Fry's Forecast Fizzled: KF Confirms He Will Be Back in '26.

[HawkPowerlifter]

I guess Kirk just really, really, really enjoys coaching because I can't think of any reasonable milestone he has left to achieve.

Sure it would be nice to win an outright Big Ten championship, make it into the playoffs and win a national title, but let's be realistic. In the new Big Ten, Kirk's ceiling is probably a 4th place finish and then make it to the quarterfinals (final 8) of the CFP

As far as overall wins, Kirk is not going to catch Paterno, even if he averages 8 wins a year until he is 90.

As for that elusive overall .600 winning percentage that a coach needs for hall of fame induction, Kirk is barely above .600 right now. All it would take is a 4-8 final season and he would back below .600 again. Of course the hall of fame made an exception for Mike Leach, but Leach was much more entertaining and groundbreaking than Kirk is.

I think somebody had the idea that Kirk should just hang up his head coaching duties and become the assistant OL coach or something like that. Nobody is going to kick Kirk Ferentz out of the building. But in the end, I guess Ferentz has earned the right to go out on his own terms, whatever he decides.

He has joked before Mary has "to do lists" and apparently besides grilling, KF isn't too skillful around the house. He knows one thing-coaching football. He even joked he is terrible at golf.

I think it truly shows his passion for the game, coaching, and being around young athletes. I would say as long as he can give positive results to the program, he should lead this program until he chooses not to. He has earned that in my opinion.

 

[kameltoez102]

I was thinking about this earlier in the season....

If Kirk really coaches another 10 or so years now would be the perfect time for him to take the job. He could absolutely right the wrongs that have occurred at Penn State over the years. I'm not saying that him cleaning up their program would alleviate past crimes...just saying I wouldn't see anything of that nature happening on his watch.

Bottom line, KF would be a splash hire for PSU and would clean up their mess in a hurry. Not saying he's a NC hire...just saying that he could fix a lot of the core problems PSU has before they end up like Nebraska.

Just my opinion but PSU is beyond fixable and my opinion stems from their reaction to the Sandusky fiasco years ago. The way they idolized Paterno and worked to cover that situation up and try and put lipstick on it churned my stomach and it will never be fixed. Then take into account the issues that were reported by the wrestling team this past off-season shows me that things have remained the same.

 

[HawkPowerlifter]

I was thinking about this earlier in the season....

If Kirk really coaches another 10 or so years now would be the perfect time for him to take the job. He could absolutely right the wrongs that have occurred at Penn State over the years. I'm not saying that him cleaning up their program would alleviate past crimes...just saying I wouldn't see anything of that nature happening on his watch.

Bottom line, KF would be a splash hire for PSU and would clean up their mess in a hurry. Not saying he's a NC hire...just saying that he could fix a lot of the core problems PSU has before they end up like Nebraska.

I think if KF was younger, it might be a possibility. However, he was a Pitt guy. He might actually have a low key disdain for Penn State. LOL. I think he has made Iowa home and I know Mary and he share a love of the university and hospitals. I don't think even if he was 20 years younger he would go. But I do agree he would definitely clean the program up.

 

[ChosenChildren]

Appreciate that Fry passed along what he heard, but hard to believe something wasn't lost in translation (at the very least).

May as well float that mystery candidate name for us now.

I think the mystery candidate was Pat Fitzgerald. Obviously, he was good enough for Michigan State, a program over the years that has been similar to Iowa's.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

I think if KF was younger, it might be a possibility. However, he was a Pitt guy. He might actually have a low key disdain for Penn State. LOL. I think he has made Iowa home and I know Mary and he share a love of the university and hospitals. I don't think even if he was 20 years younger he would go. But I do agree he would definitely clean the program up.

Timing is everything... If this was 2010-2011 right after that stretch of 3 top 10 finishes I could certainly see him being on the short list. Wasn't that about the time KF flirted with the Jaguars?

Speaking of rumors on X this morning is PSU is going after Matt Campbell now. That may be Iowa fans stirring the pot I don't know.

 

[SwirlinLingerie]

I think the mystery candidate was Pat Fitzgerald. Obviously, he was good enough for Michigan State, a program over the years that has been similar to Iowa's.

If he was, I have a pretty hard time seeing Kirk being nudged into retirement for Pat Fitzgerald. That makes no sense to me whatsoever.

Look at Kirk's Big Ten records - he's been ringing up 6 and 7 win seasons for several years now. The "down" years are 5 wins. In contrast, Fitz's last 4 years included 1-8, 1-8, and 1-8.

In no universe do you proactively make that swap, especially when Fitz had some recent baggage (fair or not).

I think the Fitz-MSU marriage makes sense, but it only worked because both parties are somewhat damaged goods at the moment. MSU is coming off a scandal and then a bad hire, with abysmal records in recent years. They couldn't pay market price for a coach.

