proudhawkfan21
Well-Known Member
This has been argued a million times. Just one time give me a good reason why Ferentz is a bad coach.Lets list a few items.
1. Recruiting. This is Iowa. What is the attraction for a recruit? Give me a reason that a 4-5 star recruit should pick the state of Iowa over anyone else. Don't tell me Joe Coach can recruit kids to Iowa. Which leads into....
2.Tradition? Like it or not KF is 35 years of that tradition. If you want to say Iowa plays in the Big Ten so Stoops and Saban and Miles and all the recruiters want to be here, no , they don't. They would be hoping for a good year to get out quick.
3. Professional respect. You can argue this all you want but it is well known that Iowa teaches the game...develops NFL players...and do it with 2 and 3 star recruits or walk ons (see #1 if you got the urge to argue this point). Its an industry fact. You can't argue it. Its fact.
4. Consistency. We complain about the same old, same old. There is a formula for winning with lesser athletes. Train hard, be disciplined, utilize your talents. We slow the game down. We play to have a chance to win. I've seen 12-0. I've seen a couple of 11-2. I've seen many January 1 bowl games. I've seen Penn State upsets, Lsu miracles, orange bowl victories, Michigan upsets, big ten titles, I've even seen Iowa hijack and terrorize an entire nation of college football fans. Lots of smiles and cheers.
5. The Gold Standard. If Hayden Fry is the gold standard here, then you HAVE to put KF in the same category as the record is nearly identical. If national championships are the gold standard, then who? Who is your miracle worker? Bielema? He's far from the best coach in his conference. Stoops? Doesn't want us. Who will lead us magically to the pearly gates and the recruiting fields of gold? You want someone better. Who, pray you, is that?
6. Pride. I know of very few people that make me more proud to be an Iowan than Kirk Ferentz. He had opportunities to leave us (save the snarky comments for the cyclone board), but committed to Iowa. He carries himself as a gentleman, a teacher and a father figure. He gives back to his community and his university. He cares deeply about his players. See the post Michigan interview. See the Brent Greenwood stories. See how He talks about famous and not so famous former players. He doesn't make excuses. He takes blame. He is loyal to people. You can try to find a way to make that a flaw. In some ways it is. We all succumb to loyalty. At the end of the day, he does his job.
So begin your bashing of a man who will go down in history as the winningest coach in Iowa history. Wish for something better. But ask yourself, what does better look like? After listening to most on here, national championships are the only measure of success. There are tons of terrible coaches in the hall of fame if that is your measuring stick including coach Fry. You, reader/Hawkeye fan, have every right to your opinion. I only hope that you find purpose in a life well-lived instead of a life of what-ifs. Enjoy the Hawks. Enjoy Coach Ferentz. One day you will get your wish of an opening day sunny saturday kickoff without Coach Ferentz on the sideline. I hope it's worth the 20+ years of misery and that you don't regret missing some great hawkeye memories.
1. Recruiting. This is Iowa. What is the attraction for a recruit? Give me a reason that a 4-5 star recruit should pick the state of Iowa over anyone else. Don't tell me Joe Coach can recruit kids to Iowa. Which leads into....
2.Tradition? Like it or not KF is 35 years of that tradition. If you want to say Iowa plays in the Big Ten so Stoops and Saban and Miles and all the recruiters want to be here, no , they don't. They would be hoping for a good year to get out quick.
3. Professional respect. You can argue this all you want but it is well known that Iowa teaches the game...develops NFL players...and do it with 2 and 3 star recruits or walk ons (see #1 if you got the urge to argue this point). Its an industry fact. You can't argue it. Its fact.
4. Consistency. We complain about the same old, same old. There is a formula for winning with lesser athletes. Train hard, be disciplined, utilize your talents. We slow the game down. We play to have a chance to win. I've seen 12-0. I've seen a couple of 11-2. I've seen many January 1 bowl games. I've seen Penn State upsets, Lsu miracles, orange bowl victories, Michigan upsets, big ten titles, I've even seen Iowa hijack and terrorize an entire nation of college football fans. Lots of smiles and cheers.
5. The Gold Standard. If Hayden Fry is the gold standard here, then you HAVE to put KF in the same category as the record is nearly identical. If national championships are the gold standard, then who? Who is your miracle worker? Bielema? He's far from the best coach in his conference. Stoops? Doesn't want us. Who will lead us magically to the pearly gates and the recruiting fields of gold? You want someone better. Who, pray you, is that?
6. Pride. I know of very few people that make me more proud to be an Iowan than Kirk Ferentz. He had opportunities to leave us (save the snarky comments for the cyclone board), but committed to Iowa. He carries himself as a gentleman, a teacher and a father figure. He gives back to his community and his university. He cares deeply about his players. See the post Michigan interview. See the Brent Greenwood stories. See how He talks about famous and not so famous former players. He doesn't make excuses. He takes blame. He is loyal to people. You can try to find a way to make that a flaw. In some ways it is. We all succumb to loyalty. At the end of the day, he does his job.
So begin your bashing of a man who will go down in history as the winningest coach in Iowa history. Wish for something better. But ask yourself, what does better look like? After listening to most on here, national championships are the only measure of success. There are tons of terrible coaches in the hall of fame if that is your measuring stick including coach Fry. You, reader/Hawkeye fan, have every right to your opinion. I only hope that you find purpose in a life well-lived instead of a life of what-ifs. Enjoy the Hawks. Enjoy Coach Ferentz. One day you will get your wish of an opening day sunny saturday kickoff without Coach Ferentz on the sideline. I hope it's worth the 20+ years of misery and that you don't regret missing some great hawkeye memories.
