"Assistants Stability"

[ThunderHawk]

So ABC displayed this graphic illuminating how a bunch of our assistants have been here for a dozen years.

Query...if your OC hasn't been offered head coaching jobs, or, since we wouldn't probably know that, is never in the ESPN etc. discussion when a D1 job comes open, in his 12 years as a coordinator...well...

...doesn't that tell you something?

Oh, and I'm available to coach special teams. Hike, spot, kick. Hike, spot, kick. Hike, spot, kick. I think I've got it.

 

[homerHAWKeye777]

So ABC displayed this graphic illuminating how a bunch of our assistants have been here for a dozen years.

Query...if your OC hasn't been offered head coaching jobs, or, since we wouldn't probably know that, is never in the ESPN etc. discussion when a D1 job comes open, in his 12 years as a coordinator...well...

...doesn't that tell you something?

Oh, and I'm available to coach special teams. Hike, spot, kick. Hike, spot, kick. Hike, spot, kick. I think I've got it.

KOK was a head coach at the D2 level ... and was an elite one at that. Quite frankly, we don't know how many times folks have come sniffing after KOK. However, on the flip side, KOK appears to be a guy who wants to focus his primary effort on coaching. My impression is that KOK wouldn't want to be a D1 head coach ... there are too many distractions that take your attention away from coaching. Ferentz offers him the ideal situation ... and he gets to coach with buddies to boot.

So, to answer your question, ... no, it doesn't tell me a thing!

And, for that matter, Soup is another guy who seems perfectly content being a career assistant coach too. Some people don't realize this ... but sometimes a person wants to do what they like best ... and they want to enjoy stability while doing so. That's a big reason why Soup was a consistent staple over at Michigan before Rich Rod failed to keep him on. Luckily for the Hawks, Carr likely told Soup that Ferentz was another one of the "good guys" ... and Soup hasn't looked back since!

 

[homerHAWKeye777]

ThunderHawk -

Given how well Iowa's O has been playing, you do realize how foolish it is to be criticizing the OC?

 

[Rawkhawk73]

Stability is fine as long as there is sustained success and the individuals involved still show growth and adaptablility.

It's hard to complain about a staff that has put up a 61% winning % overall and a 56% winning % in Big 10 play. So sustained success is certainly there.

And despite areas where there needs to be improvement (clock management, aggressiveness, etc), I do think this staff has shown relatively good growth and adaptability. 2002 is a great example. We went from McCann to Banks and showed vastly different playcalling from one year to the next. Or take 2004, in a single bye week we revamped the entire offense.

I will say, though, that it seems to take a big departure from the "norm" before this staff will adapt. This year, for instance, we should be taking A LOT more chances through the air given the skill level we have at QB, wide receiver and tight end coupled with the lack of depth at running back, but for whatever reason, we don't.

All in all, I like the fact our staff has been together so long. For a place like Iowa, where we're not going to get 4 and 5 star athletes every recruiting class so we can't win just on talent, there has to be a well-established program and way of doing things that can be easily transferred each year. If you're constantly changing out coordinators or position coaches, it gets very difficult to have a stable program in place. All one needs to do is look at Coach Fry and what happened to him once his best coaches started leaving. Even a head honcho as good as Fry isn't good enough by himself to keep things going.