Best I can tell, Fitz will be the lowest paid coach in the Big Ten. Neither he nor MSU had better options.

 

[HuckFinn]

I think if KF was younger, it might be a possibility. However, he was a Pitt guy. He might actually have a low key disdain for Penn State. LOL. I think he has made Iowa home and I know Mary and he share a love of the university and hospitals. I don't think even if he was 20 years younger he would go. But I do agree he would definitely clean the program up.

Yeah. KF is an Iowa guy.

 

[SwirlinLingerie]

Still changes nothing about what I said

At the risk of beating a dead horse, I don't know about that. Assuming Kirk truly comes back (sure seems like it now), then we'd have to believe that the donors and administration attempted a coup, couldn't convince the candidate to take the gig and/or got beat out by another school, and Kirk is willing to swallow his pride and keep plugging away in year 28?

I mean I guess it's possible. If Kirk is still enjoying it, maybe he can get over that fact and go about his business. But that seems pretty unlikely, especially since nothing has leaked out. I also don't think Beth would come within a million miles of those types of convos if there was a chance Iowa still wanted Kirk to stick around.

We appreciate you passing things along, but seems far more likely that the info was off.

 

[haydensly]

If he was, I have a pretty hard time seeing Kirk being nudged into retirement for Pat Fitzgerald. That makes no sense to me whatsoever.

Look at Kirk's Big Ten records - he's been ringing up 6 and 7 win seasons for several years now. The "down" years are 5 wins. In contrast, Fitz's last 4 years included 1-8, 1-8, and 1-8.

In no universe do you proactively make that swap, especially when Fitz had some recent baggage (fair or not).

I think the Fitz-MSU marriage makes sense, but it only worked because both parties are somewhat damaged goods at the moment. MSU is coming off a scandal and then a bad hire, with abysmal records in recent years. They couldn't pay market price for a coach.

Best I can tell, Fitz will be the lowest paid coach in the Big Ten. Neither he nor MSU had better options.

Fitz said that he talked to 8 schools and chose Michigan State. I have no idea who those schools were and the "quality" of those offers but it sounds like he did have some options. Could be he chose to stay in the B1G where he has familiarity.

 

[Fryowa]

At the risk of beating a dead horse, I don't know about that. Assuming Kirk truly comes back (sure seems like it now), then we'd have to believe that the donors and administration attempted a coup, couldn't convince the candidate to take the gig and/or got beat out by another school, and Kirk is willing to swallow his pride and keep plugging away in year 28?

I mean I guess it's possible. If Kirk is still enjoying it, maybe he can get over that fact and go about his business. But that seems pretty unlikely, especially since nothing has leaked out. I also don't think Beth would come within a million miles of those types of convos if there was a chance Iowa still wanted Kirk to stick around.

We appreciate you passing things along, but seems far more likely that the info was off.

Kirk doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who wouldn't understand a P4 football program planning for the future. If I'm at my job at 70 years old and my boss starts looking for my replacement I wouldn't be offended whatsoever, I'd expect it.

The info I was given wasn't off, but that's up to you to believe or not.

Where I was off was that I was pretty confident it was going to happen. Which I mentioned in post numero uno that I could be wrong about that part.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

Kirk doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who wouldn't understand a P4 football program planning for the future. If I'm at my job at 70 years old and my boss starts looking for my replacement I wouldn't be offended whatsoever, I'd expect it.

The info I was given wasn't off, but that's up to you to believe or not.

Where I was off was that I was pretty confident it was going to happen. Which I mentioned in post numero uno that I could be wrong about that part.

I don't believe that it went down the way that it was presented to Fry. The notion that Beth and the Booster boys had one hot candidate, and if they could talk him into it, they would kick KF to the curb in favor of the new guy, and if not, stick with what they got, and all without KF's approval or participation? No fucking way. You don't treat a HOFer in the middle of the best 10-year swing in the history of the program like that.

Do I believe there were soft conversations going on with coaching candidates? Sure, as Fry noted, if Beth does not have a short list and does not have a contingency plan for replacing KF at his age, she would not be doing her job. There should be lunches with agents, boosters, advisors, etc. to determine options and contingencies.

Perhaps she took a meeting with a free agent like Fitz and stated that when KF is ready to hang them up, she would be interested in him taking over. Did he want to join the staff now and wait a couple years? Who knows. But, I think there was a game of telephone that skewed the facts of what was really going on before the information got to Fry's ears.

That is what I believe. As we have discussed, there is almost assuredly no way to know what really happened. If Beth did what Fry said she did, she would never admit to that publicly. So, we are all left to our own opinions as to the veracity of Fry's information.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

I can't tell if the discussion of KF leaving to take the PSU job is serious or not. If it is, wow, just wow. That is short bus material. If it was a joke, make it funnier.

