on a person that posts on this site and has a different opinion than years. It appears to me that you have little pleasure in your life and tolerance for others that think differtly than you.
Tom Christensen you are wrong on you comments about me. 1st I was not attacking Zach I was just stating my opinion which I think most of us do. 2nd I have a lot of pleasure in my life, one which is following the Hawks. If you don’t like it because I don’t like seeing my favorite team in the world lose then thats your problem. I get tired of hearing we can’t recruit in Iowa, Iowa doesn’t have the talent in the high schools, who wants to come to Iowa when you can go to Ohio St, Mich, etc. To that I say BS, I lived in Iowa for many years (moved because of my job), when I lived in Iowa City I loved it. What a great place to grow up. My Wife and Son graduated from Iowa.
I state my opinion and you state yours and my opinion is and has been that KF hasn’t been getting the job done. IF its because we don’t have the talent then who’s fault is that? The state? the school? the recruiters? who’s at fault? Me for my comments? I’m sorry to you and Zach if I offended you but I’m not satisfied with 4-8.
Tom C:
As Hawkeye fans, you and I haven’t agreed on all issues in the past (mostly because you were wrong about them – kidding!), but in this case Zach quite clearly started the name-calling fiasco with “big-mouth complainers who ran KOK out of town”. For the most part, Steve’s attacks have been directed at public figures (Barta, Ferentz, even a few players – which I personally don’t really do) and he’s only RESPONDED to/criticized other commenters when provoked – which Zach did.
Let’s go Hawks!
Zach,
For your observation # 1. You’re right a lot of people we’re calling for KOK’s head, but as we’ve found out it appears the schematic flaw lies within KF. He needs to let his offensive coordinators, ya know, coordinate and give them some freedom. The buck stops with him and for many years the Iowa offense has been predictable and rather inept.
Observation #2 – I don’t think anyone here is saying they could do a better job, but I bet a lot of coaches who make significantly less can and would. *cough* Chris Peterson (1.9 million), Bill Snyder (2.2 Million), and Brian Kelly (2.4 million) *cough*
Observation #3 Lincoln, Nebraska, Boise, Idaho Manhattan, Kansas, Corvallis, Oregon, Dekalb, Illinois, Logan, Utah, and Stillwater, Oklahoma would all like a word with you.
Essentially your entire argument about how we’re “little ol Iowa” is played out. And yes, I’ve experienced being in New York City and telling people I’m from Iowa. The person’s response was, “Oh, out here we pronounce that Ohio.” However, that is the general person. Iowa has been and always will be small market. What you’re not accurately depicting is this: you have to think of it from a football perspective of other coaches, athletic programs, recruits, etc. Iowa has dumped a lot of money in the program, Kinnick upgrades, practice facility, coaches offices, etc. Iowa is one of the top 20 money making programs in the nation. Iowa pays some joe 4 million a year to catch lackluster teams. Haweye Nation has some of the best fans around, period. The state doesn’t produce a lot of local talent, but we have a pipeline to the nation’s 3rd most populous city in Chicago, along with cities of size in Minneapolis, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Kansas City all within short driving distance.
If we continue this attitude of “little ol Iowa”, we’re nice people, family centric, yada yada yada, we will never return to the days of where Hayden Fry was getting our great Hawkeyes ranked #1 in the nation, beating blue blood teams, and people actually knowing who the heck we were. And guess what there are a lot of other states that have nice people, honest hard working families, that’s not solely unique to Iowa man, it’s all excuses for mediocrity. We’re lacking leadership, creativity, and someone to get the job done. But of course, we are only Iowa right?
Sorry, catch = coach.
A couple of additional thoughts… Observation #1 addition: Since some on this board think we should not compare basketball and football, let’s look at the “upset Iowa fan” instead. The “upset Iowa fan.”
Consider this excerpt from a post I wrote on October 21st:
“A better comparison here might be to Tom Davis’ basketball teams:
Tom Davis’ winning percentage in Big Ten play 54%
Kirk Ferentz winning percentage in Big Ten Play 55%
Of course all of the feelings about Hawkeye Football are bad right now just like they were for the men’s basketball program in 1997-1998. What followed was a (forced) early retirement for Tom Davis, who took his 1998-1999 team to the Sweet 16, and the worst years for Hawkeye Basketball in decades. So much so that Fran’s 18-17 (52%) team last year seems like (and is) an accomplishment, even though it is far less than Davis’ winning percentage of 66% overall and even far less that Ferentz’s winning percentage (57%) this year.
