Brian Ferentz: "I Did The Best I Could..."

kicker22 said:
I don't accept him being the scapegoat for dad. Not saying KF's system isn't to blame, but his tenure at OC is by far the worst during the KF era. Sure it's a system and KF needs to be held accountable. But BF accepted the promotion to OC and has failed miserably there. KF's offensive system is bad there's no denying it, but the BF experiment has been subpar when compared to those OC's put in the same situation before him.

I think it would also be fair to say that we scapegoat KF and give BF a free pass because he's failed at his job and dad refuses to let him go and want to believe that KF's system is the reason BF is failing and that he could truly be a capable OC. The problem I have is BF has absolutely no body of work indicating that he's qualified to be OC, yet we defend him and point the finger at dad's system.

My two cents is there is no scapegoat. KF's system needs tweaked and is the glaring weakness of a storied and accomplished career that will always have us asking "what if" and boy wonder is not a D1 OC.
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Man, you have a rosier memory of the offenses of the past than I do. KOK was absolutely villainized on this board and generally for more than a decade. But, let's say he was overall more successful than Brian, which I think is fair, are you actually suggesting that BF is "far worse" than Davis??????

The Davis offenses were just as bad and dysfunctional. Yes, we had one great, and several good seasons under Davis, but in general those wins were because of the D and special teams. Sound familiar? Greg Davis was a horrible OC. Brian too. KOK was below average.

For 22 years the fan base has wanted a competent OC. What is the common denominator here, gents?

Maybe a better way to look at things is to focus on the QB. Each of the OCs in question were part of double digit win teams, but they typically did so with a very good QB. BF had Stanley, Davis had Beatherd, and KOK had Banks, Tate and AmerStanzi. But, when they have Chandler or Vandenburg or Petras, they stink.

The reality is that BF was ok with Stanley at QB and sucked with Petras at QB. Likewise, Stanley was an ok QB and Petras sucked.

So, history lesson: You want a better offense? Find a better QB.
 
NorthKCHawk said:
Man, you have a rosier memory of the offenses of the past than I do. KOK was absolutely villainized on this board and generally for more than a decade. But, let's say he was overall more successful than Brian, which I think is fair, are you actually suggesting that BF is "far worse" than Davis??????

The Davis offenses were just as bad and dysfunctional. Yes, we had one great, and several good seasons under Davis, but in general those wins were because of the D and special teams. Sound familiar? Greg Davis was a horrible OC. Brian too. KOK was below average.

For 22 years the fan base has wanted a competent OC. What is the common denominator here, gents?

Maybe a better way to look at things is to focus on the QB. Each of the OCs in question were part of double digit win teams, but they typically did so with a very good QB. BF had Stanley, Davis had Beatherd, and KOK had Banks, Tate and AmerStanzi. But, when they have Chandler or Vandenburg or Petras, they stink.

The reality is that BF was ok with Stanley at QB and sucked with Petras at QB. Likewise, Stanley was an ok QB and Petras sucked.

So, history lesson: You want a better offense? Find a better QB.
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Yup
 
NorthKCHawk said:
Man, you have a rosier memory of the offenses of the past than I do. KOK was absolutely villainized on this board and generally for more than a decade. But, let's say he was overall more successful than Brian, which I think is fair, are you actually suggesting that BF is "far worse" than Davis??????

The Davis offenses were just as bad and dysfunctional. Yes, we had one great, and several good seasons under Davis, but in general those wins were because of the D and special teams. Sound familiar? Greg Davis was a horrible OC. Brian too. KOK was below average.

For 22 years the fan base has wanted a competent OC. What is the common denominator here, gents?

Maybe a better way to look at things is to focus on the QB. Each of the OCs in question were part of double digit win teams, but they typically did so with a very good QB. BF had Stanley, Davis had Beatherd, and KOK had Banks, Tate and AmerStanzi. But, when they have Chandler or Vandenburg or Petras, they stink.

The reality is that BF was ok with Stanley at QB and sucked with Petras at QB. Likewise, Stanley was an ok QB and Petras sucked.

