And an Ex-Hawkeye shall lead them...........
Connor McLaughlin
- Thread starter JoeyLabasForPresident
- Start date
And an Ex-Hawkeye shall lead them...........
BigD
Well-Known Member
That was the point I was making. If you have all these NFL players it does indicate your ability to coach them up and get them ready. It also been stated by other posters that why aren’t we winning more if we are sending so many guys to the NFL.
The point of following your favorite team is to watch them win. All the other stuff is just distraction from that point. We’ve all watched this attitude from Ames. The cyclone fan for decades were stuck with focusing on one player, and their achievements when striving to win a conference title went out with black and white tv’s. That’s what happens when your program can’t seem to get over the hump and win their division or their conference the fans start to find other things like NFL recruits or one particular player to focus on.
I’ve said that it’s ok to be positive and hopeful about the team but at some point coaches need to move on if they are consistently falling short of division and conference championships. We are not talking about National titles here.
Kirk was handed a gift by being put in the West division to have to win against the likes of Wisconsin, Northwestern, and has been Nebraska in order to play in the conference championship and yet we have serious trouble beating out these teams.
Seriously how can fans find this acceptable? Does it have to be every season? Of course not, but given the history of these teams there is absolutely no reason we aren’t winning the division at the very least every third year. I personally see no reason for not winning it every other year. Now we are talking the West Division here not the conference title.
The most frustrating thing with everything is that most coaches will try different approaches and make changes in attempt to get a better result. It probably isn’t so but it at least it appears that Kirk has decided to be happy with status quo every year. Personal can change but results are pretty much the same. Hell you could have two NFL tight ends and a quarterback considered one of the best if not the best in the West DIVISION and not have the creativity to use them at the same time to destroy the opponents. What the hell??? Zone blocking right run, zone blocking left run.
Well of course that ship has sailed hasn’t it?
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Get the helmet and pads on and start grinding.
NorthKCHawk
Well-Known Member
Winning football championships is hard when you don't cheat or tolerate criminals on your team. Would I like to see more 10 win seasons? Sure. But, the notion that KF is underachieving at Iowa is silly. Over the last ten years, who would you rather be? Wisky, OSU, and maybe (probably) MSU? Even Penn State and Michigan have had ups and downs.
KF is not standing pat. He has not gone to the spread, but he has changed coaches, offenses, defenses and gambles on 4th down perhaps to a fault. The recruiting has also improved the last few cycles.
We always want better, but the trend line for Iowa is positive.
KF is not standing pat. He has not gone to the spread, but he has changed coaches, offenses, defenses and gambles on 4th down perhaps to a fault. The recruiting has also improved the last few cycles.
We always want better, but the trend line for Iowa is positive.
Clock management is WAY better because he put in effort to make it better. He makes decisions based on calculated risks instead of always taking the safest route. He goes to camps like the Patriots to learn more. I'd say Kirk is nowhere near status quo lately.
Anthony Nelson and Amani Hooker...and all of the recruits that have definitely taken notice.
BigD
Well-Known Member
We are approaching 15 years since Kirk won a Big Ten title. Who’s the one not paying attention here? Name one power five coach besides Kirk who has gone 15 years without winning a conference title and still had a job with that team?
This post has absolutely nothing to do with what I said.
BigD
Well-Known Member
Well apparently the changes aren’t working unless he cares less about making changes that will result in winning more division titles and eventually conference titles.
It has everything to do with the comment that the one poster made about who cares about who goes pro when the the Division and Conference titles are lacking.
Are you saying that the changes are good even though the end results are the same?
I see you couldn’t answer the question about fifteen years with out a conference title. You want to defend his performance as a coach but you know you just got splatted like a bug on a windshield. FIFTEEN YEARS without a conference title. We are not talking about a national title here. FIFTEEN YEARS without a conference title as one of the highest paid coaches in college football in total salary OVER the twenty one years he has been a coach at Iowa. Likely the only two coaches who have been paid more in the total pay time are Urban and Nick. Both of which have played in multiple National Championship games. Not conference championship but National Title games. Fifteen years without a conference title as one of highest paid (probably third highest in college history in total accumulated salary over his time as head coach at Iowa). That would not be acceptable by any college program in the United States EXCEPT at the University of Iowa. WTF???
Honest question are you related to him? How can you possibly defend that long of a spell with out a conference title? Apparently winning a conference title is meaningless to the over all Iowa fan base. There are no pathways to a National title either without first winning the conference title. Again the Iowa fan base apparently could care less about either one. Hell does anyone even demand a division title anymore? Apparently you don’t. You think you need to defend him.