But what did we hear before Davis’ forced retirement? “We want to win national championships!” Now, 13 years later we are excited about a basketball team that is barely over .500 and some recruits with some stars who haven’t proven anything yet (though I hope they do).”
The “upset Iowa fan” said, “we need final fours… we need a chance at a national championship!” Instead, they forced out a coach who went to the sweet sixteen in his final year, in favor of a string of coaches who haven’t come close. My question is, after listening to the (sarcastic) great advice of “upset Iowa fan” and receiving such great (sarcastic) rewards for our basketball program, does “upset Iowa fan” have any credibility in their complaints about the football program?
This lends itself to observation #2: I thought it was interesting that no one on here jumped on observation #2 about knowing what it takes to run a successful D1 football program, maybe this is a confirmation that no one here has ever run a successful D1 program? Maybe, “upset Iowa fan” doesn’t know how difficult it could be to get a coach who can win Big Ten Championships and take the team to BCS bowl games? Maybe, “upset Iowa fan” is right, and we could be more successful with a different HC; but, if “upset Iowa fan” is wrong, we could be in for ten years of football that look like the last 10 years of basketball. There are no guarantees, but at least we have a coach who has proven that he knows how to win B10 championships and BCS bowl games.
On observation #3: I have two comments. First, John mentioned a few schools that he thought were comparable to Iowa, but whose coaches were more successful than Iowa: “Lincoln, Nebraska; Boise, Idaho; Manhattan, Kansas; Corvallis, Oregon; Dekalb, Illinois; Logan, Utah; and Stillwater, Oklahoma.” Can I take these quickly, one at a time… Lincoln Nebraska (its been 10 years since Nebraska has been to a BCS bowl game); Oregon State (really? One BCS bowl appearance 10 years ago?); Kansas State (one BCS bowl appearance in the last decade); Boise, Idaho (easy schedule – not major conference); Northern Illinois (not major conference – and Iowa beat them this year); Utah (again, until recently weak conference); Oklahoma State (last year was the first BCS appearance ever). John, are you honestly saying that you would be happier with these teams performances and recruiting over a period of time, than you are with Iowa’s? Or, are you just making a case for Iowa to get out of the B10 and into the MAC? Actually, these teams are a good case in point for what it takes to build a developmental program with rises to the top and rebuilding years at the bottom, but it is arguable that any of these teams has been as successful at this as KF has been at Iowa.
Secondly, I am not saying that no one in Texas knows who the Hawkeyes are, especially those who are well educated in college athletics; what I am saying however, is that there are major hurdles to clear to recruit a Texas (or any other big-market out of state) athlete. First, they have to be aware of Iowa; that hurdle cleared, they must like a small-town atmosphere (and many do not); that hurdle cleared, they have to fit into a culture that is sometimes quite unlike the cultures they come from; that hurdle cleared, there is the cold weather (which many do not like); that hurdle cleared, they have to play all of their home games many miles away from where there families and friends can come and watch; that hurdle cleared, they have to explain to their less-educated friends a hundred times where they are going to play football. They have to say over and over again to their peers that no, they didn’t get Texas, they couldn’t make it to Alabama, or Florida, or Oklahoma. Why didn’t they go to A & M? Why not USC or Oregon? At least Oregon is shamelessly promoted by NIKE nationwide. Why not Auburn, or LSU, or if you have to go north and endure the cold, why not Ohio State? At least Ohio State comes south to play the UT once in a while. All of these schools roll off of the tongue of these athletes’ peers. Iowa does not. After telling high school students that I was a Hawkeye fan from Iowa, they would come in and congratulate me on Cyclone victories. See, Iowa State is in the B12, so they automatically assumed that was my team. Sure, the athletes themselves know about the Hawkeyes – but Iowa carries little weight with their peer group. That hurdle cleared, you might get an athlete or two from out of state. But now, when I see U of Iowa come out of a big market with a four-star athlete, I wonder what made them choose Iowa considering all of these hurdles – the coaching staff must be doing something right.