So, history lesson: You want a better offense? Find a better QB.
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I never stated that we were anywhere near the head of the class under previous OC's in terms of offensive productions, but I don't recall an OC that had us ranked this low. That said though the difference between Davis and BF is that Davis had a resume when hired. Was it a good hire or a good fit for the program I don't think so, but Davis had previously had experience as a OC. BF not so much.

I agree with you 100% about finding a better QB, but wouldn't the BF have a hand in recruiting the QB's were bringing in? The QB's we've been bringing in have been decent in terms of stars and accomplishments in HS. So I think it's collectively fair to say that the coaches have been as much to blame for their lack of production as the recruits themselves. But I'd also say in addition to the QB's we've also complained about receivers not being able to get seperation, our Oline's blocking, and our running game. So when the collective issues are consistently our offense as a hole why should the OC get a free pass and the right to have a "I did the best with what I had" mentality? Why should we accept that as a fanbase?
 
NorthKCHawk said:
I think this was just a very candid and true statement.

Brian did the best that Brian could do with the talent Brian had to work with.

Could another OC gotten more out of the talent there? Maybe, but as has been discussed many times, you still have to run the offense within the confines of KF's system. KF pines after tall, skinny QBs with big arms and little mobility. He demands a run first approach whether we have the OL for that or not. His system repels playmakers except at TE and sometimes RB. Last year was the result of a lot of misses on the OL and QB. Does Brian have a part in those misses? Of course, but to me we scapegoat BF and give KF a pass because that let's us love the legend while dismissing his flaws.

The statement by Brian was just incomplete: "I did the best I could do with the players my Dad, I, and the assistants brought in, and given the system my Dad requires me to run."
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He's been OC for 5 yrs He literally had Petras his whole tenure. Yet the dude pretty much stunk and didn't get better over 3 yrs of starting... And yet they still kept putting him out there because the other QBs were supposedly worse. That's on the OC and HC at the end of the day. That's how that works.

And that's just that position. We could go down the line of WRs and Olineman too and we could sing similar songs. Bottom line BF recruited 'developed' and played all these guys as a unit and couldn't get squat done. There's a whole lot of OCs out there unemployed today after having lost their jobs and they didn't do as bad as Brian has.... Not even close on some of em....
 
From Evashevski in the '50's to Commings in the '70's Iowa ran a version of the Wing-T offense. Multiple coaches stubbornly continued to run it well past it's point of effectiveness, for over 20 years.
Kirk's offense is now at a similar 23 year point, with few modifications. Our biggest issue is the offensive strategy and tactics need a complete reboot. (ie. Wisconsin). Our offense is entirely too predictable and conservative. All well and good if Iowa has the horses to run this offense, but the fact is they don't. And won't.
I put the responsibility for the recent offensive fiascos equally on Kirk (strategy) and Brian (tactics) for failing to adapt to the changing environment of college football in the last 10-15 years. Their ultra-conservative culture has resulted in Iowa becoming the worst P5 offense in CFB. This, in turn, negatively impacts recruiting offensive talent. Both feed the downward spiral of the Iowa offense to a level that has become a national punchline for offensive ineptitude.
The needed change has to start with Kirk and I just don't see that happening. I see him stubbornly holding on, recruiting sub-P5 level offensive talent, underutilizing the portal, running the same tired offense and blaming the predictable lack of success on 'execution' (players).
I hope I am wrong.
 
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SCHawkeye2 said:
From Evashevski in the '50's to Commings in the '70's Iowa ran a version of the Wing-T offense. Multiple coaches stubbornly continued to run it well past it's point of effectiveness, for over 20 years.
Kirk's offense is now at a similar 23 year point, with few modifications. Perhaps our biggest issue is the offensive strategy and tactics need a complete reboot. (ie. Wisconsin). Our offense is entirely too predictable and conservative. All well and good if Iowa has the horses to run this offense, but the fact is they don't. And won't.
I put the responsibility for the recent offensive fiascos equally on Kirk (strategy) and Brian (tactics) for failing to adapt to the changing environment of college football in the last 10-15 years. Their ultra-conservative culture has resulted in Iowa becoming the worst P5 offense in CFB. This, in turn, negatively impacts recruiting offensive talent. Both feed the downward spiral of the Iowa offense to a level that has become a national punchline for offensive ineptitude.
The needed change has to start with Kirk and I just don't see that happening. I see him stubbornly holding on, recruiting sub-P5 level offensive talent, underutilizing the portal, running the same tired offense and blaming the predictable lack of success on 'execution' (players).
I hope I am wrong.
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Loved Evy's teams

Randy Duncan from DM Roosevelt
Bob Jeter
Willie Fleming
Curt Merz
 
I agree that BF should no longer be the O coordinator.