 

[HawkPowerlifter]

Honestly, who knows. Do Beth and KF actually have a good working relationship? After all, Beth was the AD who sent Brian packing. There may be this low key grudge that KF holds, or even some animosity by Beth knowing KF still runs the show and has the political power to hold his own til he chooses to retire.

You just don't know what either of them think of the other and what type of relationship they have behind the sees. Maybe it's amicable and business and they both rose above the BF firing. Or maybe they both hate one another.

 

[Fryowa]

I don't believe that it went down the way that it was presented to Fry. The notion that Beth and the Booster boys had one hot candidate, and if they could talk him into it, they would kick KF to the curb in favor of the new guy, and if not, stick with what they got, and all without KF's approval or participation? No fucking way. You don't treat a HOFer in the middle of the best 10-year swing in the history of the program like that.

Do I believe there were soft conversations going on with coaching candidates? Sure, as Fry noted, if Beth does not have a short list and does not have a contingency plan for replacing KF at his age, she would not be doing her job. There should be lunches with agents, boosters, advisors, etc. to determine options and contingencies.

Perhaps she took a meeting with a free agent like Fitz and stated that when KF is ready to hang them up, she would be interested in him taking over. Did he want to join the staff now and wait a couple years? Who knows. But, I think there was a game of telephone that skewed the facts of what was really going on before the information got to Fry's ears.

That is what I believe. As we have discussed, there is almost assuredly no way to know what really happened. If Beth did what Fry said she did, she would never admit to that publicly. So, we are all left to our own opinions as to the veracity of Fry's information.

The name would definitely make this whole thing make way more sense to everyone. I get the doubt and expected it.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

I think the mystery candidate was Pat Fitzgerald. Obviously, he was good enough for Michigan State, a program over the years that has been similar to Iowa's.

That'd be my best guess too. It might take him a couple yrs but he could get that program going. I'm pretty sure they have $ up there to spend and he'll conjure up support. PSU is probably kicking themselves for not having tried kicking the tires with him. Especially since signing day has come and gone and they barely got anyone.

 

[Dadman]

i have a good guess, and it isn’t Pat F, but what’s the point with no confirmation?

 

[NorthKCHawk]

Honestly, who knows. Do Beth and KF actually have a good working relationship? After all, Beth was the AD who sent Brian packing. There may be this low key grudge that KF holds, or even some animosity by Beth knowing KF still runs the show and has the political power to hold his own til he chooses to retire.

You just don't know what either of them think of the other and what type of relationship they have behind the sees. Maybe it's amicable and business and they both rose above the BF firing. Or maybe they both hate one another.

I don't know the answer to this question, but I have to believe there is a healthy respect and working relationship there. KF certainly did not like that BF was fired, but in retrospect, he has to see it was best for everyone that BF move on, and Beth did the dirty work there.

As I have posted in the previous thread, if what Fry says happened happened, there is no way KF does not find out about it. If the relationship was not great before, it has to be fractured now. But, there is no evidence of that. Everyone seems happy as clams in the football building. There is no evidence to support any of this. The only person in the entire Hawkeye universe that reported on this alleged attempted replacement of KF is Fry.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

i have a good guess, and it isn’t Pat F, but what’s the point with no confirmation?

James Franklin is the most sensible guess.....

 

[hawkdrummer1]

The name would definitely make this whole thing make way more sense to everyone. I get the doubt and expected it.

How convenient that you never say a name. Clearly there's no secret deal in the works so it's no more valid than other speculation at this point.

 

[SwirlinLingerie]

I don't believe that it went down the way that it was presented to Fry. The notion that Beth and the Booster boys had one hot candidate, and if they could talk him into it, they would kick KF to the curb in favor of the new guy, and if not, stick with what they got, and all without KF's approval or participation? No fucking way. You don't treat a HOFer in the middle of the best 10-year swing in the history of the program like that.

Do I believe there were soft conversations going on with coaching candidates? Sure, as Fry noted, if Beth does not have a short list and does not have a contingency plan for replacing KF at his age, she would not be doing her job. There should be lunches with agents, boosters, advisors, etc. to determine options and contingencies.

Perhaps she took a meeting with a free agent like Fitz and stated that when KF is ready to hang them up, she would be interested in him taking over. Did he want to join the staff now and wait a couple years? Who knows. But, I think there was a game of telephone that skewed the facts of what was really going on before the information got to Fry's ears.

That is what I believe. As we have discussed, there is almost assuredly no way to know what really happened. If Beth did what Fry said she did, she would never admit to that publicly. So, we are all left to our own opinions as to the veracity of Fry's information.

Agreed. Plus I think more would have leaked out.