As a fan I am not being over demanding here. Is it too damn much to be able to win a division title against the likes of those in the West??? That’s all I am asking for. That way there is HOPE of pulling an upset in the conference championship. Is it so wrong as a fan to at least have HOPE?
Until a few years ago, I wanted Kirk gone just as much as the next guy. But his changes have been good, and obvious. The recruiting is much better the end game coaching is better, the aggression is better, and the clock management is WAY better.
Division titles are a little more difficult that people act. Wisconsin has been a top 10 program over the last 10 years or so. You don't get handed a division title when you play in the same division as Wisconsin. That statement only goes for this exact moment in time. Wisconsin could very well be Minnesota in 10 more years. And all that's not to say its overly difficult either. It's just way harder than guys like you make it out to be.
Let me ask you this. Do you not see the changes Kirk has made over the last few years with recruiting, aggression, and clock management? Do you not read the stories about him camping with the Patriots? If so, why are you arguing he stays status quo when he clearly isn't? Have you looked at the records over the last 4 years? Do you not think its overall better since the 2008/2009 run? 2015 was "make history" good. Beathard was hurt in '16 or we would have almost certainly had a better record. 2017 was decent but not good. 2018 was good but not great. That is a pretty good 4 year run at Iowa. When you factor in how much young talent we have and how good of classes we have coming in lately, I'd say it's very obvious Kirk has raised the bar. So I'll stick to my original comment. Saying Kirk doesn't make changes is a very ignorant statement right now.
hawk4life73
Well-Known Member
We won a division title just 4 short seasons ago. 12-0 regular season record. It was awesome!
HawkleberryFinn
Well-Known Member
It was above average...but it wasn’t a powerhouse 12-0 team. It was an 8-4 team that got more than its fair share of lucky breaks (ie goal line fumble to give us our only win against Wisconsin this decade). They were exposed against Stanford. Now Kirk has team talent—he and silver spoon boy just can’t turn it into wins. Kirk is a nice guy but average coach.
They had 2 score leads late in 10 out of those 12 games I think. If you could have 12-0 regular seasons when you were just "above average" we would have had a lot more of them.
HawkleberryFinn
Well-Known Member
Weak schedule too that year. They just weren’t an elite team. Kirk knew that to be the case. Fun season though.
NEIChawk
Well-Known Member
How in the F did this go from Connor McLaughlin to stabbing arguments about winning or not winning, mediocre schedules.....don't you crackheads have a yard to mow? Or a wife or sick kid that needs you about? GTFO and get something done today or change your hatred of Iowa and say something constructive. Good Lord. Oh and Happy Father's day tomorrow 
JoeyLabasForPresident
Well-Known Member
The sample size of FBS coaches that have been with their team for fifteen Year’s is incredibly small (We’re talking like 3 or 4 by my count). If we look at slightly fewer seasons, here are the guys that have never won a conference championship in the least ~10 years:
Pat Fitzgerald hasn’t done it in 13 seasons
David Cutcliffe hasn’t done it in 11 seasons
Mike Grundy has only done it once (In a weaker conference) in 14 seasons, and that was eight seasons ago
Frank Solich hasn’t done it in 14 seasons at Ohio (He did get one at Nebraska in his six seasons 20 years ago)
Kyle Whittingham had one ten years ago in his 15 seasons, before Utah joined the Pac-12.
Ken Niumatalono hasn’t done it in 12 seasons, though Navy was independent in his first 8. Navy only had one double digit season (10 wins) while independent, so you could consider him in the group of no wins.
Bobby Wilder hasn’t done it in ten seasons, though three of those seasons Old Dominion was independent.
Troy Calhoun hasn’t done it in 12 seasons.
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JoeyLabasForPresident
Well-Known Member
He is, by definition, an above average coach.
HawkleberryFinn
Well-Known Member
Screw off Nebraska guyHow in the F did this go from Connor McLaughlin to stabbing arguments about winning or not winning, mediocre schedules.....don't you crackheads have a yard to mow? Or a wife or sick kid that needs you about? GTFO and get something done today or change your hatred of Iowa and say something constructive. Good Lord. Oh and Happy Father's day tomorrow
It was a fairly weak schedule. But not near as bad as Cowhurd and half of our own fans say it was. It's one thing to discredit losses, but discrediting wins by your own team is weird.