But a very interesting stat: According to Massey, Iowa played SIX of the top 10 defenses this year:

iowa state
Michigan
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Illinois
Kentucky

Ohio St had the 15th rated offense, so 7 of the top 15.

that is an incredible stat.
 
ChosenChildren said:
I agree that BF should no longer be the O coordinator.

But a very interesting stat: According to Massey, Iowa played SIX of the top 10 defenses this year:

iowa state
Michigan
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Illinois
Kentucky

Ohio St had the 15th rated offense, so 7 of the top 15.

that is an incredible stat.
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A case could be made that our miserable offense enhanced the defensive stats of these teams.
 
kicker22 said:
I never stated that we were anywhere near the head of the class under previous OC's in terms of offensive productions, but I don't recall an OC that had us ranked this low. That said though the difference between Davis and BF is that Davis had a resume when hired. Was it a good hire or a good fit for the program I don't think so, but Davis had previously had experience as a OC. BF not so much.

I agree with you 100% about finding a better QB, but wouldn't the BF have a hand in recruiting the QB's were bringing in? The QB's we've been bringing in have been decent in terms of stars and accomplishments in HS. So I think it's collectively fair to say that the coaches have been as much to blame for their lack of production as the recruits themselves. But I'd also say in addition to the QB's we've also complained about receivers not being able to get seperation, our Oline's blocking, and our running game. So when the collective issues are consistently our offense as a hole why should the OC get a free pass and the right to have a "I did the best with what I had" mentality? Why should we accept that as a fanbase?
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Davis had a resume. It was a terrible resume. I work with Texas alums and they belly laughed when I walked into the office the day after Davis was hired. He was on the scrap heap. Not retired. Just no one wanted to hire him. KF found a guy no one else wanted!

And, I disagree BF had no resume. He was a runner and then a position coach in the NFL for Bill B. Then he came to Iowa and was a position coach and running game coordinator for a couple years. When Davis "retired" he was elevated. Every OC has to get their first OC job at some point.

Look, I am not the defender of BF. He clearly is not the most creative or talented OC in the world. But, he is doing what he is asked to do by his boss and that, to me, is the problem.

And, the point of my last point was this: we have a window here with this defense, punter, and kicker. We have an OL that while shit last year, will be better, bigger, and more experienced this year. Yes, Iowa could blow up the offense, bring in a fancy new OC that will spend his first season being handcuffed by KF and fighting against that upstream current. OR, Iowa can keep the coaching and system in place for next year, go out and get one of the best free agent QBs on the market, relish the last year of the shitty Big Ten West with no crossovers against Michigan or OSU, and go for an 11 win season in 2023. History under KF says that Iowa tends to go as far as its QB will take it. I will ride this historically great D out for another season and pray for averageness on offense next year. Timing is everything.....
 
SCHawkeye2 said:
From Evashevski in the '50's to Commings in the '70's Iowa ran a version of the Wing-T offense. Multiple coaches stubbornly continued to run it well past it's point of effectiveness, for over 20 years.
Kirk's offense is now at a similar 23 year point, with few modifications. Our biggest issue is the offensive strategy and tactics need a complete reboot. (ie. Wisconsin). Our offense is entirely too predictable and conservative. All well and good if Iowa has the horses to run this offense, but the fact is they don't. And won't.
I put the responsibility for the recent offensive fiascos equally on Kirk (strategy) and Brian (tactics) for failing to adapt to the changing environment of college football in the last 10-15 years. Their ultra-conservative culture has resulted in Iowa becoming the worst P5 offense in CFB. This, in turn, negatively impacts recruiting offensive talent. Both feed the downward spiral of the Iowa offense to a level that has become a national punchline for offensive ineptitude.
The needed change has to start with Kirk and I just don't see that happening. I see him stubbornly holding on, recruiting sub-P5 level offensive talent, underutilizing the portal, running the same tired offense and blaming the predictable lack of success on 'execution' (players).
I hope I am wrong.
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If things were the other way, and Iowa was a Little 12 team who put up 45 points a game but could not stop a paper airplane on defense, I wonder how the fans might be? I guess it is not that far off from Fran's system in MBB, which everyone is kind of ok with. I mean, people bitch about Fran's D being terrible, but its fun when Iowa wins 90-88.

Yes Iowa's offense is a joke, but its defense and special teams are elite. More to the point, Iowa wins. KF won 8 games this year and it was a down year. The last 5 years he is averaging 9 wins a season. In our immediate circle of rivals, who would you rather be? Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa State?

All KF needs to do is squeeze a little bit of competence out of his son and OL and help his new QB just be average. If he can do that, we will win double digit games in 2023. You want to retire that??????
 
NorthKCHawk said:
If things were the other way, and Iowa was a Little 12 team who put up 45 points a game but could not stop a paper airplane on defense, I wonder how the fans might be? I guess it is not that far off from Fran's system in MBB, which everyone is kind of ok with. I mean, people bitch about Fran's D being terrible, but its fun when Iowa wins 90-88.

Yes Iowa's offense is a joke, but its defense and special teams are elite. More to the point, Iowa wins. KF won 8 games this year and it was a down year. The last 5 years he is averaging 9 wins a season. In our immediate circle of rivals, who would you rather be? Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa State?

All KF needs to do is squeeze a little bit of competence out of his son and OL and help his new QB just be average. If he can do that, we will win double digit games in 2023. You want to retire that??????
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"I see him stubbornly holding on, recruiting sub-P5 level offensive talent, underutilizing the portal, running the same tired offense and blaming the predictable lack of success on 'execution' (players)."

I dont want to keep doing this.
 
SCHawkeye2 said:
A case could be made that our miserable offense enhanced the defensive stats of these teams.
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Possibly attributed, but, Iowa is only one game in each of their schedule. I don't think that so much is the bar mover.

I think he was more pointing out the number of teams Iowa had to play with great defenses. I think that is more telling than trying to sell that Iowa on each of those teams schedules is the reason they are in the top 15 or so. That's ridiculous.
 
NorthKCHawk said:
Davis had a resume. It was a terrible resume. I work with Texas alums and they belly laughed when I walked into the office the day after Davis was hired. He was on the scrap heap. Not retired. Just no one wanted to hire him. KF found a guy no one else wanted!

And, I disagree BF had no resume. He was a runner and then a position coach in the NFL for Bill B. Then he came to Iowa and was a position coach and running game coordinator for a couple years. When Davis "retired" he was elevated. Every OC has to get their first OC job at some point.

Look, I am not the defender of BF. He clearly is not the most creative or talented OC in the world. But, he is doing what he is asked to do by his boss and that, to me, is the problem.

And, the point of my last point was this: we have a window here with this defense, punter, and kicker. We have an OL that while shit last year, will be better, bigger, and more experienced this year. Yes, Iowa could blow up the offense, bring in a fancy new OC that will spend his first season being handcuffed by KF and fighting against that upstream current. OR, Iowa can keep the coaching and system in place for next year, go out and get one of the best free agent QBs on the market, relish the last year of the shitty Big Ten West with no crossovers against Michigan or OSU, and go for an 11 win season in 2023. History under KF says that Iowa tends to go as far as its QB will take it. I will ride this historically great D out for another season and pray for averageness on offense next year. Timing is everything.....
Click to expand...

This is what people need to realize could set the team back a couple years. I like how some just think getting a new OC will be all and rosy and the team will all of a sudden turn the corner and break the top 40 in offense. People need to realize it takes time. As you point out, they may have the ingredients to have more success on offense now with the players that are now joining.

People need to remember how it didn't really work out trying to marry Greg Davis's offense to Kirk Ferentz's philosophy. It didn't really work too well and prob set the offense back a couple seasons which, they may not have even recovered from that at this point.
 
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